I am about to start a RTW trip on Nov 04, 2010. I have my carnet and I am shipping the bike into Mumbai port, I have been told that I need a shipping agent at the port, is this true? If I have a carnet why do I need an agent or can I produce the carnet to customs and ride off into the sunset...
Thanks
Mark

Sorry no info regards shipping into Mumbai, but I´ve shipped out of Chennai by air, and I´d describe the whole process (especially dealing with the different authorities and companies involved) as quite complicated, almost nerve-wrecking at times.

"Mumbai & seaport" does sound like a possible nightmare to me, so I´d advice to get in touch with someone, who regularly handles freight over there. And there are probably also people here, who have shipped into or out of Mumbai, so hopefully they´ll be able to help you.

Hi Buzzy

It seems to me that Pecha has told you what every other traveller there has found.

I havent done this Mumbai thing, but every account I've ever read says it's a real horror story. Can I suggest that you research a bit here? It really is something else to ship into India.

Please tell us what you did and tell others of your experience? You could be lucky and have no probs.

It's not that bad as it seems once you container or crate is located. My experience was bad because the port was a mess last month after several accidents. You are probably gonna ship to Nhava Sheva which is the largest port of india 30 kilometers outside of Mumbai. I did that a month ago.
I would recommend taking an agent, because it is hard to know the steps and who to speak to. Also tons of ridiculous papers to prepare, which I have no idea how someone could do it himself. I found the overall procedure costly but India import is like that.
I would advise to use an agent. I had a good experience with Aubrey D’Souza (Contact info at the end of this post).
Agent fee was $200 for clearing the 20ft container containing a land cruiser with a carnet. The man was also working on clearing bikes. He was good about answering the phone and emails. Mention my name to him, we had a good relationship.
I got tons of quotes from other people, and he was the cheapest.
You will just need to go to the port one time when you will collect the vehicle. As a special instruction to give to the shipping company, say that you want your bike to be sent to Speedy, which is where the "Accompanied luggage" should arrive.

J P INTERNATIONAL
VAJU KOTAK MARG,
NEXT TO DEVEN MOTORS,
BALLARD ESTATE, MUMBAI 400 001.
TEL: 022 66333261/66333263
MOBILE: 9821240603
E-MAIL: jpintl [AT] rediffmail.com

If you look in the archives, you will also find one guy who gives the procedure for clearing yourself. It is few years old.

BTW Buzzy, where are you sending from??

I mean, from another side of the planet, seafreight may be the cheaper option, but for everything else, it´s probably a good idea to get quotes by air as well.

Like when we send across the Bay of Bengal, almost the same price by sea to Port Klang (near KL) or by plane to KL! Chennai seaport had some sort of strike going on, and nobody knew if it´ll take 2 or 5 weeks to handle it. By air the delays are usually hours, or just a few days. And airports tend to handle stuff much faster than harbours.