In principal shipping a vehicle should be a relatively simple process and mostly it is BUT you will find it hard to find an overlander who has not experienced major stress, hassles and unforeseen costs when doing so, therefore be prepared for these “unknowns”. We met a couple who have overlanded to 186 countries and shipped their vehicle more than 30 times and they still find it stressful.
With all of the above in mind, we are still glad we did ship Mr. Jones, simply because he is our home, he is well equipped for overlanding and we could transport a number of personal items in him and not have to somehow fly them with ourselves to South America.
In general the shipment process should cover the following (we cover each step in more detail further below):
- Determine your preferred shipping method: Container or RORO (Roll On Roll of)
- Contact a number of shipping agents and request quotes. Make sure that the quotes include Maritime insurance.
- Select your preferred agent and secure a booking for your shipment on a vessel and date.
- Supply the relevant documentation the shipping agent which is required for customs clearance, etc
- Identify a clearing agent in the destination country and request quotes. The agent handling your shipment may have agents/contacts at destination but you are not obliged to use those.
- Prepare the vehicle for shipment (removal of external items, cleaning, securing of cargo area, etc)
- Take your vehicle to the port (or agreed depot) for any inspections required and subsequent loading (container or delivery to a RORO vessel)
- Receive the shipping agents invoice (you should not have to prepay!) and make payment
- Fly to your destination and await arrival of your vehicle
- Meet with the receiving shipping agent and supply all relevant documentation required for customs clearance, etc
- Make payment to the receiving agent for fees etc
- Clearing agent applies for customs clearance and Temporary Import permit
- Receive your vehicle
Below you will find the detailed breakdown and recommendations for each of the above steps:
1 – Determine you preferred shipping method
If you can ship with a container it is generally the preferred method as it is safer and typically has more options in terms of vessel availability. It can however be more expensive than RORO. At the time of our shipment from South Africa to South America, COVID was wreaking havoc with the world’s supply chains in terms of container ocean freight and so despite the risks highlighted below we chose to ship RORO.
RORO has two potential issues,
- The vessels have a fixed routing as they are used to move commercial vehicle around the world from point of manufacture to point of sale. This means there may not be an option to your preferred destination and from the country you are currently in, e.g. there does not seem to be a RORO option from South America to South Africa but there is one from South Africa to South America.
- Break-in’s to your vehicle as you have to leave keys for it to be driven on and off the ship and even when it is not being driven the keys are probably left in the ignition while it is standing. There are means to mitigate this but it still remains a risk and one you have to decide on. It must be noted that RORO shipping lines discourage the carrying of personal cargo inside the vehicle to try and prevent such theft and issues which means you can only insure the vehicle and not any cargo and they will accept no responsibility for personal cargo loss or damage.
In order to ship via container, your vehicle needs to be smaller enough to fit inside a container, container sizes do vary across the industry so the below sizing is only a guide and not definitive:
- 20ft containers: Length = 5,9m; Door height = 2,28m; Internal Height = 2,39m; Door Width = 2,34m; Inside Width = 2,35m
- 40ft containers: Length = 12m; Door height = 2,28m; Internal Height = 2,39m; Door Width = 2,34m; Inside Width = 2,35m
- 40ft HiCube Containers: Length = 12m; Door height = 2,585m; Internal Height = 2,69m; Door Width = 2,34m; Inside Width = 2,35m
If you ship via RORO you will be charged on the cubic meters of your vehicle so will need to know the length, width and height for the calculation. The shipping line will also request vehicle weight.
2 – Contact a number of shipping agents and request quotes.
It is advisable to get a number of quotes from different agents as they can vary significantly across the industry and shipping lines. These variances can be for a number of reasons and not just due to profit margins therefore it is also important to establish the following with each quote:
- Shipping dates?
- Number of days in transit?
- Which port does it leave from?
- Which port does it arrive to and do they have representatives or contacts at the destination port ? Additionally what will the costs be upon arrival. Some ports have far higher costs than others
- Are there additional fees for the paperwork?
- Are there additional fees for loading?
- Will there be additional fees for customs inspections, port health inspections or any other regulatory inspections
- Maritime insurance costs and what are the requirements for obtaining the insurance. DO NOT SKIMP ON THIS.
Maritime insurance: It is essential to include this in your cost of shipping, the reason being that in the case of a disaster (google Evergreen Suez canal grounding or other such disasters) a shipping line recovers the “average cost” of salvage from all cargo holders. This means that without insurance you could be personally liable for a rather large bill. Fortunately the costs are relatively small, roughly 0.9% of cargo value for All risks or 0.6% for catastrophic cover. If considering “all risks” cover check with the agent what is required in order to obtain this, in our case they required a “marine surveyor” report and the quote for that work was on the high side.
3 – Select your preferred agent and secure a booking for your shipment on a vessel and date.
Based on the comparative quotes received select your preferred agent. At this point it might make sense to establish a “terms of reference” with them to avoid misunderstandings and frustrations later with regards timing of communication, which documents are required when, when will payments be made, etc.
It is also probably a good idea to visit the agent in person and get them “involved in the adventure”, in all likelihood they don’t often ship overland vehicles and so may be more attentive if they have a personal connection.
