Shipments done by Travellers

After checking a few companies in Kathmandu we found Mr. Ram (London Cargo) to offer the cheapest price. We couldn't crate by dimensions, so we were charged by weight of the crates (bikes including the crates). The details:

Cargo-charge/kg (Thaicargo): 1.14$
[Honda Transalp 600 + BMW 1150 GS crated = 671kg)
2 plywood-crates: 150$
Dangerous goods fee for two bikes: 80$
Service charge: 150$

Mr. Ram and his young assistant Amir are very helpful guys. They are very straightforward about dealing with customers, we could trust them at all times.
Three days before the actual shipment took place, Mr. Ram's carpenter measured the bikes at our hotel in order to get busy building the crates. Make sure the measuring is being done carefully, leaving a little extra here and there. Just on the day before the bikes are flown out to Bangkok, we spent about 5 hours (!) at Kathmandu airport preparing the bikes (removing front wheels etc.) and crating them, the London Cargo-crew was present along the process. Be prepared for breathtaking action at the very end since Kathmandu cargo department is not equipped with a forklift... yes, you are going to lift the crates on to the scale manually, with the help of some fellows hanging around and eventually being paid by Mr. Ram.
Later on we picked up the essential bill of landing (""BL"", to be presented at the customs department at Bangkok airport) at Mr. Ram's office in Thamel. His assistant Amir took care of all the paperwork involved, we didn't have to worry at all.

A couple of days later we opened the crates at Bangkok airport, our bikes in perfect shape. London Cargo has provided a very customer friendly service, we definitely would choose them again. Finally - be prepared to drink some tea at Mr. Ram's office while haggling over prices;-)

Thinking of moving your bike between New Zealand and Australia? Thinking of shipping your bike? Be very careful.

I have just been scammed by Jas Jenner and Austin International. Hopefully you will learn from my mistake and avoid these clowns before they get a chance to scam you as well.

I recently moved to the Melbourne CBD and decided to bring my Ducati MH900e over to Australia. Jas Jenner was recommended to me so I gave them a call. They are an agent for Austin International (and Australian carrier). Jas Jenner gave me a door-to-depot seafreight shipping quote of $755 NZD plus Australian clearances ($671 AUD at the time of this report).

The final cost into Australia was $2,018.25 AUD !!!

So there is no confusion, this is purely the cost for freight and freight services. It does not include any import taxes or duties (which I expected and budgeted for separately).

So how does a quote of $671 AUD become a final cost of $2,018.25? According to my Australian freight agent, they have done it by padding out the freight/cartage rates and the freight service charges on their invoices. Here is a breakdown of the fees which were invoiced to me:

INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT = $559.62 AUD
ORIGIN CHARGES = $138.75 AUD
PORT CHARGES = $231.25 AUD
SECURITY HANDLING SURCHARGE = $2.61 AUD
GOVT CHARGES = $64.00 AUD
GST ON TAXABLE IMPORTS = $1,330.73 AUD
GST ON FREIGHT SERVICES = $23.13 AUD

QUARANTINE INSPECTION = $120.00 AUD
CUSTOMS CLEARANCE & BROKERAGE FEE = $140.00 AUD
CMR PROCESSING FEE = $35.00 AUD
DOCUMENT RETENTION FEE = $$7.50 AUD
POSTAGE & PETTIES = $6.50 AUD
QUARANTINE COMPLIANCE &/OR ATTENDANCE FEE = $40.00 AUD
CARTAGE TO STORE = $65.00 AUD
FUEL LEVY = $9.10 AUD
CARTAGE TO CLIENT = $195.00 AUD
FUEL LEVY = $27.30 AUD
QUARANTINE ATTENDANCE = $80.00 AUD
STORAGE (10 DAYS) = $85.00 AUD
AQIS - GOVT CHARGES = $108.00 AUD

GRAND TOTAL = $3,349.53 AUD (of which $1,330.73 was the GST on the import)

I crated the bike on my own crate and the bike got to Melbourne safely. I have no complaint with the freighting.

What I do have a complaint with is the extravagant and unjustifiable fees that Jas Jenner and Austin International have charged for the shipment.

