I showed up at ferry Port Klang at 8 this morning as arranged only to be told that their loading ramp was broken and it would take two weeks to get fixed. They did say that they could load on the 16th when there was a high tide and easier to load.

So as of today there seems to be no options that will get me to Java by the 11th.
Bob

Hey Bento,

Did you find anything else to go on yet ?

I’m trying to go the other way Indonesia > Malaysia in the next 10 days.

Will let you know what I find.

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Timoto
The only option I was finding was to go via Borneo.
They should have the ferry ramp fixed by now and the people ferry might take you across.

For all the rest that are making plans, check the following link.
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nati...roro-services/

By the end of the year there may be a roro to Sumatra.

Bob

A recent report for those who are looking for answers.

In Dumai I played on the customs' office guitars whilst they went to great lengths looking for solutions. At one point they even drove me around town to meet different agents in the hope of resolving the case.

1. There is no passenger ferry service from Dumai accepting motorcycles.
2. The RO-RO "onion" boat is not running.
3. There is no LCL container option.
4. I also called ahead to Medan to verify that there was also no LCL from there at the current time either.

So the next day I drove along a mostly good road to Tanjung Balai.

The next day I wove through the mayhem of the tiny port to discover, "Yes !", the ferry is accepting motorcycles. But it's a small passenger ferry now, and so they lift the bike onto the roof of the ferry.

The ferry service office said the price would be 1500RM (5,500,000IDP) about 360USD. Expensive, but apparently the only option.

They would not give me a receipt. Obviously there is some skimming involved. In that case I refused to pay until the bike, my luggage and me were on the boat. They accepted this arrangement after consulting with a man on the phone.

Unfortunately that man on the phone is, Adek Soto, who I have to say is the only 2 faced person I met in 6 months of being in Indonesia. At first he was very pleasant, but later became unnecessarily aggressive and rude. I guess he found me too demanding, which I am.

Everyone else, coast guard, baggage handlers and other locals were all really helpful.

A lot of guys were involved in pushing the bike up some steps, across a wooden plank and finally onto the roof of the boat. They performed the task in a very organised and experienced fashion. Image attached to this post.

Once everything was on board, Adek came to get his money, which we both counted whilst I was seated next to the other passengers. Not the ideal situation, but it worked.

The trip itself took about 4 hours during which time the passengers are supplied lunch and plenty of drinking water, which made up for the captain's obsession with Muay Thai boxing movies, of which we were forced to endure 2 and half movies on the subject, the most amusing of which was Jean-Claude Van Damme's classic "Kickboxer".

At the other end in Port Klang the bike was off the boat via a ramp before I could get off the boat myself. There was NO damage to the bike.

Customs and immigration fast tracked me and generally treated me like royalty, all in the course of asking me a hundred questions about overland lifestyle and scanning every single baggage item I had on the bike. Such a nice introduction to Malaysia.

Overall a good experience save for the cost and poor character of the agent.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Great news Timoto, thanks for sharing.

I did come across this newspaper article in one of the many overlander Facebook groups. Aparently there seems to be plans to start operating a roroferry between Melakka and Dumai (Malaysia to Sumatra Indonesia)
I dont know the content of the article as dont read much of the “bahasa” but it seems it is scheduled to start operating before new year.

Indonesia dan Malaysia Jajaki Pelayaran Kapal Roro Rute Dumai-Malaka - Tribunnews.com

I really hope this is reality and that we can have a roroferry option between Malaysia and Indonesia. Would be very conveniant for those travelling with a campervan or similar.

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Google translate gives https://translate.google.com.au/tran...aka&edit-text=

Looks like planned for early 2019 if they get all the paperwork in place

Hmmm, I'm not so sure, if anything it's all moving in the opposite direction.

In my conversations with the customs officers, they said that port activity had been slowing, and in the case of the crossing of Tanjung Balai > Port Klang they downsized the ferry used due to lack of demand.

But here's hoping they will still give it a try and overlanders make good use of it to boost the chances of it staying that way.

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Currently in Dumai, and can confirm everything timoto has reported, plus the fact that no one seems to think the Dumai/Malaysia RoRo will come into effect any time soon :/

I have heard that I could get a RoRo from Mengkapan -> Batam and then potentially get across to Singapore, but it all sounds rather long and uncertain.

Thanks for the recent info timoto, I will head to Tanjung Balai tomorrow and bite the cost bullet.

@eurobob

Yes going via Singapore opens up a huge can of bureaucratic red worms, so don't go that way.

Actually the fish boat agent I met in Dumai did mention one other possibility, but I was way too lazy for the potential pitfalls, but could be a great adventure to tell.

Just next to Dumai is an island, Rupat Island. A small boat would take you and bike to the island. You would then drive to get to the north east of the island where you would wait for one particular fish transport to arrive, and hope that it was only half full of cargo. Then you could put your bike in there and they would take your bike to a fishing port called Muar. However, you would not be able to go with the bike and instead have to find a way back to Dumai, to then catch a passenger ferry to Muar, which is now operational.

Incidentally, the cost of renting one of these small fish transports Dumai > Muar would be about 9M IDR (600USD), I'm guessing the price could come down a bit, so if you were in a group I'm guessing you could get about 4-6 big bikes on there, maybe more. And that would mean not having to do this weird island hop or pay 360USD per bike for the Tanjung Balai > Port Klang run.

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Hi @eurobob

Would be great to hear how it goes, I am a couple of months behind you and need to figure this out as well. Heading North West from Australia

David

Hi Timoto
If you are still in Malaysia please could you do me a favour? We are shipping our car to Malaysia next week and need to know if we can get Autogas in Malaysia. Next time you pick up fuel could you ask if garages do it in Malaysia please. We drive with diesel but have a small Autogas tank for LPG for cooking. I can’t find out if it’s available.
Many thanks
Suede

OK I'll ask about the gas, but not sure when I'll be in a station next.

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So if you are arriving at Port Klang and you'd like to be legal on the roads in Malaysia, you will discover that there is no service at the port to help you with that.

First you need to get insurance. But most insurers will not take the risk of an overseas vehicle. I was advised to go to Liberty Insurance who will consult with their High Risk Pool department here: https://goo.gl/maps/pqCZcjQv2dN2

Go to the ground floor, get a ticket, and show them your documents. There are at least 2 people there that know exactly what to do with a carnet etc. You'll fill in a form and they will take copies of all your docs. They say they will get back to you in 1-2 hours, but in my case called me back the next day. My quote of 3 months third party for a big bike was 36USD.

Then you need to take the new insurance policy and all your other docs AND your vehicle to the Ministry of Transportation 45km south, here:
https://goo.gl/maps/LeV17Tk9Gh92

Go to floor 3, ding the bell at the counter of this ultra quiet office and ask for Mr Jaafar. He confirmed that any vehicle arriving from a the shipping ports or airport had to come to his department. He will inspect the vehicle (check the chassis and engine numbers) and produce the ICP document, it's free.

Everyone I dealt with has been extremely polite and helpful.

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Has anyone done this lately?
Is this service still available?

I am planning to be in Indonesia and need to transport myself and my bike to somewhere in Malaysia.

Just in the planning stage now, will be passing this point mid December this year.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

After not being much possibilities for a (Covid-19) while there is now a traveller who found a possibility for shipping a motorbike Indonesia to Malaysia. The opposite way should be possible too I guess, but that has yet to be confirmed.
The shipping is from Teluk Nibung (near Tanjung Balai) in Sumatra - Indonesia to

Port Klang in Malaysia. We dont know all the details yet - but here is the travellers post on the Indonesia overland forum on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Indo...6050877434350/

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