Checklist
Below is information about sailings we used and also some sailings we did not use. Having learned from experience we use the checklist below. The most important recommendation is to learn from experiences of other travelers. Checkpoints:
- Route and frequency of sailings - check with shipping company directly. Entry of a shipping date in the past may give an impression of historical performance. Don't rely on the agent;
- Check inventory list requirements, usually a very basic list like "a box of tools, 2 drawers of clothing..." is sufficient;
- Check requirements for car import and export documents (Carnet de Passage, insurance, car registration documents, etc.). Be aware that rules for land import in a country may differ from sea import rules;
- Clearing agent at both sides. Demand to have one;
- Container status checking with http://www.shippingline.org/ or similar, ship location with FindShip or similar;
- Completeness of quotations;
Our Vehicle Shipments
Iran to U.A.E. (November 2013)
Ferry sailings from Bandar Abbas and Bandar Lengeh to Sharjah and Dubai, a total of four per week. Information Valfajr.
Saudi Arabia to Sudan (December 2013)
Every day except Friday ferry sailings fromJeddah to Suakin.
Namibia to Uruguay (November 2015)
The shipment of our car from Walvis Bay to Montevideo was our first experience with car shipments. We worked with clearing agent Namibia Shipping & Logistics (NamShip) in Walvis Bay and with Eduardo Kessler in Montevideo. We decided for shipment in a standard 20 ft container. The container was loaded on November 18, 2015 and unloaded on February 11, 2016. The shipping company was Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The container route was:
Costs (in total about € 4075):
We cannot recommend NamShip:
We can recommend Eduardo Kessler:
When traveling from Brazil to French Guyana it is not possible to cross the Amazone delta over land: you need to travel over water between Belém and Macapá. Smaller vehicles can be transported in a ferry, larger vehicles like ours need to go on a barge. We went with Silnave Shipping Company. We were allowed to stay with the car and traveled between mainly trucks (although we heard later that staying with the car isn't permitted anymore). It was like camping on the barge: we could lift the roof, sleep in our own car and sit outside in front of it. The trip took 36 hours and we paid EUR 540 including meals, shower, toilet. We found the shipment company through the ferry company. Therefore we probably paid too much as we had to deal with two additional middle men. You can find the Silnave shipping dock on iOverlander.
Colombia to Belgium (April 2017)
We requested quotations from 5 companies and got an answer from Enlace Caribe (Cartagena) and from ITS Transport (Switzerland). It appeared that ITS Transport uses Enlace Caribe as its agent in Colombia. In Antwerp they use ACS . Both answered our questions quickly and correctly. We shared a 40 ft container with a Brazilian couple shipping a Landrover. The shipping company was CGM CMA.
Document copies we had to provide:
Costs per vehicle (in total about € 2485):
All in all we were satisfied with the process and can recommend ITS Transport as well as Enlace Caribe.
Belgium to Australia (July 2018)
General process
Rules and procedures for importing a vehicle in Australia differ per state. We imported our car in Brisbane, Queensland, therefore the experiences described below concern an import in Queensland. The car was shipped in a container from Antwerp to Brisbane with transfer in Singapore. There is one direct weekly sailing between Antwerp and Brisbane, but it was full on our desired shipment week. We used shipping agent ITS (Switzerland), because we had a good experience with them from an earlier shipment. We had to hand over the car on August 3 for departure on August 10 with estimated arrival on September 17. The actual arrival of the vessel was on September 19. We used a Carnet de Passages, issued by ADAC Munich for the import. The CdP had to be available at the moment the car was handed over in Belgium. The total costs (handling on both ends and sailing) were €3950. If additional inspections would be required in Australia this would be charged separately.
