Ferry Port Said (Egypt) to Iskenderum (Turkey) FULL REVIEW

[Mehmet Zeki Avar]

@achim
agreement will last at the end of this year and current egypt government says they will not extend it..TR.government supported the elected former egypt government so friendships are over for now and both side embassies are back in their home countries.

@labarynth

As far as I know, line between Haifa and İskenderun is always used by TR.Trucks for export goods.But I know they seldom get other vehicles and passengers on board.

I guess best is to get in touch with the company herself.Below are contact details at both sides.

Hope helps..


İSKENDERUN LİMANI GEMİ ACENTESİ (CATONI ACENTE)
Adres İskenderun Limanı Yolcu Salonu
Tel +90 (326) 614 67 41
+90 (534) 887 44 65
E-mail iskenderunacente@unroro.com.tr
Yetkili Orhan Gençsoy

TIRAN SHIPPING GEMİ ACENTESİ
Adres 44 Jaffa Road, P.O.B. 33196
Haifa 31331, Israel
Tel +(972) 4 8509000
Fax +(972) 4 8556888
Web Tiran
mailto: tiran_hfa@tiran.co.il

In addition, Turkon company accepts full container shipments to east med. ports from/to different Turkish seaside towns......LCW. not possible.

TurkonLine

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR TURKISH CUSTOMS PURPOSES TO ENTER/EXIT TURKEY BY A VEHICLE VIA A SEA OR AIRPORT..
At Turkey side, an application letter (in Turkish) to the port customs management requesting exit/enter stamp on the passport page is ok. with some added documents....

To Exit....: copies of passport pages and vehicle registration.
To Enter..: in addition to above,copies of turkish traffic insurance/or green card covering Turkey and bill of loading.

Paperwork is very easy here..dont trust the wolves at the gates.
Keep much water and food (some books also) in your bags for waitings in the red zone areas..

[roro]

Any news about the stopping of this ferry line between Egypt and Turkey?
RR.

[kidavi]

The std roro (cenk-y) is no longer operational. We are now in Iskenderun, they cancelled the line just as we arrived. We are trying our best with other options. Once we have information we will share it.
Greets kidavi.org

[becauseadventure]

Can anyone offer an update on this? Esp. with regards to passengers on ship too..

[kidavi]

Hi, We made it 2 weeks ago with the new ferry; here is our story :

There is a roro ship called Ulusoy 5 operated by Hatay roro. The main office of Hatay Roro is located in Antakya but they just got a new office in Iskenderun close to the harbour. You have to contact Cigdem Sahin, who is the operation manager, for the sail schedule and a booking. She is really friendly and speaks good English. Her phone number is +90 533 351 97 18 and email: operation@hatayroroline.com

The vessel, mainly used by Turkish truck drivers, has only 12 cabins. We didn’t get one but maybe if you get in contact with them in advance you have a chance.
The vessel goes approximately once a week between Iskenderun and Port Said and last 24hours.

The day the ferry departs, you’ll have to go to the port to drive your vehicle on board. If you don’t want to wait, you can leave your keys and they’ll load it for you.

In the Limakport, you’ll have to enter at Gate C (N36 35.889 / E36 11.760). At the entrance, you have to show your passport and tell them you’re going on the Hatay Roro Ship. Don’t go to Gate A or you’ll have to deal directly with the Turkish customs.

They’re supposed to start loading in the beginning of the afternoon but it appears that everything always happens later than scheduled.
We were around 12h in the parking. The ferry was docked but still fully loaded. At 13h, the people from Hatay Roro came to see us, we had to give our passport and they checked licence plates and chassis number of every vehicle. One man was in charge for our custom clearance, I don’t remember his name. They left with our documents, telling us that it would be done by 15h. Around 15h30, somebody who appeared to be the customs chief, came to check another time the VIN and had a quick look inside our vehicle. At 16h, this man came back with our documents, the custom job was finished. We then paid him the custom fee in cash.

Then, people from Hatay Roro came to announce that due to a major unloading delay, the departure has been postponed to the next day. We had to leave to go to Adana to take a flight, leaving us with no other choice than handing our keys over to them. They assured us it would be all right and that we could unload our truck ourselves if we were on time in Port Said. We left the keys to the man who was in charge of our customs. Then we we’re taken to their new office, where we paid in cash and received an official receipt in return.
The boat left the next day and arrived in Port Saïd 24h hours later.

