Shipping Cars Overseas
We ship vehicles both ways: inside containers and on RO-RO vessels. Which one is right for you depends on the vehicle, the routing, and what you want to happen to it in between.
Container or RO-RO
| Option | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Sole-use container | A 20 ft or 40 ft container to yourself. The vehicle is secured inside, the doors are sealed at loading and the seal stays on until customs or you break it. | Vehicles you want enclosed and untouched; shipments where belongings travel with the car and both countries allow it. |
| Shared container | Several vehicles from different customers are loaded into one container, racked or on frames, and separated again at destination. The cost of the box is split across the vehicles in it. | Single cars where enclosure matters but a whole container is more space than you need. The container sails when the consolidation closes, so timing is less in your hands. |
| RO-RO | The vehicle is driven aboard and lashed to the deck. No container involved. | Larger vehicles and machinery, and routes with a regular RO-RO service. Nothing may be left inside the vehicle. |
Documents
The requirements are set by the exporting country and the importing country, and they do not match each other. The general shape is:
- proof of ownership — the title, registration document or local equivalent, in the name of the exporter;
- a bill of sale or commercial invoice showing the value;
- photo identification or passport of the owner, plus a power of attorney if somebody else is acting on their behalf;
- the VIN, which must physically match the paperwork. A mismatch stops the shipment at the port of loading, not at the destination;
- an export declaration at origin.
Exports from the United States, specifically: US Customs and Border Protection requires the vehicle’s title — the original document or a certified copy — together with the required documentation to be delivered to CBP at the port of export at least 72 hours before the vehicle is loaded (19 CFR 192.2). That is a United States export rule and nothing more. It does not apply to shipments leaving any other country. Every other jurisdiction sets its own deadline and its own document list; if you are exporting from somewhere else, ask us or a local customs broker what actually applies there.
At the destination
Import rules vary sharply from country to country: maximum vehicle age, restrictions on left- or right-hand drive, emissions and safety standards, compulsory roadworthiness inspection on arrival, and duties or taxes calculated either on the declared value or on an official valuation table. Some of these do not make a car more expensive to import — they make it impossible. Check the destination country’s rules before you book the ocean freight. We can tell you what we normally see on a route, but the binding answer comes from that country’s customs authority or a broker there.
Preparing the vehicle
- Wash it, including the underbody and wheel arches. Biosecurity inspection on arrival is standard in a number of countries, and a dirty vehicle gets cleaned at your expense or turned around.
- Keep the fuel level low. Carriers set a limit and terminals enforce it.
- Disable the alarm and hand over a set of keys.
- Photograph the vehicle from every angle before handover, including the odometer and any existing damage. That record is what any subsequent claim rests on.
- Leave nothing loose inside unless it has been agreed and declared in advance. On RO-RO it is not permitted at all.
Cars that do not run
A non-running vehicle can still ship, but it is normally a container job: it is winched into the box rather than driven in. Tell us up front whether it runs, steers and brakes — it changes the equipment, the handling at both terminals and the cost basis, and it is not something to disclose on loading day.
Several vehicles at once
Dealers and traders normally consolidate: multiple vehicles into one 40 ft container, racked or on frames, moving as a single booking under one bill of lading. Send us the list — make, model, year and dimensions for each — and we will tell you how they fit and how many boxes it takes.
What to send us for a quote
- make, model and year of each vehicle;
- whether it runs, steers and brakes;
- dimensions and weight, if the vehicle is modified, unusually large or not a standard passenger car;
- origin city or port and destination country and port;
- whether you want a container, RO-RO, or a comparison of both;
- the date the vehicle will be ready.
Related services
- RO-RO shipping — the method itself, and what it does and does not accept.
- Furniture and household goods by sea — if the car is moving because you are.
- Out of gauge and project cargo — for vehicles and machinery past container dimensions.