Vehicle preparation
Because of bio-hazards and vehicle is supposed to be as clean as new when it is imported. We cleaned the living part of our car (that we just had completely renovated) as well as its contents as well as we could. This included removing any sand and mud from shoes and tools, removing insects and plant material hidden in the roof tent, etc., etc., etc. We also cleaned the front cabin in the same way. As we had to remove major parts of the dashboard, the floor cover as well as the interior door cover to make electrical changes we could do a thorough job. We had an offer from ITS to clean the car with guaranteed release by the Australian authotities for €655. Because we felt this was a high fee we looked for a professional company to clean the exterior, bottom and engine section. We approached at least ten companies around Eindhoven, but most of them had no equipment or experience to clean the bottom properly. These companies are all focussed at cosmetic cleaning, for example to increase the sales value of a second hand car, but not at cleaning for import. They therefore focus on the exterior and the front cabin. We tried the company that cleans milk trucks (Campina), but they clean the car interior only. We then approached companies that do car bottom protection (tectyl) as well under the assumption that they would be able to properly clean the bottom. Unfortunately this was no success. We agreed with one in Geldrop to bring the car on Monday for collection on Thursday. We went there every day to check progress and every time we could easily show that the bottom job wasn't done as well; they didn't have a facility to lift the car. Finally on Thursday we drove to the main outlet of this company in 's Hertogenbosch. They did have a bridge to lift the car, but didn't want to use it for safety reasons. Nevertheless because they were more experienced the final result was a lot better than in Geldrop. The costs of this cleaning were €175. After we drove the car to Antwerp a final light cleaning was be done under responsibility of ITS to remove any dust collected on the way. We also replaced the are filter. We heard that we were lucky, because any vehicle shipped after September 1st from a list of countries including Germany and France (but not The Netherlands and Belgium) would have to be fumigated in Australia.
Import procedure
A nuisance was that ITS for costs reasons had decided to work with Bikes Abroad, a local agent in Melbourne, not in Brisbane. It meant that the CdP had to be sent by courier and couldn't be hand carried by us and of course it made the communication more difficult. We complained about that and we expect that ITS will go for an agent in Brisbane next time.The customs part of the import was straightforward and completely handled by Bikes Abroad. The quarantaine inspection did not go well. The car was released after 3 inspections and two additional cleaning efforts. The main complaint was that grass was found between the radiator and the air conditioning. At one point it looked like the radiator had to be dismounted, but eventually that wasn't necessary. As part of the preparation cleaning it would have been good to remove the radiator. The vessel arrived on Wednesday, customs was cleared on Friday and the first inspection took place on Monday. The second and third inspection took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were told that we were lucky that the inspections could succeed so quickly as the intervals usually are a few days. The depot where the vehicle was delivered also had the facilities for cleaning. Thr carnet had been sent to Customs in Brisbane and would be sent to the depot from there. Our carnet hadn't arrived at the depot from customs when we picked up the car. We collected it two days later. The extra cleaning and inspection costs were AUD 480. This means that the total expenses including leaning in the Netherlands and final cleaning in Antwerp were about the same as full cleaning by ITS would have been. We would have saved 2 days and some stress.
Paperwork in Australia
Requirements differ strongly per state. For example in Western Australia a road worthiness test used to be required. For Queensland you need (1) National car registration document (2) Drivers license; it must be a. international drivers license for a stay of more than 3 months, (3) the CdP and (4) a CTP. The CTP is a compulsory third party liability insurance. You can buy it at many places on the spot from local insurance agents. We paid SunCorp AUD 215 for 6 months. For our second trip we got again 6 months from SunCorp. We paid AUD 198.70. We had serious trouble to explain via email and phone what we needed (make sure you ask for a CTP, not an insurance). We also took a casco insurance with road side assistance from KTA. The total costs are AUD 948. It is the best channel we found if you are not a resident of Australia although you need to have a physical address in Australia. To qualify for the insurance you need to be a member of CMCA (Caravan and Motorhome Club of Australia) for about AUD 75 per year. Furthermore the vehicle needs to be valuated. We did that by means of an internet valuation. You need to fill in a questionnaire about the car and send photos. Costs were AUD 169.
Australia to East Timor (October 2019)
Darwin
Bookings for shipping from Darwin in Australia to Dili in East Timor can be done by ANL and Bolloré. The shipping is always done by ANL. ANL sails with two vessels that are supposed to sail the triangle Darwin-Dili-Singapore in a clockwise rotation. ANL is notoriously unreliable: ETD's typically change, the route may be reversed or Dili may be skipped if they have insufficient freight. The day after we booked and made accommodation and flight arrangements we were informed that ETD was delayed by 3-4 days. We had contact with ANL for the booking as well, but found them not responsive.
