Shipping bike India -> UK

[apapadop]

Dear all

Where's all the shipping info?

I tried the shipping database, the BETA shipping database, searched HU, rummaged through this thread, and I still can't find any relatively recent (i.e. less than 3 years old) reports on recommended shipping agents.

I plan to ship (by airfreight) my bike back to the UK from South India in less than two months' time, so if you have any pointers/information/tips, please do share.

Thanks

Alexandros

[pecha72]

We airlifted our Vstrom from Chennai to Bangkok 2 years ago, and used exactly the same freight agent as this guy, who has this great website:

India to Malaysia Shipping

...so not surprisingly we had very similar experiences regards the freighting as he did (the airlines involved were a bit different, though).

It is a lot of work (especially when doing it in India!) but it can be done. If this company is still operating, I would think they could offer shipping to Europe, too.

They said it´d be possible to ship by sea from Chennai as well, but I havent done that.

[apapadop]

Thanks for the reply pecha72, it's a good reference and makes me relax a little bit to know what will be required (certificate of non-objection etc).

I wonder if/why one needs an agent to do this - would it be unrealistic to just walk into the airport's cargo area and talk to airline people directly? I think involving too many people in this entails risks.

Cheers

Alexandros

[GSPeter]

Shipping agent near Panjim, Goa.
Last year I used Mathew Dias of Lynn Packer and Movers to send the Geezer back to Oslo. His paperwork, and customs connections, were impeccable – he came well recomended. These formalities are often a source of delay, and extra expense, if your man is not experienced.
However, it is best you crate the bike yourself, or at least supervise the job. His people are not good on bikes, to get the front mudguard off they broke the brakeline. Unbelievable. The ”crate” they built out of scrapwood had no structural strength, and was enormous, but I shipped by boat. There was some problem with corrosion, deck cargo on a submarine? There were a lot of extra charges, most of which were dropped, one by one, when I complained, at the Norwegian end, this is less of a factor when air-frieghting.
Mathew Dias 09321241212 and lynnlogistics-at-vsnl.net
I have just read your ”blog”, well done, you have a sharp eye, it was a fascinating read.
Safe travels,
Peter, in Oslo

[pecha72]

Originally Posted by apapadop

would it be unrealistic to just walk into the airport's cargo area and talk to airline people directly? I think involving too many people in this entails risks.

You can try, but it´s likely they will assign you a cargo agent anyway... and I think the Dangerous Goods paper, that your bike needs to get airborne, has to be done by someone, who´s got the certificate to issue it. So shipping by air - the short answer is you probably cannot do it 100% yourself. We even had a separate customs agent! Plus we spent a nightmarish 10-12 hour day at the Chennai airport cargo side waiting for all clearance procedures to be completed.

It all did seem quite complicated, even though most people spoke English... but on the other hand, it was the first time I´ve ever shipped my bike, and later on in Indonesia, when I shipped it again, I had a much better idea of what the hell was going on - even though much less English was spoken!!

[apapadop]

Thought I'd post a little update, since I'm stuck in Mumbai waiting anyhow... *grumble*

After talking with 5-6 different freight forwarders, shipping agents, packers, shipping companies, customs experts etc I have established the following, all from the Mumbai, India point of view.

1. Airfreight is EXTREMELY expensive. I've been consistently quoted prices close to USD 3,000 to send my bike from Mumbai to Athens or London. There are also fun regulations like "you need to certify that all ENGINE OIL has been drained from the bike" - PAH! Of course no petrol whatsoever in the tank (they don't care how you get petrol in a bottle at the other end) and battery disconnected and poles isolated.

2. Seafreight seems more reasonable. The cost of everything (packing, insurance, port taxes, handling fees, customs clearance, transportation to/from port, loading, the transportation itself) seems to float around USD 900.

In light of the above, and given that this is the end of my trip and I am not sending the bike somewhere where I will need it pronto to resume traveling, I go with sea shipment hands down.

Will let you know about more details as they come in.

Alexandros


PS: There is an interesting option on the table for people who might want to benefit from the low cost of sea shipment but still have some reliability when it comes to delivery times - TNT has a weekly shipment from Mumbai to Tilbury Port (right next to London) which takes 21 days, at a quite reasonable cost.

[GSPeter]

Hi Apapadop, be aware that the handling agent at the end of the sea voyage is not bound by any agreement you made in India. It is more expensive to get your bike on land, through customs and out of the warehouse in our part of the world than it is to ship halfway round the world.
The MTA handling agents wanted, in Norwegian kroner, which are about 10 to the pound and 8,50 to the Euro
THC (Terminal Handling Charge) 970,-
LCL service charge (Less Container Charge) 226,-
Goodscharge 100,-
ISPS(Int.Surcharge Port Security) 100,-
Far East Additional 485,-
Handling Fee 595,-
Delivery 1500,-
This gives a total of 3976,- to which comes VAT at 375,-, so there is an additional Nok 4350,- to get your bike back. There were even more charges like Suez Canal Surcharge and Stowage which they dropped when I got angry. Please bear this in mind when you are working out your costs.
Make sure you leave India after your bike has been shipped, the paperwork in India must be in order, otherwise nothing happens, and your bike stays collecting warehouse fees.
I have also heard that shipping by air from Nepal is cheaper than other places, but that is a long way from Mumbai. I think you have to use an agent, he knows what to do, and which palms need greasing.
Safe travels,
Peter, in Oslo