Shipping out of India right now...
 

Hello

I am crazy enough to ship out of india (yes I have read the horror stories).. I am in Kolkata now and shipping to NZ. I've contacted about 30 odd shipping agencies and had about 5 vague quotes back now.

If anyone has shipped out, please can you give me info on procedures, detailed billing info- so fees you have had to pay, if you have had to pay backsheesh/bribes... etc etc.. Doesn't matter if it was from a different port, but it will give me an idea!


Any info will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

Hi Fern,
Glad you've made it safely to Kolkata :)
Hope you get the shipping sorted out - perhaps I'll see you in NZ next year!
Elaine / Elle

Have you looked into flying your bike? I know it sounds expensive but it is popular and I believe a few people have done it from Kolkata if not to New Zealand.

I wish I had the money for flying the bike. If I did I would.

By sea out of India... and you want to save money. That could prove out to be a tall order. Sorry if I sound pessimistic, but you only need a couple of guys in that logistics chain, who think you´re a walking ATM, and you´re not gonna save a whole lot compared to an air shipment. Ok, in the end there´s no guarantee, that the same thing cannot happen, when using airfreight, it´s just that combination (sea shipping + ports + India), that could make the probability especially high, I think.

I sent my bike by air out of Chennai (to Bangkok) five years ago, and that was a lot of work to get it done, the Indian end I mean. Bangkok was easy. Back then, I also asked quotes for sea shipment, but they were just about the same as air (about 600 euros, and this was what I actually paid, too)... and they had some sort of “slow-down strikes” going on at Chennai port, heaven knows how many weeks or months it would have taken to get the bike transported by sea. So those reasons made the decision VERY easy for me! To NZ by sea, on paper it should be a little cheaper than by air.... but especially by sea, it´ll be very hard to tell, how well those quotes are gonna hold, how many “hidden extras” there will be, how long exactly it will take, and what the costs at the receiving end will be (NZ is probably a FAR smaller worry than India, though!)

yep, quite aware of the pitfalls, I worked in shipping in China. India I know is another ball game. A polish couple shipped their bikes from here a couple of years ago so I know its possible.

If it was easy everyone would be doing it. And I can't magic extra airfreight money from thin air. Shipping quotes are coming in at £500 to £1000. Airfreight is £2000.

But is that what you´re gonna pay in reality?? I don´t know the answer to that, but I´d be a bit worried, if I was in India. Also with seafreight, the costs at the receiving end could easily be bigger. Ports are not so well-suited for handling single packages, they´re made to move huge volumes of packages.

Using seafreight, waiting a long time for the bike to arrive, and still ending up paying nearly as much as airfreight would not be nice?

Actually would be interesting to hear, how it will all work out for you. I´m sure it is do-able by air or by sea, the unknowns are how much hassle, and how much money.

I don't have time to ride the bike when I get to NZ, I hope to be working two jobs.

Freight forwarders send random small shipments by LCL all the time. It is common practice. What the freight forwarders don't like are people sending one off shipments that has no potential for more custom, hence why i'm fronting it through my ex employers who send multiple containers, LCLs and airfreight each week. The freight forwarders also don't like to have to explain all the terminology and foibles of each port or countries process. As a new company it takes months and months to get a good rappore with a freight forwarder. What Kolkata is lacking are freight forwarders who have dealt with transporting the odd motorbike.

I've had some FF'ders flatly refuse to take on a personal shipment, when I re-email with my work email its all smiles and the quotation process proceeds, their sales pitch starts.

If I thought aspects of overlanding were going to be too difficult I would have stayed at home, as suggested by some other neigh-sayers of doom.

Hi Fern, How did it go with shipping your bike to New Zealand? I am also looking for a shipper to send a motorbike from India to New Zealand, from any port in India for that matter.

Do let me know if you have any recommendations please.

Ranjan

I have done the shipment to germany
 

its easy to do, but needs some paperwork.
i am experienced enough to get wat it needs as i have shipped two bikes to germany

if u want my help u can mail me at amitbhp@gmail.com
i m not online always in this site.
happy travelling

If you decide to ship by sea remember to consider the destination charges in NZ as they could be a quite astonishing amount of money...

If you want to try to ship by air ask directely at the cargo village at the airport, it is cheaper to go directly to the airline and there is always a way to get the Dangerous Good Certification even without an agent (at first they will say No, but then you know how India works... if you insist long enough they'll change teir mind and let you do it...)

