Shipments done by Travellers

Having used Qantas to get from Australia to New Zealand, the process was so simple I'd thought I'd use them again.

Maybe a little more costly but pretty hassle free, If I could have gone without the bike for a long time I may have shipped by sea, but time is of the essence.

You can see the simple process on the blog link.

I went to train station and found my way to where they load luggage onto trains. After some calls they told me to follow and they showed me to the transportation company I used. They said it was impossible to get bike on same train as passengers... Not sure but this transportation company worked out well for me.

Coordinates to transportation company in Omsk:

N 54.93899

E 73.37038

I payed almost 3 500 rubles and I just left the bike as it was (they didnt check fuel but I said I had little). They crated it and I picked it up at an address in St P that they gave me. Since they took my bike they also assigned a guy to drive me to train station and get a ticket for me to St Petersburg. Then he even drove me to my hotel after. Very nice.

I got there on the 7th. They wanted bike immediately to put on train in depo on 8th. Train left Omsk 8th and arrived Moscow 11th. 12th Sunday so no work. Night of 13th arrive St P. Morning 14th I could pick it up.

Total 1 week.

They said they could ship all over Russia. Not just this route.

Very well handled process from Yuri and Svetlana. There was also a French family with a 12 tonne camper van who went to Korea, dealt with by Links, Ltd at the same time.

I met a cyclist in the hostel and I'll detail his costs too, along with those of the camper.

This is the sequence of events.

I went to their office Monday morning, hoping to get onto the ferry on Wednesday. No problems with that.

On Tuesday I arrived at their office, with the bike, at 09.30, as requested. I followed them to the port, as did the French camper.

The vehicles were put into a secure compound to be loaded onto the boat later that evening. At this point it was necessary to sort out what you wanted to take from/leave with the vehicle as access is generally not available after that.

Into the terminal now to go to the freight office where they dealt with the paperwork. They need the Carnet de Passage (CDP) to fax a copy to the Japanese Automobile Federation. Their role will be to validate the Carnet once you get there. I paid them the $500 freight charge at this point. You will also need to pay for two day's storage and the loading charge. This will be paid in Rubles and in cash, approx $40.

Next we went to the customs office where the customs document given to me upon entry into Russia was handed over and dealt with.

I was then dropped back to the terminal where I bought my personal ferry ticket. This cost me $176, which included a 50% discount because I was the rider/driver of a vehicle that was on the ferry. I believe that only the driver/rider gets this discount. When I actually boarded the ferry there was a boarding fee of RU560 ($14) to pay.

Finally I paid Links Ltd their $150. I paid dollars, they would take rubles, but only cash. They would have been happy to take me from the terminal to somewhere in the city if I had asked.

So, to summarise my costs for one bike and one rider: Freight $500; Storage/loading/boarding charge $54; Ticket $176; Links Ltd $150.

The whole process was smooth and easy and was handled faultlessly by Yuri and Svetlana. It took until about 1pm but would obviously take longer for bigger groups.

Once in Japan, this is what happened.

I was met off the ferry by Tatiana, who works for DBS Ferries. I was with another biker who had come from Korea. We completed some paperwork relating to road insurance and then went to the nearby town of Matsue, which is where the nearest JAF office lies. Leaving about 11.45, we went in a car with a couple of DBS employees but that cost us 7,000 yen (3,500 each). It can easily be done by train as the JAF office is near the station.

JAF authenticated the carnets for free and if you're a member of your country's Automobile Club then you can get some freebies from them, such as maps.

On the way back to the port we called in at the customs office where the carnets were recorded and stamped. I'm assuming that if we had gone to Matsue under our own steam DBS would still have taken us to customs. After that we were back to the DBS office and waited a short while for customs to release our bikes. We paid Tatiana the fee of Yen 9,160 (cash), about $90, and were free to ride away. DBS have a tame insurance agent who will come to the port with an insurance certificate, created from the details that Tatiana will take from you when you first arrive. This is optional. Customs do not ask to see insurance or driving licence before releasing the vehicle. My companion couldn't get insurance at the port because he had a Mongolian registered bike, but this didn't affect the CDP. We were all done and dusted by about 15.30.

The French camper went to Korea and it cost them $1,000 for freight. Other charges at Vlad were higher too.

The cyclist took his bike on board the ferry with him, where it spent the journey in a storage area. It cost him $70.

One thing to note. If you want to go to Korea you must have an International Driving Permit (IDP). The ferry companies won't even load your vehicle without one.

The ferry is OK. Clean and comfortable. Travel 2nd class rather than economy and you'll get a bed in an 8 person cabin.  Economy gets you a sleeping mat on the floor of a room with 16 people in it. There is a bar where you can also get food too. They will not let you eat your own food in there and although there are some tables and chairs dotted around the boat, there aren't many. They serve dinner and breakfast in the restaurant, $10 and $7 respectively. There is no wi-fi on board.

The leg to Korea takes 22 hours (14.00 to 10.00, plus two hours because the clocks go back). You have to disembark, go through immigration and customs, then re-embark about 6 hours later.  There is good wi-fi in the Korean terminal. The leg to Japan takes 15 hours (18.00 to 09.00).

I think that's about it.

Every aspect of the shipment worked out really well...couldn't recommend it enough.  Check the blog (http://apatonamotorcycle.com/2014/11/05/10302014-483-days42829-miles/) for in depth details, costs, and contact info.

Also, the ferry my bike was on went Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne-Auckland, so shipping from Syndey or Melbourne should be possible as well.

If I remember right it takes around two weeks. There are weekly boats, but the broker in NY has to fill a whole container and after that the customs have it for at least another day lets say two. If the boat just left, another week comes on top ... .  Interfracht will give you all necessary information where and how to bring your bike, it is a little outside in Bayonne, New Jersey, where all the ports are, but actually just half hour ride with no traffic from Manhattan, with traffic 2 hours. (dont forget to bring the document of the broker, which Interfracht send you via e-mail!) Better keep your original registration, it might take time to get it back in Bremerhaven.

Luggage allowed!!! I left a lot on my bike, and could have left even more on the bike. No problems with lost or damaged. 

Pick up in Bremerhaven is fairly easy, they do most for you, you just have to ride through the custmos which is quick procedure there. There in the north of Germany you are within a couple of hours in other cities and a couple of days all over Europe.

If it happens that you talk to Britta or Ricarda, please say hello from Thomas the German Rider with his website about the presents. It probably doesnt make it cheaper for any of us the next time, but works for good connections and one or the other favor for us.

Interfracht does also RoRo, for example Japan-USA. See also other post Yokohama - Tacoma USA I did with Interfracht.

For more details dont hesitata to contact me: thom...@thomaslehmen.de

Ride safe, Thomas