A shipping barrel holds 220 litres and up to about 70kg. Pack heaviest first, wrap fragile items in clothing in the middle, fill every gap so nothing shifts, and finish with light bulky items on top. Bag all food — leaks are what ruin barrels.
A barrel is the workhorse of UK–Nigeria shipping — strong, waterproof, and priced per barrel rather than per kilo, which means how well you pack it decides how much value you get. Pack it badly and things break, leak, or simply do not fit. Pack it properly and it arrives exactly as it left.
Before you start
- Get the right barrel. A proper shipping drum with a metal ring clamp — not a food barrel with a push-on lid. We can supply one.
- Check your items first. Several everyday things are prohibited even in personal barrels. Run them through the items checker before packing, not after.
- Plan the load. Weight usually runs out before space. The barrel planner tells you which limit you are heading for.
- Have bags and a liner ready. One bin liner for the barrel, plenty of plastic bags for food.
Packing it, step by step
- Line the barrel. Put a bin liner inside the barrel before anything goes in. If something leaks at sea, the liner contains it instead of ruining everything.
- Bag every food item. Seal food in individual plastic bags, even sealed packets. Weeks of movement splits packaging that looked perfectly solid in your kitchen.
- Heaviest goes in first. Rice, tins, pots and anything dense forms the base layer. Nothing heavy should ever sit on top of something breakable.
- Fragile in the middle, wrapped in clothes. Wrap breakables in towels, bedding or clothing and bury them in the centre, away from the walls of the barrel where knocks land.
- Fill every single gap. Push socks, underwear and small soft items into the spaces. Anything that can move will move for weeks at sea, and movement is what breaks things.
- Light and bulky on top. Duvets, nappies and clothing finish the barrel. They compress under the lid and stop the layers below shifting.
- Write the contents list. List what is inside as you pack, not afterwards. Customs may want it, and it settles any question later about what was in the barrel.
- Seal and label clearly. Close the lid properly, tighten the ring clamp, and label the barrel with the recipient name, full address and phone number in Nigeria.
The mistakes we see most
Leaving air in it. A half-packed barrel is the most likely to arrive with breakages, because everything inside has room to move for weeks at sea. Fill the gaps even if you are filling them with socks.
Not bagging food. Packaging that survives a kitchen cupboard does not always survive a container. One split bag of powder coats everything else in the barrel.
Loading heavy things last. Tins and rice on top of a wrapped blender will find it, every time. Dense items live at the bottom.
Packing something prohibited. Cooking oil and washing powder are the two that catch people out constantly — both are ordinary household items, and both are on the prohibition list.
How much actually fits
220 litres sounds enormous until you start filling it. In practice a well-packed barrel takes a 10kg bag of rice, a few bags of garri and beans, a carton of noodles, assorted tins and provisions, and a decent stack of clothing — and by then you are usually at the weight cap rather than the top of the barrel.
That is the counter-intuitive part: dense food fills the weight long before it fills the space, while clothes and bedding do the opposite. Mixing the two is how you use a barrel properly. Our planner shows both meters as you add items, so you can see which one you are about to hit.
Barrel prices start from £120 including door-to-door delivery, and we can supply the barrel itself. Ask us for a quote on yours.
Common questions
How much can you fit in a barrel?
A standard barrel holds 220 litres with a practical cap around 70kg. That is roughly a 10kg bag of rice, several bags of garri and beans, a carton of noodles, tinned food and still room for clothes — though weight normally runs out before space does. Our barrel planner shows you exactly.
Do I need to buy my own barrel?
No — we can supply one. If you would rather use your own, make sure it is a proper shipping drum with a sealing ring clamp, not a food barrel with a push-on lid, which will not survive the journey.
Should I use a barrel or boxes?
Barrels are stronger, waterproof and roll easily, which is why they dominate this route. Boxes make sense for awkward shapes or when you have less to send. Both go by sea and both are priced clearly — ask us for either.
What should I never put in a barrel?
Cooking oil, retail-pack soap and detergent, common tablets like paracetamol, and anything with fuel in it are all prohibited or restricted. Check any item you are unsure about before you pack it — it is far cheaper than losing the barrel.
How do I stop things breaking in transit?
Fill every gap. A tightly packed barrel travels far better than a half-full one, because nothing can shift. Use clothing and bedding as your packing material — it protects the fragile items and uses space you are paying for anyway.
How long does a barrel take to reach Nigeria?
Typically 4–6 weeks door to door including clearing and delivery. Book well ahead for Christmas — the sea cutoff falls in early October, not December.