At Bolloré we delt with Alzira Lay-Leong ([email protected], +61 8 8935 6701). She was responsive and helpful, but not very accurate. You have to deliver your vehicle for shipment 5 days prior to ETD. We had our Carnet stamped by customs in Darwin City and weighed the vehicle before delivery. We could drive the vehicle into the container ourselves and be present when the container was locked. Vehicle fuel had to be below 1/4, otherwise there were no resctriction. The vehicle was not inspected. We paid about AUD 3,000.
When we went to Customs we didn't have a Bill of Lading yet, but the quotation of Bolloré and an email confirming the shipping date were sufficient. VIN and engine number were checked, vehicle contents were not. The whole procedure was friendly and took about 30 min.
Dili
We dealt primarily with Roberto Monteiro from SDV Logistics/Bolloré. The information we got was confusing. The sequence of steps was as follows:
Most of Customs isn't working on weekends. Because our vessel was due to be unloaded during the weekend we tried to get an exit note on the Friday before by applying with the Customs director in the port. He had already left for the weekend, so it didn't work for us.
Internal Ferries Indonesia (November 2019-January 2020)
Ferry Kupang/West Timor to Larantuka/Flores (November 2019)
We arrived at 11:00 on Sunday. We were told the ferry to Larantuka would leave at 14:00, but that it was full. We should come back for the Tuesday ferry, tickets for sale on Tuesday from 10:00 onward or wait for standby. We decided to wait and when we talked with the new ticket selling person after a shift change (who spoke some English) he was prepared to sell us a ticket (about IDR 1.500.000 for 2 persons and a campervan). Eventually the ferry left at 19:00. The very dirty ferry had seats, some rows of mattresses and a shop selling almost nothing, but at the terminal food was sold in abundance. We managed to pop up the roof of our car and sleep in it. We probably had the most comfortable accommodation of the entire vessel. Sailing took 13 hours, disembarkation was smooth and quick.
Ferry Labuan Bajo/Flores to Sape/Sumbawa (December 2019)
Tickets to Sape can only be bought on the day of travel. The ticket office opens at 7:00, the ferry leaves at 10:00. A lot of space appeared to be already assigned to trucks, but we made it on the ferry that was completely full. The voyage to Sape took 6.5 hours. We paid INR 1,360,000 for a campervan and 2 persons. Disembarkation was uneventful.
Ferry Poto Tano/Sumbawa to Labuhan/Lombok (December 2019)
Smooth crossing from Sumbawa to Lombok. Ferries are crossing 24/7. We arrived at 10:00, were on the ferry 10:15, sailed 10:45 and arrived 12:00. Fee IDR 485,000 (campervan, 2 adults). Smooth disembarkation.
Ferry Lembar/Lombok to Padangbay/Bali (December 2019)
Ferry to Bali sails hourly 24/7. We arrived at 8:45, went on the boat 9:00 and sailed 10:00. Costs were IDR 928,000 (2 adults, campervan). Sailing should have been 5 hours, but we had to wait for an hour near the port, because a broken ferry was blocking a pier. Disembarkment took some time, because cars had to turn on the ferry.
Ferry Gilimanok/Bali to Ketapang/Java (December 2019)
Ferry to Java. Straightforward process. Sailings continuously 24/7. Fee IDR 162.000 (campervan, 2 adults). Smooth disembarkation. Total crossing time 75 minutes.
Ferry from Smarang/Java to Kumai/Kalimantan (January 2020)
We had bought tickets before using the app of DLU ferry. Be aware that the app is in Indonesian only and that only Indonesian bank accounts can be used for payment, no credit cards; our campervan was vehicle class 4c. Because of these hurdles we visited the DLU office in Surabaya hoping to purchase tickets there, but that was impossible. Online we could buy 3rd class seats only. On board were three classes: regular, airplane economy like chairs (3rd class), beds (just a row of matrasses) and 2nd class: wide chairs which can be used as bed if you are not taller than the average Indonesian. We could easily upgrade to 2nd class on board for IDR 90,000 per person. The fee includes dinner and breakfast. Check-in was smooth, departure was one hour late. One of us slept in our car. We paid IDR 3,608,000 for 2 passengers and a campervan. We arrived from Semarang with a 2.5 hour delay. Disembarkation was smooth, because we were the first to leave the boat. In Semarang we have seen that it easily can take an hour if you are behind the trucks.
