SHIPPING YOUR VEHICLE
Shipping your vehicle from Japan is easy.
We use three methods for shipping vehicles:
1. "RoRo"
(Roll On, Roll Off) via Car Carrier Vessels
2. Container shipment
FCL (Full container load, Everything in the container is yours)
LCL (Less than a container load, You are merely sharing container space with
other peoples cargo)
3. Air Freight
(Shipment by Airplane)
***Air Freight is extremely expensive, we only offer this
service for vehicles valued over 10,000,000jpy***
1: Roro shipping
Roro shipping is perhaps the easiest and least expensive method for shipping a
vehicle.
The vehicle is simply driven onto an Car Carrier Vessel and once arrived simply
driven off.
This is the choice shipment method for all new car manufacturers when shipping
vehicles internationally.
When Shipping used vehicles by
Roro neither the carrier nor the vessel shall be responsible for scratches
and/or dents.
In fact it is virtually impossible for us to claim any damage to the vehicle
that may have happened during shipping.
This is a risk for international transport. It is rare to happen but
always a possibility.
In the last 5 years we have only had 3 vehicles
damaged. All 3 vehicles were sports cars with modified suspensions to
lower the vehicle ride height. The front bumper lips on these vehicles had
cracks after delivery. For lowered vehicles we always recommend to have
the suspension raised to eliminate possible damage. Unfortunately these
problems can occur and we want you to understand these possibilities.
Another important item to note is that your vehicle is not a container. The carriers will not allow any additional cargo to be placed inside vehicles for Roro shipping. Only the vehicle itself is allowed to be shipped. There are no exceptions to this rule.
This is a Car Carrier Vessel:
Car Carriers have Huge ramps that are simply lowered down.
This allows teams of drivers to bring anywhere from 3000 to 5000 cars onto the
vessel.
2. Container shipment
Container shipment is especially useful for transporting multiple cars
and or parts.
There are basically 3 sizes of containers:
20 foot
40 foot
40 foot high cube (taller than a standard container)
If you have a vehicle that you need to keep safe we recommend
shipping your vehicle alone in a single 20 foot container.
It is possible to ship up to 6 small cars in a single 40 foot High Cube Container however typically 4 cars of standard size is the maximum.
When loading multiple cars in a container they will need to be lifted and supported in the air. It is dangerous work to have this done and therefore loading fees can also be rather expensive. When we quote for container shipping we only include loading fees and sea freight. Once your container arrives in your country you will also need to pay locally the unloading charges. Please check with your local port authority about this proccess.
Here are a few examples of loaded conatiners.
EXAMPLE 1
40 foot High Cube
You will notice in this first picture the vehicle is merely suspended using wire
rope.
This is not our preferred method, however it is very effective.
This is the other 2 cars in the same container as pictured
above.
EXAMPLE 2
Here is another 40 foot High Cube
This container is also loaded with 4 vehicles, however the
vehicles are suspended on metal frames.
EXAMPLE 3
Here is another 40 foot High Cube
This container is loaded with 3 vehicles and parts
3. Air Freight
Air Freight is obviously the fastest, safest and
most expensive way to ship a vehicle.
We offer this service for any vehicle valued over 10,000,000jpy.
The vehicle is simply driven onto an aircraft and driven off once landed.
Unfortunately we are not allowed to take pictures of this loading and securing
procedure.
The cost of such service is upwards of 1,000,000jpy and most commonly chosen for
vehicles such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley etc...
Shipping Insurance:
Shipping insurance is something we highly
recommend.
Under extreme circumstances it is possible for a ship to sink or an airplane to
crash.
Shipping insurance covers your investment if your vehicle is a complete loss.
Shipping insurance does not cover scratches, dents or theft of parts (shift
knobs, stereos etc...)
Theft is generally only an issue for vehicles shipped by the Roro method.
I have no clue how it is possible for theft to happen but it does. It is
our personal belief that most theft occurs after a vehicle has arrived at the
destination port or during it's travel. It is possible that it could
happen before departure in Japan but it is not something that can be controlled.
Shipping companies will not verify any equipment installed in a used vehicle
prior shipping or post arrival.
We do our best to help counter theft such as removing shift knobs, aftermarket
gauges etc. and mailing them to our customers along with the shipping documents.
I'm sure there are many aspects that may seem scary about
shipping a vehicle but it is very common practice.
We just want you to have a full understanding of what happens or what could
happen when shipping a vehicle.
No sugar coating, just the facts.