Since nobody had any information to help me with bike transport,I thought I should post what I did.Air freight would have been twice as much,so I used the boat.I read posts about big problems when sending and receiving bikes by sea. Extra port charges and other fees being added when trying to get their bikes out of the port.Everything went smooth for me. Other than the $150 escort fee in Norfolk.
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8-28-13
This afternoon I rode the bike to Wallenius Wilhelms staging area in the Liverpool Port. The form I gave them took about 2 minutes to fill out. I gave him £680 and he said good bye. I couldn't believe it was that simple. He didn't even look at the bike. As I was leaving he did ask where it was.
A courtesy van picked me up and took me out of the restricted area.(The same van that lead me in .) Then I walked to a bus stop.
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9-13-13
Yesterday my wife and I drove to Norfolk,Virginia to pickup my bike so I could ride it home and finish my trip.
A little after 8am we went to the shipping address on my papers.At the gate I was told I was at the wrong gate.So they sent me to the North Gate of the Norfolk International Terminal.At that gate I was sent to the Port Police station across the parking lot.They told me what I needed before I could go in the terminal.
I called Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics for 2 release forms I needed.They e-mailed them to the cargo office at the terminal.Then I had to go to the Norfolk Airport Customs department. I had to fill out another form and answer some questions.Then I was given a signed stamped paper to show at the terminal. Before I could take all these forms to the cargo terminal,I had to arrange an escort to take me inside the secure area.My escort cost $150 for about 1 hour of his time and less than 1 mile of driving.If I had known I needed an escort before I got there,I might have found someone more reasonable.In Liverpool it was a free ride in a terminal van.
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