Kuching - Malaysia to Port Klang - Malaysia (June 2022)
We used Coastlink ( General Manager Eddie Thong, +60 16-301 8738) for container shipment of our LandCruiser from Kuching to Port Klang. Shipments within Malaysia are terribly inefficient. You need to book the shipment at least 5 days before sailing and the ETD can easily shift by a week. We just missed the closing date of a RoRo and it appeared that the next one would be only 3 weeks later. We therefore decided for a shared container for the same price that eventually went 2 weeks after the RoRo. We have been without the car for 15 days (real sailing time is 2 days). In total it took 4 weeks between our first attempt to place an order for shipment and the car release.
Coastlink works with Golden Sky Logistics in Kuching (Mrs. Alice, +60 16-808 6069). After we had booked the shipment we went to her office to check documents (Carnet). A few days before sailing I brought the car to the port. I drove it into the container myself. It was a 40' high container. The container wasn't sealed in my presence, because the vehicle of a second customer still needed to arrive. Three man of Golden Sky arrived as agreed and secured the car. Alice had to keep my Carnet original. After processing by customs in Sarawak she sent it by courier to Coastlink for processing by customs in Selangor.
Two days after arrival of the vessel in Port Klang I was contacted by Eddie's staff to agree on time and location of the car collection. When we arrived the car was parked in the street in good order with the Carnet inside. Communication with all parties mainly went through WhatsApp, including sending of documents. We paid by bank transfer after departure of the vessel. We paid MYR 4730 for the shipment.
All in all the service provided was reliable and parties in general communicated well. Although much of the process is beyond control of Coastlink and Golden Sky I believe that a certain amount of pushing on my side was helpful to somewhat speed up the process.
Address is 1st floor, 20, Jalan Puteri 2/2, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia.
Thailand to Belgium (September 2022)
For shipment Thailand to Belgium we used again ITS (Switzerland) after good experiences, although they are not the cheapest party. For the export in Thailand ITS partners with VEGA WORLD in Chon Buri.
We had entered Thailand from Laos. At the border with Laos we got a Temporary Import Permit and a Conveyance Document (listing the passengers). We did not have the special permit of the Roads Department (with guide etc.).
After we handed over these documents and signed a couple of other papers VEGA WORLD did all the handling. It took a week in total between delivery of the documents and loading of the container. I drove the vehicle in the container myself (after a lot of discussion). The container was X-rayed and VIN as well as engine number were checked. Inventory was not checked. The vessel ETD changed multiple times in this period. Eventually it departed 9 days after container loading.
Communication with ITS and VEGA WORLD was excellent and mainly happened through email and Line, an equivalent of WhatsApp that is often used in Thailand. Overall the process was smooth. Total shipment costs were € 11,800.
The sailing time between Thailand and Belgium was as scheduled. However, after arrival of the vessel in Antwerp it took nearly two weeks before the vehicle could be collected. The vehicle had gotten a small damage during unloading by the agent. The damage was refunded although we did not have an insurance. The Carnet de Passages was stamped by Belgian Customs at the wrong place: the stamped a new standard sheet instead of the last special sheet.
In total it took 9 days between handing in paperwork in Thailand and container loading and 9.5 weeks between loading in Thailand and unloading in Antwerp.
Ferry sailings from Bandar Abbas and Bandar Lengeh to Sharjah and Dubai, a total of four per week. Information Valfajr.
Saudi Arabia to Sudan (December 2013)
Every day except Friday ferry sailings fromJeddah to Suakin.
Namibia to Uruguay (November 2015)
The shipment of our car from Walvis Bay to Montevideo was our first experience with car shipments. We worked with clearing agent Namibia Shipping & Logistics (NamShip) in Walvis Bay and with Eduardo Kessler in Montevideo. We decided for shipment in a standard 20 ft container. The container was loaded on November 18, 2015 and unloaded on February 11, 2016. The shipping company was Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The container route was:
- Walvis Bay to Cape town, trans-shipment in Cape town
- Cape town to Rotterdam with stop in Las Palmas, trans-shipment in Rotterdam
- Rotterdam to Montevideo with 4 stops in Europe and 3 stops in South America
Costs (in total about € 4075):
- Handling and taxes in Namibia plus the actual shipment: € 2297
- Handling and taxes in Montevideo: USD 2025
We cannot recommend NamShip:
- Namship told and confirmed us that shipment time was 42 days, in reality there were 78 days between driving the car into the container in Namibia and leaving the port gate in Montevideo
- Information provided by Namship about the route, validity requirements of the carnet, inventory list requirements and need of a clearing agent in Montevideo was incorrect, changed at the last minute and then was still incorrect
- It was very hard to get information about vessel names and location from NamShip. Only after the agent in Montevideo had given us internet pointers we were able to follow the whereabouts of the car on a daily basis.