Once in Egypt, we used Eslam as a fixer. His email: eslam_elshamaa@windowslive.com and phone: 00201289220002. He is a young guy, not always on time, but did his job well. It took us 3 days to get out of Port Saïd. He also helped us with our transfer from Cairo airport to Port Saïd. Contact him in advance if you need him, he always answers emails.
The morning the boat arrived, his young brother came to pick us up at our hotel. We went for a short stop at the immigration office to get a new stamp, and then we went to the Police station to get permission to enter the Port. This took about 3 hours. Then Eslam drove us to the boat where they were preparing it to be unloaded (14h30). Our truck was at the entrance, so we were first to exit. Somebody came to tell me to move it. The keys were in the ignition; I started it and drove off. A friend of Eslam showed me where I had to park in the harbour. I parked it, locked the doors and kept the keys with me. Then, I came back to the ferry and waited the whole afternoon as the Land Rover that had been shipped with us was one of the last vehicles to get out (19h30). Eslam picked us up when everything was done. In the meantime, some police came to ask us « a present ». We refused as we left this for our fixer.

The next day, we’ve been taken to the shipping agent (Interway Egypt) to sign and receive our shipping order.

The day after, Eslam took us to get the number plates and we went back in the port. After a quick check, exiting the port (chassis number, carnet de passage and Egyptian license plates), we were free (16h00)!
The three days spent in Port Saïd were mainly waiting time. Eslam took care of everything and the only thing you have to do is to be there to sign, show your passport and give your carnet. Be prepared though, when they say they’ll be there in 10mn, you should expect at least one hour and when you have appointment at 9h00, they’ll probably show up at 10h30! But in the end, they made a good job and everything went really smooth.

I think it’s best to make sure you arrive in advance in Port Said to pick up your vehicle yourself, and make clear with your fixer that you want to drive it off yourself. I think it’s trust worth to leave your key to the Turkish people of Hatay Roro but I wouldn’t say the same on the Egyptian side. As a precaution, try to remove all valued things and lock the other ones away. Our vehicle and the Land Rover have been loaded in Iskenderun without us and everything went good, no scratches on the bodywork and nothing disappeared inside.

The prices: (All are given per vehicle)
Turkey:
-Shipping cost: Motorcycle 200Usd / Land Rover 500Usd / Truck (2.50m x 7m /9 tonnes) 800Usd
-Customs fee: 75Usd (Custom man)
Egypt:
-Egyptian visa: 25Usd (At the airport)
-Custom clearance/Insurance/ Egyptian plates/ Shipping order/ Parking/... : 500Usd (Eslam)

We agreed with Eslam that this price would be including everything and would be with no extra cost. We gave him 350Usd when the vehicles were about to be unloaded and 150Usd when everything was sorted. He came to pick us up and brought us back at our hotel anytime it was needed.
We had to organise and book our flights ourselves (ticket around 290€/person). As there’s no direct flight to Cairo, we had to take a plane from Adana to Istanbul, and transfer there to Cairo. You can also depart from Hatay Airport. We got a 30 days visa for Egypt arriving in Cairo airport.

[garnaro]

thanks for this post - very helpful! We're currently in Luxor looking to ship our bike the other direction, but this sounds like a very expensive option if we have to fly separately!

[becauseadventure]

That's great info, THANKS!
I am wondering if the $$ you gave your fixer Eslam (the 500 USD) included his fixing fees AND the customs, plates, shipping, etc.. or of he just charges $500 in addition to the customs, plates, etc?

[kidavi]

Originally Posted by becauseadventure

That's great info, THANKS!
I am wondering if the $$ you gave your fixer Eslam (the 500 USD) included his fixing fees AND the customs, plates, shipping, etc.. or of he just charges $500 in addition to the customs, plates, etc?

We gave Eslam 500usd and it was all icluded:
Eslam fee, Custom clearance/Insurance/ Egyptian plates/ Shipping order/ Parking...

I would like also to add this info on the ferry review:

The manager from hatay roro confirmed to us that they have an agreement with Egyptians authorities to operate the link Iskenderun/ Port Saïd till end of April 2015. No garantee that it will be reconducted.

[becauseadventure]

We've been trying desperately to get onto a boat with our vehicle, but it seems like NO ONE is taking passengers! We don't want to fly, but at this rate looks like we'll have to if we want to get there in the next couple weeks..
We're trying now to ship from Athens and fly from there so we don't need to cross the whole of Turkey..
If anyone has a line on good companies out of Athens and into Egypt (probably Alexandria) and any fixers (we're also keeping in touch with Eslam if we go through Port Said), please let us know!
Cheers