Posted on 02/15/2016 1:37:09 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
We are shipping 2 cars and some household goods to Spain in a 40 foot container. Have any of you ever shipped goods in this manner and, if you did, did you purchase maritime insurance? From reading the contract it sounds like the shipping company is responsible for the goods until they are loaded then the maritime insurance covers if goods get damaged in a storm or the ship sinks. I don't hear about many container ships sinking. Is it worth it to buy this insurance? Are there companies besides the one we are using that offer this type of insurance? We would at least like to compare rates if we have to buy it. Thanks.
I knew someone who shipped all his stuff to France. Turns out some family of gypsies stowed away inside the container for 6 weeks. Destroyed pretty much everything.
I’m sure yours will be fine though.
I work for ARC on a US flagged car carrier (MV Honor). Every now and then we go to Rhoda. Normally we are on a liner service that does northern Europe, specifically Bremerhaven, Antwerp, and Southampton. The parent company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics can get you a quote. W&W has ships going all over the place and can get your stuff there. They can load small containers or boxed home goods along with your POV’s.
One, containing an important US missile, was misdelivered to CUBA in 2014, and the latest is that the missile is on its way back here or to its original intended recipient.
Shipped a car to Japan and back but the military did that for us..
They used a container on a ship...
We had to get our car specially cleaned before we took it to the dock in San Francisco..we had to find someone who did that but there was a list as many troops took cars with them in those days (1970s)
as I recall it had to be shipped at least 2 weeks before we flew out to our assignments...though both my husband and I were in the USAF we could only ship one car for free...
They would only ship newish cars in good condition (another thing we had to do, get a special inspection...)
I know it was very involved ...
The fam and I did a two year expat stint in China awhile back (2007 - 2009). We sold our cars before leaving as we were discouraged from driving over there. Liability risk was too great. I haven’t been to Spain but have been to Italy, Greece, other European countries and I don’t think I would drive there either. After getting settled in if you feel the urge and just gotta drive buy an old beater to get around. While in China I bought a scooter to get about on. Was a lot of fun and only experienced near-death experiences once or twice per day, lol 😳....
Very interesting info.
Of course your steering wheel was on the “wrong” side over there too.
The car was steam cleaned a special process that wasn’t cheap ...we got reimbursed for everything they required us to do to the car...plus miles to the dock from Travis AFB etc..
“I know it was very involved ...”
You should try shipping a dog to China. Now that’s involved....
I don't know the exact number, but your figure sounds right. At least one of them was at least one container was full of those little yellow rubber duckies. They are still out there.
No while we were there they still drove on the right in Okinawa, it was after that they changed to be like the mainland...
we did buy a Daihatsu van with the steering wheel on the right while we were there for my husband to drive...
almost brand new cost us $600 we couldn’t bring it back though and sold it for a profit...
shipping the car to Japan was more involved than getting ourselves there...
LOL
International shipping without an agent, aka freight forwarder or consolidator, would be like going to court without a lawyer.
You should try shipping a dog to China. Now that’s involvedYea but probably easier than shipping products for sale there...unlike theirs to here.
GO TRUMP!
I can ask but we only deliver to a warehouse. The people at the shipping company load it on to the container.
We are using a company called Schumacher. They have offices at all of the major ports.
Don't use a container for those.
Find a shipping line that does RORO (roll on, roll off) as the cars are loaded in a ferry-like ship and strapped to the decks.
With containers, you may end up having all sorts of stuff packed poorly around your automobiles that may damage them.
I'll be sending an antique car to England soon, and RORO is the most reliable way to go.
Be sure to ask, and if possible, make a few soft-blocks that will not cause rubbing damage to your tires.
Cheers and good luck.
If you are moving to Spain then what you might need is Refugee insurance.
You need insurance from beginning to end. No exceptions whatsoever. Nobody knows that a problem exists until the container is opened. By that time 4 different companies have handled it and 4 weeks have passed. Who is to blame? This can be a nightmare. Things really move around in those containers as well no matter how well you pack them. This includes cars. Shipping companies are the scourge of the earth. Trust no one. Am I clear!
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