Ship your private vehicle
Guidelines and tips for shipping your private car, motor home, bike or yacht.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean is an industrial carrier focused on delivering global shipping and logistics solutions for manufacturers of cars, trucks, heavy equipment and specialised cargo. We do not have the resources or processes in place to deal with private persons directly. Nevertheless, we understand private person may want to ship their own cars, motor homes, motor bikes and yachts.
Therefore please refer to the Customer Guide on shipping used vehicles, motorhomes and yachts together with the below guidelines which provide some basic information needed to facilitate problem free transactions.
Shipping your own car, motor home, motor bike or yacht across the ocean is complex and you as shipper have some legal obligations to fulfill. Therefore you are required , as a private individual to contact a freight forwarding company who can provide you a full range of services including inland transportation, preparation of shipping and export documents, consolidate the total cost, booking cargo space, arrange cargo insurance, and filing of insurance claims. At the same time, the freight forwarder’s agent at destination will be able to help you with the collection of your property at destination as well as all documentation that is needed to have it released without any delays.
Service product
You will find Information about our services under Trade maps. You may at any time look them up to find out whether our service product meets your needs.
Schedules
Our Schedules tool provide access to updated vessel schedule information and allows you to find a suitable sailing. Space on our vessels is not guaranteed until a firm booking has been placed by your freight forwarder.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean does not accept bookings from private individuals directly.
In order to comply with security regulations, we require all shipping instructions to be completed no later than three days prior to the subject vessel's arrival at port of loading.
Your freight forwarder will be able to assist you with the documents required to clear your car, motor home, motor bike or yacht through customs at origin and at destination.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean offers all customers to track the status of their shipment through the Track & Trace application free of charge. You will need to contact your forwarder to receive the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean booking or Bill of Lading number to use this application.
Shortly after we have loaded your cargo and you have settled freight and charges we will issue a Sea Waybill serving as the contract of carriage and receipt of the cargo. We prefer to forward the Sea Waybill via e-mail since it offers you the advantage of paperless release of cargo at destination. More details regarding transport documentation are found under Basic transport documentation.
The Bill of Lading terms and conditions apply to all shipments handled by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean. The terms and conditions are printed on the reverse side of the Bill of Lading. They can also be viewed and printed from here.
We strongly recommend that you buy a Marine Insurance policy. The liability of the carrier is limited by international regulations and do not necessarily reflect the full value of a vehicle. See chapter 10 of the Bill of Lading terms and conditions.
International freight forwarders will be able to guide you through the options to have your cargo correctly insured against possible damage.
Ocean freight
The ocean freight is calculated based either on the cubic measurement or the weight of the cargo (whichever is greater), or per unit (e.g. cars) and varies depending on the ports and nature of the cargo. Freight and charges for personal owned vehicles shall be prepaid and are due for payment once the cargo is loaded.
Local charges
The load and discharge ports normally charge for their services in local currency directly to the shipper or through Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean depending on port practice. These charges depend on port tariff and vary between ports. Payment term is "cash on delivery" and local charges collected through Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean will appear on our documents.
Before you go to the discharge port to collect your unit, your freight forwarder should check with the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean office or agent at destination for applicable local fees, acceptable forms of payment, and required documentation.
'Additional' charges
Some additional charges do apply, and the booking office will inform which charges apply and how much they amount to. The most common charges are Bunker Adjustment Factor and Sulphur Regulation Charge. Additional charges also apply for issuing Bills of Lading, pre-filing of security information to Customs Authorities (where applicable) and corrections after the Seaway bill has been issued.
The guidelines captured below are general and local variations exist. In any case, please contact your local forwarder at destination who will provide you with all information and procedures to prepare the pick-up of your unit at destination.
We recommend that the person picking up the vehicle bring a spare key.
Schedule
You find the latest updates on departure and arrival times of our vessels in our Schedules tool.
Notice of Arrival (NOA)
Your forwarder’s agent at destination will receive a notification of the arrival approximately four days prior arrival of the vessel. We recommend forwarders to supply us with an email address to which we can forward such notice. Although the estimated time of arrival (ETA) is stated on the NOA you should check the vessel's ETA in our Schedules tool as changes do occur.
Payment of local charges
The Notice of Arrival will show due charges to Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean . Local payment practices vary from port to port. Therefore, please talk to your local freight forwarder at destination about additional charges that may apply at the port or terminal.
Delivery order
Once all ocean freight and charges have been settled, we will issue a delivery order, which evidences that you have the right to take delivery of the cargo. You also need to check what additional documents are required for customs clearance and taking delivery of the cargo. Therefore, please contact your local freight forwarder to guide you through these requirements and ensure a smooth delivery process.
Examine cargo for damage
We recommend that you inspect the condition of the vehicle before taking formal delivery. If you find any damage, please record it on the receipt or dock tally before signing and returning it to the delivery clerk.
If you notice damage after delivery you must notify us in writing within 3 days of delivery. See Cargo Damages procedure below for how to expedite processing of cargo claims.
FAQ's regarding cargo damage
If you do not have a cargo insurance a formal claim must be submitted to Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean. Please keep in mind that all claims and/or notices of loss or damage must be filed within the period prescribed by the bill of lading or sea way bill and/or applicable law.
Take the following steps:
1. Compile the following documents:
- The statement of claims in detail.
- General statement of the damage together with the amount being claimed, name of vessel and voyage number.
- Bill of lading or booking number, vessel name and voyage number
- Survey report with original photographs or other documents to show the extent of the damage (written in English if possible or free translations to English will be accepted) or any others including photos.
- Itemized repair invoice or itemized estimate of repair costs.
- Signed dock receipt from port of loading and signed delivery record from port of discharge.
- All correspondence with WW Ocean or other parties regarding the damage.
- Any other documentation that may assist our examination of your claim.
- Your address, telephone numbers and e-mail address
- Subrogation form required if claimant is not cargo owner under WW Ocean B/L.
- Any other documents to be requested, case by case.
2. Send the above mentioned documents by postal or courier mail directly to:
Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Attn. Global Claims Department – Karen Umaña
300 Interpace Parkway
Building A,4th Floor
Parsippany NJ 07054 USA
If you have any questions please contact the Global Claims Team
By email: Claims＠walwil.com
By phone: 1-201 505-4002 (USA)
If your shipment was covered by cargo insurance we advise you to submit this matter directly to your insurance company. They will settle the claim with you in accordance with the terms of your insurance policy.
Carrier´s liability, if applicable, will be determined in accordance with the terms and conditions of the relevant bill of lading and applicable law.
If you have any questions please contact the Global Claims Team via Email, or as per below.
Phone:
1-201 505-4002 (USA)
Mailing address:
Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Attn. Global Claims Department – Karen Umaña
300 Interpace Parkway
Building A,4th Floor
Parsippany NJ 07054 USA
Damage reporting (if you have a Marine Insurance policy)
You are encouraged to settle the claim with your cargo insurance in the first instance, who will settle it in accordance with your policy. Your freight forwarder should assist you with this process.
Damage reporting (if you do not have a Marine Insurance policy)
Your freight forwarder can file a claim directly with Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean . All claims and/or notices of loss or damage must be filed within the period prescribed by the Bill of Lading or Sea Waybill and/or applicable law.
Settlement
Your freight forwarder will receive a claims reference number once the claim has been recorded and settlement is normally offered within a few weeks.