To put the shipping cost in perspective, I can ship an entire an entire 20 foot container from Auckland to Melbourne for the same price they have charged me to ship a 230kg crated motorcycle.

To put things bluntly, these companies are thieves. I would strongly caution any other biker against using them for vehicle transport.

For more information about this shipment, please refer to the following discussion thread on the kiwibiker forums:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=84951

Darwin side.
Find on the website the next shipping to Timor/Singapore. Visit Perkins office, give your details and they produre an offer ( crated or non crated)and tell you when to deliver the bike. Arrange for that same day the customs inspection for your carnet.(customsoffice 5 min walk from Perkins) We decided not to crate. We Delivered the bike, not crated, and had to ride her to the warehouse. Paid the money and received the bill of lading later by internet after the departure of the vessel.
Singapore side.
Recieved by internet ETA of the vessel. Went to Perkins office in Singapore and paid the agent dues. Forgot how much but it was not a big deal.
Went with de delivery order to port and found the bike in good order.At the gate it took 30 min for the customs to find out what to do with the carnet and after police inspection I was free to ride.
Before that we visited the Singapore automobileclub for an international circulationpermit and an insurance (took an insurance for singapore and Malaysia, one month for 267 Sing dollar) and the Landtransport authority for an autopasscard for 10 Sing dollar. Even then you are not allowed to ride in Singaporecity without an electronic device (automatic tollpaying when passing gantries) We stayed last day outside the electronic area in a hotel close to port (Harbourville hotel) and rode straight to the border.
On the border nobody knew how to deal with the carnet until they found an immigrationofficer who knew how to acces the customscomputer.
Use bordercrossing ""Second link"" wich is not so busy and much safer than Johore.

Lots of taxirides on one day but happily the taxi's are very cheap.

Although it is very expensive, it is the only option we found of shipping bikes from israel to europe. Although they say it is a ferry, the ship is not, it is more of a RO-RO that gives you some cabin space and some meals together with the crew. We had no problems, but the trip was rather long, two days and some 8 hours waiting outside athens port to be docked. Worth knowing it is an option though.

We rode the 600 kms from Kharbarovsk to Vanino, about 300kms of good dirt, the rest good sealed roads. It was a bit of a process buying a ticket to Homsck on Sakhalin Island. Go to the Ferry counter in the main Train Station in Vanino to get a ticket for a person, cost is $38, they will send you to annother office a few km away get a ticket for your bike, cost is $54. It will take about 3 or 4 hours in total. There are several ferries each day and the crossing takes about 20 hours. Pay the extra for a cabin on the main deck as those below are smelly and covered in grafity.
It is about 80kms from Cholmsk to Korsakov. In summer there are about 9 sailings to Wakkanai in Japan from Korsakov each month, dropping down to about 2 or 3 towards winter. The crossing takes 6 hours and it is s good, modern and clean Japanese owned Ferry.The company is Heart Land Ferry, their phone numbers are 011-233-8010 or 0162-23-3780 and e-mail is www.heartlandferry.jp
We used the agent to purchase our tickets and arrange customs. It is the best way to do it and all went smoothly. His office is at the wharf and for your GPS is at N 46 degrees 37.154 minutes, E 142 degrees 46.092 minutes. A passenger ticket is $277, a bike ticket is $85 and agents fees of $16. It also costs $11 to enter the wharf. The crew on the ferry give you a pressure water cleaner to wash your bikes, a requirement for Japan.
Japanese customs went smoothly. You have to have insurance in Japan, we purchesed it at the terminal in Wakkanai, $60 for three months. There is a Bikers Rest in Wakkanai, $6 per night. GPS is N 45 degrees 24.017 minuted E 141 degrees E 40.627. You will need a Carnet for Japan and we had been told we have to apply to JAF (Japanese Automobile Federation) for a certificate of Authentication of Carnet. Some of us did this and some did not. It was not needed and was a waste of time for those ofus that did apply for it.
Vanino to Wakkanai via Sakhalin worked out about $180 cheaper than the ferry from Vladivostok to Honshu and is much more interesting.