We can recommend Eduardo Kessler:
- All information was timely and correct, we were correctly warned to risks in the release procedure
- The release procedure went smooth. It was evident that Eduardo has excellent contacts with all officials involved
- Eduardo managed to solve an issue caused by incorrect information of NamShip, thus avoiding a delay in the release
When traveling from Brazil to French Guyana it is not possible to cross the Amazone delta over land: you need to travel over water between Belém and Macapá. Smaller vehicles can be transported in a ferry, larger vehicles like ours need to go on a barge. We went with Silnave Shipping Company. We were allowed to stay with the car and traveled between mainly trucks (although we heard later that staying with the car isn't permitted anymore). It was like camping on the barge: we could lift the roof, sleep in our own car and sit outside in front of it. The trip took 36 hours and we paid EUR 540 including meals, shower, toilet. We found the shipment company through the ferry company. Therefore we probably paid too much as we had to deal with two additional middle men. You can find the Silnave shipping dock on iOverlander.
Colombia to Belgium (April 2017)
We requested quotations from 5 companies and got an answer from Enlace Caribe (Cartagena) and from ITS Transport (Switzerland). It appeared that ITS Transport uses Enlace Caribe as its agent in Colombia. In Antwerp they use ACS . Both answered our questions quickly and correctly. We shared a 40 ft container with a Brazilian couple shipping a Landrover. The shipping company was CGM CMA.
Document copies we had to provide:
- Vehicle title;
- Driver's License;
- Owner's passport;
- TIP Colombia (DIAN);
- High level packing list;
- Proof of insurance (European "Green Card").
- Day 1: sign papers at the office of Enlace Caribe and have fingerprints made at the notary;
- Day 4: Deliver the cars at the port in Cartagena. Only drivers were allowed to be present. The total process took about 3 hours, mainly because of waiting for the police;
- Day 9: scheduled day of departure;
- Day 10: real day of departure;
- Day 29: scheduled day of arrival;
- Day 31: collection of cars in Antwerp. This took about an hour. All paperwork had been completed before with scans of documents that we had sent earlier.
- The container was scanned by customs, but was not further inspected. It was opened in our presence. We had to pay the Customs inspection costs; we had been informed before that we would have to pay any Customs costs. We were told that we should have left the cars open and the keys in the car for customs inspection. That hadn't happened.
Costs per vehicle (in total about € 2485):
- Handling in Cartagena and actual transport: COP 5,133,733 (about € 1490);
- Handling in Antwerp: € 875;
- Customs inspection in Antwerp: € 112.50.
All in all we were satisfied with the process and can recommend ITS Transport as well as Enlace Caribe.
Belgium to Australia (July 2018)
General process
Rules and procedures for importing a vehicle in Australia differ per state. We imported our car in Brisbane, Queensland, therefore the experiences described below concern an import in Queensland. The car was shipped in a container from Antwerp to Brisbane with transfer in Singapore. There is one direct weekly sailing between Antwerp and Brisbane, but it was full on our desired shipment week. We used shipping agent ITS (Switzerland), because we had a good experience with them from an earlier shipment. We had to hand over the car on August 3 for departure on August 10 with estimated arrival on September 17. The actual arrival of the vessel was on September 19. We used a Carnet de Passages, issued by ADAC Munich for the import. The CdP had to be available at the moment the car was handed over in Belgium. The total costs (handling on both ends and sailing) were €3950. If additional inspections would be required in Australia this would be charged separately.