When you'll get the bike in NZ please come back and tell us how it went...
Good Luck :)

I’ve just spent nearly three weeks – running between Mumbai --> New Delhi – trying to air-freight my bike to Dubai, UAE. I spoke to and negotiated with numerous Indian freight forwarders, all of which promised the Earth, but all of them, without exception, led me down a blind alley. Bloody Hopeless!

Now I’m back in Kathmandu, Nepal! 1,000 km from New Delhi .. in the wrong direction!! :cursing:

This afternoon I went the freight forwarders shortly after arrival here in Kathmandu. This is the new Nepali deal:

1. Bike will be cleaned tomorrow at 9:00am
2. Bike will then be taken to KTM airport at 10:30am
3. Bike will then be crated - a 2-3 hour job. Customs clearance during the afternoon.
4. Bike will be air-freighted to Dubai (via Bangkok) on Tuesday-3rd.
5. Bike - plus me - will arrive in Dubai UAE on Wednesday-4th (Thursday-5th at the very latest.)

Why couldn't it all have been that simple in India?

I’ll Never Do It Again – acronym = INDIA!

Ho Hum .. :frown:
.

Can you tell me the cost please? Good job though:)

Who are you asking Overland15?

Me? .. or a previous poster?
.
If your question is directed at me, then the airfreight cost was 137,000 NRP.
That's approx US$1,450 (GB£870).

Cheers

Keith

Hi Keith
4 of us,Aussies, are in India at the moment having visa problems with Pakistan. The air freight solution you figured out looks pretty attractive. Did it all go as smoothly as planned? Which agency did you use in Kathmandu?
Enjoy the ongoing ride!
Cheers,
John

Hi Keith
4 of us,Aussies, are in India at the moment having visa problems with Pakistan. The air freight solution you figured out looks pretty attractive. Did it all go as smoothly as planned? Which agency did you use in Kathmandu?
Enjoy the ongoing ride!
Cheers,
John

G'day John

No mate, it didn't go smoothly. A week later and I'm still waiting, here in the UAE, for my bike to turn up.

Cost-wise, nothing has changed. BUT as far as timing is concerned rely on nothing you are told or read in the subcontinent .. and expect a sh!tload of frustration.

Said bike is supposed to turn-up tomorrow morning at DXB. I am hopeful that it will, but not holding my breath.

:frown:

All the best

Keith

PS - send me a PM or an email if you need any more info.

We tried to ship Delhi to Europe last year. Flying turned out to be either impossible or too expensive, depending on the agent, so we ended up shipping by sea. Lalli Sign, a well known name on this forum, was the only one capable and willing to help us out. I wish we'd gone there first instead of wasting two weeks trying to get a quote out of other agents.

Price: about 450 EUR per bike. Flying would have been at least three times that and more strict wrt safety. Port charges etc in Antwerp were about the same amount, so total cost just under 1000 EUR.

Read our story in this thread.

Good luck!

Shipping from India
 

I shipped a bike from Mumbai to the UK in April 2014.
I have done a full report in the Shipping section.... The company i used was SECO.. I would say they were very good.... Very hassle free, easy.... They can ship anywhere in the world.
Feel free to message me

David

We got lucky and actually had a pretty smooth (albeit pricey) experience air-freighting our bike from Delhi to Bishkek. Here is my post with more details:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...687#post471666

Thanks Keith.how did it Go? We are hoping to go to Dubai next year as I have a brother there.
Pakistan is the main problem it seems when that route is the preferred route. At least it was cheaper than a China Crossing!

It all worked out well in the end. Not without a few hiccups along the way though. I gave-up on shipping from India - all too frustrating for me - and hightailed it back to Kathmandu instead. Freighting from KTM wasn't without hassle either, but my bike got to Dubai (via Istanbul) eventually.

If I had to do it all again then the first shipping agent I would approach in India would be the New Delhi-based guys that Jordan (momo034) recommends above. It worked well for him. See his post #12 on this thread: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...687#post471666

Was it all worth it?

Yep! The UAE exceeded my expectations - it's a wonderful country. Dubai was simply dazzling. The Emeratis were all kind and very generous to me.

The overnight ferries across the Strait of Hormuz to southern Iran are plentiful and not overly costly. Three per week sail from Sharjah to Bandar Abbas (Sun, Tue & Thu). Two per week (Mon & Wed) go from Sharjah to Bandar Lengeh.

Then there are the ferries that sail to Iran from Dubai, which I didn't bother to investigate in detail (there was no need to.)

The 3,000 km ride up through Iran was all too wonderful for words. Really, I can't think of the right words to describe it all. Iranians are extraordinarily hospitable people. It was a humbling experience.

Go for it all .. if you can.

Keith

Thanks sounds awesome..and Then?