June 2009
Shipping from Argentina to the US
La Tortuga Comes Home To the USA!
Boy did we ever have an easy and cost effective experience this time. For just about the same cost and a whole lot less hassle than when we shipped from Panama to Colombia, we moved La Tortuga all the way from Buenos Aires to Jacksonville, Florida. Anyone who has shipped a vehicle knows that it isn’t always this easy. Shipping a vehicle anywhere can be an exercise in frustration to test the stress management abilities of the stoutest soul. But not this time, it truly could not have been easier.
The Process:
Our research resulted in receiving quotes from five sources shipping from three different countries in addition to correspondence exchanged with several others. Most of this is done online of course, but we also had references acquired from other travelers. In that the vast majority of travelers we met in South America were shipping between europe and SA, our ability to benefit from their experiences was limited. We did, however, have information and contacts from a few travelers who had shipped between SA and the US.
In the end, we decided to ship on K-Line from Buenos Aires (actually Zaraté, just upriver from BA) and are we ever glad that we did. The people at K-Line were absolutely wonderful, both in the US and in Buenos Aires, and were happy to work with us directly without requiring a shipping broker. In this instance, this saved us a lot of money! Note: While we were able to do this in 2009, it is almost certainly no longer possible, and given the ever increasing controls placed on vehicle shipments, probably not wise for you to attempt.
Almost all of our email correspondence was with K-Line’s offices in Richmond, Virginia, so language was never an issue - a big help - and their agents in Buenos Aires were also extremely helpful and spoke enough english to make us always feel comfortable. At our request they even had someone present when we dropped off our vehicle at the port. They had told us that this was not necessary as the procedure was very simple, but complied with our request nonetheless. In the end, the process of handling everything in Zaraté was so easy I couldn’t actually believe it after our previous experience in Panama. Zaraté is a clean, beautiful, modern port built to receive new cars, trucks, farm equipment and other vehicles from around the world. The port is entirely paved, with chain link fencing, good lighting, excellent security and millions of dollars worth of new cars all around. As a result, our vehicle did not stand out as might have in other port facilities. It is precisely the receiving of all those new vehicles that makes it a great port for travelers. All those big modern car carrier vessels head out after off loading hundreds of cars with lots of room to spare. It was perfect.
Picking up our vehicle in Jacksonville was also easy; except for someone who was away for the day and some miscommunication from a customs official, we could have completed the process in a couple of hours. As it was it took a day and a half, but certainly could not be described as difficult in any way; much to our surprise, US Customs did not even look inside our vehicle. K-Line’s terminal in Jacksonville was quite small and low key, and the guys there were terrific. When we first presented ourselves in the office, the fellow said “Oh, the turtle.” and we knew we were in good hands.
The Details:
Cost: $2,500 US dollars including port costs at both ends. To our surprise, our only upfront cost was for port charges at Zaraté; the majority of funds just had to be paid to K-Line in the US before we could pick up the vehicle.
Time frame: We dropped the truck off just three days before the sailing date from BA, and picked it up five weeks later in Florida.
K-Line Contacts: We dealt with several delightful and helpful folks at K-Line office in Richmond, VA. A good person to start with would be Allison Fields who can be reached at allison.fields@us.kline.com. Original contact can of course be made via the K Line website at www.kline.com. In Argentina, our contact was Gabriella Fernandez at Capricorn Argentina. She can be reached at operaciones@capri-arg.com.ar.
Other Contacts: We also either received quotes or solicited quotes from the following:
Closing Thoughts:
The only shipping lines we were able to identify offering Ro/Ro service from Buenos Aires were K-Line and Willenius-Wilhelmsen. Both are excellent choices. In this situation, K-Line worked directly with us while Wilhelmsen required the use of a broker. While we certainly are not opposed to utilizing a broker, the quotes we received from the above sources were as much as three times higher than the one directly from K-Line. It seems that these things change all the time, and from other ports, other shipping lines will be available. Friends who sailed just a couple of months after us from Santos in Brazil got a better rate going through Wilhelmsen than K-Line, and shipped to Galveston, a port that was not available from either line two months earlier. Arranging for shipping is just something that requires lots of research at the specific time when you are traveling. Both lines would only guarantee a quoted rate and sailing date for thirty days, and in this case, between these ports, booking early was not necessary.