Vehicle preparation
Because of bio-hazards and vehicle is supposed to be as clean as new when it is imported. We cleaned the living part of our car (that we just had completely renovated) as well as its contents as well as we could. This included removing any sand and mud from shoes and tools, removing insects and plant material hidden in the roof tent, etc., etc., etc. We also cleaned the front cabin in the same way. As we had to remove major parts of the dashboard, the floor cover as well as the interior door cover to make electrical changes we could do a thorough job. We had an offer from ITS to clean the car with guaranteed release by the Australian authotities for €655. Because we felt this was a high fee we looked for a professional company to clean the exterior, bottom and engine section. We approached at least ten companies around Eindhoven, but most of them had no equipment or experience to clean the bottom properly. These companies are all focussed at cosmetic cleaning, for example to increase the sales value of a second hand car, but not at cleaning for import. They therefore focus on the exterior and the front cabin. We tried the company that cleans milk trucks (Campina), but they clean the car interior only. We then approached companies that do car bottom protection (tectyl) as well under the assumption that they would be able to properly clean the bottom. Unfortunately this was no success. We agreed with one in Geldrop to bring the car on Monday for collection on Thursday. We went there every day to check progress and every time we could easily show that the bottom job wasn't done as well; they didn't have a facility to lift the car. Finally on Thursday we drove to the main outlet of this company in 's Hertogenbosch. They did have a bridge to lift the car, but didn't want to use it for safety reasons. Nevertheless because they were more experienced the final result was a lot better than in Geldrop. The costs of this cleaning were €175. After we drove the car to Antwerp a final light cleaning was be done under responsibility of ITS to remove any dust collected on the way. We also replaced the are filter. We heard that we were lucky, because any vehicle shipped after September 1st from a list of countries including Germany and France (but not The Netherlands and Belgium) would have to be fumigated in Australia.
Import procedure
A nuisance was that ITS for costs reasons had decided to work with Bikes Abroad, a local agent in Melbourne, not in Brisbane. It meant that the CdP had to be sent by courier and couldn't be hand carried by us and of course it made the communication more difficult. We complained about that and we expect that ITS will go for an agent in Brisbane next time.The customs part of the import was straightforward and completely handled by Bikes Abroad. The quarantaine inspection did not go well. The car was released after 3 inspections and two additional cleaning efforts. The main complaint was that grass was found between the radiator and the air conditioning. At one point it looked like the radiator had to be dismounted, but eventually that wasn't necessary. As part of the preparation cleaning it would have been good to remove the radiator. The vessel arrived on Wednesday, customs was cleared on Friday and the first inspection took place on Monday. The second and third inspection took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were told that we were lucky that the inspections could succeed so quickly as the intervals usually are a few days. The depot where the vehicle was delivered also had the facilities for cleaning. Thr carnet had been sent to Customs in Brisbane and would be sent to the depot from there. Our carnet hadn't arrived at the depot from customs when we picked up the car. We collected it two days later. The extra cleaning and inspection costs were AUD 480. This means that the total expenses including leaning in the Netherlands and final cleaning in Antwerp were about the same as full cleaning by ITS would have been. We would have saved 2 days and some stress.
Paperwork in Australia
Requirements differ strongly per state. For example in Western Australia a road worthiness test used to be required. For Queensland you need (1) National car registration document (2) Drivers license; it must be a. international drivers license for a stay of more than 3 months, (3) the CdP and (4) a CTP. The CTP is a compulsory third party liability insurance. You can buy it at many places on the spot from local insurance agents. We paid SunCorp AUD 215 for 6 months. For our second trip we got again 6 months from SunCorp. We paid AUD 198.70. We had serious trouble to explain via email and phone what we needed (make sure you ask for a CTP, not an insurance). We also took a casco insurance with road side assistance from KTA. The total costs are AUD 948. It is the best channel we found if you are not a resident of Australia although you need to have a physical address in Australia. To qualify for the insurance you need to be a member of CMCA (Caravan and Motorhome Club of Australia) for about AUD 75 per year. Furthermore the vehicle needs to be valuated. We did that by means of an internet valuation. You need to fill in a questionnaire about the car and send photos. Costs were AUD 169.