4 – Supply the relevant documentation the shipping agent which is required by the shipping line and for customs clearance.
In general you will need to supply the agent with copies of:
- Vehicle papers
- Passport
- A packing list of the personal items included in the vehicle
- The temporary import document or Carnet du Passage “CDP” (if shipping from a country the vehicle is not legally registered in).
- When they finalise the Bill of Lading they will need to put down a “notify to” party, you can use your own details but we chose to rather use the receiving clearing agents details as they would be the ones communicating with the shipping line and doing the customs clearance.
Shipping a South African vehicle from South Africa: The generally accepted way of doing this is to use a Carnet Du Passage (and preferred method for the agents as it requires less work). If the destination you are shipping too regularly uses a CDP then this is acceptable but in the case of South American countries they typically issue a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) and so a CDP would make life more complicated on arrival. A CDP also requires a deposit and annual administrative costs. We therefore chose to rather make a temporary export from South Africa using the form DA65 accompanied by a request for customs inspection (DA73). At the time of doing this there was some confusion whether customs would require a police clearance for the vehicle and a deposit, however neither were required.
As we shipped RORO we cannot fully verify the below information but based on our research, if shipping via container the below seems to be recommended practice:
- Establish if it is possible be present when the vehicle is loaded into the container and to
take all keys when it is complete and if you can put your own lock on the container ? - make sure that your bill of lading lists the following items:
- Type of mode: it should say FCL/LCL. The other option FCL/FCL indicates that you will remove the container from the port before unloading it.
- Under notes make sure it says the container is NOT opened until you are present.
- Make sure to note the container number and seal number.
5 – Identify a clearing agent in the destination country and request quotes.
The agent handling your shipment may have agents/contacts at destination but you are not obliged to use those. As with the outbound quotes, ensure you establish what all the costs will be and if any costs are only determined on arrival in order to ensure no misunderstandings.
6 – Prepare the vehicle for shipment
Depending on method of shipment and vehicle setup this will include aspects such as:
- removal of equipment on the roof in order to fit in a container or reduce RORO cubic meterage calculations
- emptying gas cylinders and obtaining a certificate declaring them empty
- removing all food, spices, etc which possibly cannot be imported or will not travel well
- disconnecting auxiliary batteries, fridge, fuel pumps and air compressors
- installing partitions between cargo area and drivers seat (RORO)
- removing all loose equipment, radio faces, etc from front of vehicle (RORO)
- strapping down all loose items inside vehicle
- distribute moisture absorbers throughout vehicle to reduce humidity while shipping and thus mould growth.
- cleaning interior and exterior to ensure it meets import requirements
- draining excess fuel from tanks (the shipping lines require either the gauge to show in the red or less than ¼ full)
- disposal of any spare oils and lubricants (if not allowed to be shipped)
7 – Take your vehicle to the port (or agreed depot) for any inspections required and subsequent loading (container or delivery to a RORO vessel)
The shipping agent will guide you on timing of this event, in general it is a fairly straight forward step. It is a good idea to take photographs of vehicle condition and loading in case of any subsequent damages.
8 – Receive the shipping agents invoice
In general you should not have to prepay for services and should only be requested to pay upon sailing or just before. There are a number of horror stories in overland circles of travelers prepaying and then getting with a second bill upon arrival in the destination country.
Once the vessel sails and you have made payment you should receive the shipping waybill and tracking details.
9 – Fly to your destination
If possible do not book airline tickets until your vehicle has sailed or at least allow enough time for delays etc It is perfectly possible that a ship can be delayed by 7 days or more and you do not want to have left the country until you are certain that your vehicle has been loaded and no further inspections or documentation is required.
Be aware that the airlines/IATA guidelines typically require passengers to have proof of return air tickets (within standard visa periods) to your country of residence before they will allow you to board a flight. If you are going to be travelling for an extended period overland this will probably mean you need a “return” ticket which is cancellable upon arrival.
10 – Meet with the receiving shipping agent and supply all relevant documentation required for customs clearance, etc
Upon arrival in the destination country you will be able to track your vehicle as it crosses the ocean either via the links provided by the shipping agent and/or on www.vesseltracker.com
As with the forwarding agent, it is a good idea to meet with the receiving agent and establish a personal relationship together with providing them with any documents required for importation of your vehicle.
11 – Make payment to the receiving agent for their fees, port landing costs, etc
In contrast to the export process, you will probably have to pay in advance for this process as once the vehicle is cleared the clearing agent would have no security for payment.
12 – Clearing agent applies for customs clearance and Temporary Import permit
For temporary importation into Uruguay, the process was as follows:
- go to the National Migration office and apply for a “certificado de llegada” (certificate of arrival). The office required a local contact number, in our case we used the AirBnb contact details.
- Upon vessel arrival the clearing agent obtained a stock number from the shipping line and then could apply for customs clearance, this takes up to 48 hours.
- Accompany the clearing agent into the port to receive your vehicle, and then go to the “Aduana” (customs”) to complete the Temporary Import Permit
13 – Receive your vehicle
Drive out of port, re-assemble whatever you removed and stowed, disconnected, etc and put all the stress of the last few weeks behind you while you explore and enjoy the new continent or country you are in.