Australia to East Timor (October 2019)
Darwin
Bookings for shipping from Darwin in Australia to Dili in East Timor can be done by ANL and Bolloré. The shipping is always done by ANL. ANL sails with two vessels that are supposed to sail the triangle Darwin-Dili-Singapore in a clockwise rotation. ANL is notoriously unreliable: ETD's typically change, the route may be reversed or Dili may be skipped if they have insufficient freight. The day after we booked and made accommodation and flight arrangements we were informed that ETD was delayed by 3-4 days. We had contact with ANL for the booking as well, but found them not responsive.
At Bolloré we delt with Alzira Lay-Leong ([email protected], +61 8 8935 6701). She was responsive and helpful, but not very accurate. You have to deliver your vehicle for shipment 5 days prior to ETD. We had our Carnet stamped by customs in Darwin City and weighed the vehicle before delivery. We could drive the vehicle into the container ourselves and be present when the container was locked. Vehicle fuel had to be below 1/4, otherwise there were no resctriction. The vehicle was not inspected. We paid about AUD 3,000.
When we went to Customs we didn't have a Bill of Lading yet, but the quotation of Bolloré and an email confirming the shipping date were sufficient. VIN and engine number were checked, vehicle contents were not. The whole procedure was friendly and took about 30 min.
Dili
We dealt primarily with Roberto Monteiro from SDV Logistics/Bolloré. The information we got was confusing. The sequence of steps was as follows:
- Get a copy of the bill of lading (we got it from Bolloré in Darwin). It is released as soon as the vessel is sailing;
- Get Carnet stamped by Customs in the port;
- Wat for the vessel's manifest to be registered. In our case that happened on the day of arrival of the vessel;
- Have a temporary import permit created by Main Customs;
- Get the Delivery Order from Bolloré;
- Wait for the vessel to arrive and the container unloaded from the vessel;
- Have the container contents checked by Customs. No exit note is needed if you enter with a CdP.
Most of Customs isn't working on weekends. Because our vessel was due to be unloaded during the weekend we tried to get an exit note on the Friday before by applying with the Customs director in the port. He had already left for the weekend, so it didn't work for us.
Internal Ferries Indonesia (November 2019-January 2020)
Ferry Kupang/West Timor to Larantuka/Flores (November 2019)
We arrived at 11:00 on Sunday. We were told the ferry to Larantuka would leave at 14:00, but that it was full. We should come back for the Tuesday ferry, tickets for sale on Tuesday from 10:00 onward or wait for standby. We decided to wait and when we talked with the new ticket selling person after a shift change (who spoke some English) he was prepared to sell us a ticket (about IDR 1.500.000 for 2 persons and a campervan). Eventually the ferry left at 19:00. The very dirty ferry had seats, some rows of mattresses and a shop selling almost nothing, but at the terminal food was sold in abundance. We managed to pop up the roof of our car and sleep in it. We probably had the most comfortable accommodation of the entire vessel. Sailing took 13 hours, disembarkation was smooth and quick.
Ferry Labuan Bajo/Flores to Sape/Sumbawa (December 2019)
Tickets to Sape can only be bought on the day of travel. The ticket office opens at 7:00, the ferry leaves at 10:00. A lot of space appeared to be already assigned to trucks, but we made it on the ferry that was completely full. The voyage to Sape took 6.5 hours. We paid INR 1,360,000 for a campervan and 2 persons. Disembarkation was uneventful.
Ferry Poto Tano/Sumbawa to Labuhan/Lombok (December 2019)
Smooth crossing from Sumbawa to Lombok. Ferries are crossing 24/7. We arrived at 10:00, were on the ferry 10:15, sailed 10:45 and arrived 12:00. Fee IDR 485,000 (campervan, 2 adults). Smooth disembarkation.
Ferry Lembar/Lombok to Padangbay/Bali (December 2019)
Ferry to Bali sails hourly 24/7. We arrived at 8:45, went on the boat 9:00 and sailed 10:00. Costs were IDR 928,000 (2 adults, campervan). Sailing should have been 5 hours, but we had to wait for an hour near the port, because a broken ferry was blocking a pier. Disembarkment took some time, because cars had to turn on the ferry.
Ferry Gilimanok/Bali to Ketapang/Java (December 2019)
Ferry to Java. Straightforward process. Sailings continuously 24/7. Fee IDR 162.000 (campervan, 2 adults). Smooth disembarkation. Total crossing time 75 minutes.
Ferry from Smarang/Java to Kumai/Kalimantan (January 2020)
We had bought tickets before using the app of DLU ferry. Be aware that the app is in Indonesian only and that only Indonesian bank accounts can be used for payment, no credit cards; our campervan was vehicle class 4c. Because of these hurdles we visited the DLU office in Surabaya hoping to purchase tickets there, but that was impossible. Online we could buy 3rd class seats only. On board were three classes: regular, airplane economy like chairs (3rd class), beds (just a row of matrasses) and 2nd class: wide chairs which can be used as bed if you are not taller than the average Indonesian. We could easily upgrade to 2nd class on board for IDR 90,000 per person. The fee includes dinner and breakfast. Check-in was smooth, departure was one hour late. One of us slept in our car. We paid IDR 3,608,000 for 2 passengers and a campervan. We arrived from Semarang with a 2.5 hour delay. Disembarkation was smooth, because we were the first to leave the boat. In Semarang we have seen that it easily can take an hour if you are behind the trucks.
Kuching - Malaysia to Port Klang - Malaysia (June 2022)
We used Coastlink ( General Manager Eddie Thong, +60 16-301 8738) for container shipment of our LandCruiser from Kuching to Port Klang. Shipments within Malaysia are terribly inefficient. You need to book the shipment at least 5 days before sailing and the ETD can easily shift by a week. We just missed the closing date of a RoRo and it appeared that the next one would be only 3 weeks later. We therefore decided for a shared container for the same price that eventually went 2 weeks after the RoRo. We have been without the car for 15 days (real sailing time is 2 days). In total it took 4 weeks between our first attempt to place an order for shipment and the car release.
Coastlink works with Golden Sky Logistics in Kuching (Mrs. Alice, +60 16-808 6069). After we had booked the shipment we went to her office to check documents (Carnet). A few days before sailing I brought the car to the port. I drove it into the container myself. It was a 40' high container. The container wasn't sealed in my presence, because the vehicle of a second customer still needed to arrive. Three man of Golden Sky arrived as agreed and secured the car. Alice had to keep my Carnet original. After processing by customs in Sarawak she sent it by courier to Coastlink for processing by customs in Selangor.
Two days after arrival of the vessel in Port Klang I was contacted by Eddie's staff to agree on time and location of the car collection. When we arrived the car was parked in the street in good order with the Carnet inside. Communication with all parties mainly went through WhatsApp, including sending of documents. We paid by bank transfer after departure of the vessel. We paid MYR 4730 for the shipment.
All in all the service provided was reliable and parties in general communicated well. Although much of the process is beyond control of Coastlink and Golden Sky I believe that a certain amount of pushing on my side was helpful to somewhat speed up the process.
Address is 1st floor, 20, Jalan Puteri 2/2, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia.
Thailand to Belgium (September 2022)
For shipment Thailand to Belgium we used again ITS (Switzerland) after good experiences, although they are not the cheapest party. For the export in Thailand ITS partners with VEGA WORLD in Chon Buri.
We had entered Thailand from Laos. At the border with Laos we got a Temporary Import Permit and a Conveyance Document (listing the passengers). We did not have the special permit of the Roads Department (with guide etc.).
After we handed over these documents and signed a couple of other papers VEGA WORLD did all the handling. It took a week in total between delivery of the documents and loading of the container. I drove the vehicle in the container myself (after a lot of discussion). The container was X-rayed and VIN as well as engine number were checked. Inventory was not checked. The vessel ETD changed multiple times in this period. Eventually it departed 9 days after container loading.
Communication with ITS and VEGA WORLD was excellent and mainly happened through email and Line, an equivalent of WhatsApp that is often used in Thailand. Overall the process was smooth. Total shipment costs were € 11,800.
The sailing time between Thailand and Belgium was as scheduled. However, after arrival of the vessel in Antwerp it took nearly two weeks before the vehicle could be collected. The vehicle had gotten a small damage during unloading by the agent. The damage was refunded although we did not have an insurance. The Carnet de Passages was stamped by Belgian Customs at the wrong place: the stamped a new standard sheet instead of the last special sheet.
In total it took 9 days between handing in paperwork in Thailand and container loading and 9.5 weeks between loading in Thailand and unloading in Antwerp.
