Shipping a car from Panama to Ecuador
Trip Start
Mar 31, 2006
1
12
37
Trip End
Mar 31, 2007
Guayaquil,
Ecuador
Sunday, June 18, 2006
This is really for other car travelers and everything is quoted in US$.
We shipped our Toyota forerunner in a container from Colon, Panama to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Our first choice was ro-ro (roll-on, roll-off on a car carrier from Japan) with NYK who drop off cars in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Columbia and Ecuador. However the Costa Rica port of Puerto Caldera is unreliable particularly during the rainy season and particularly on a weekend, and so we were told yes we had a spot but Japan may decide not to call in to Puerto Caldera on the way south but rather on the return trip. This uncertainty combined with an increase in cost via this method from $50 per cubic metre to $65 per cubic metre plus an additional $70, made us decide to go the container route once we had received a guarantee that the car would indeed be on the sailing we wanted (initially it was "maybe" but when I asked what I had to do to get a guarantee I was told they would speak to the owner.....and 20 minutes later the owner said "yes"). FYI the Costa Rica port is to be privatized later this year and they believe this will improve congestion. NYK contact numbers are Milton Madriz (an incredibly helpful man who also speaks English), tel 506-296-8480; email mmadriz@barloventocr.com.
SO we went with Inter-Ocean (having got several quotes) who sail from Florida to Colon (Panama), Columbia, Ecuador and Peru, every 2 weeks. Contact names and numbers are Marie Carmen in Panama City, tel 507-6614-0471; fax 507-433-8541; Benilda in Colon office tel 507-433-8530, email flete@shipsagent.com.
Comment: you have to have lots of patience and stamina and to be fit (see Ecuador comments later) to get through the bureaucracy and to race around under a time constraint in order to get all necessary papers!!!!!
Overall cost was $905 shipping, $322 in preparation/documents/customs in Panama, $146 for unloading container in Ecuador and $290 for the documention etc. Add to this $750 for 2 1-way airfares from panama city to Quito and you have a total cost of around $2,500 1-way.
Preparing to leave Panama City:
The fact that Inter-Ocean sails from Colon which is on the Carribean side of the canal (didn't find anyone who sailed from the Pacific end) means the cost of the canal is in there and also Colon is a very dangerous place (read the guide books and you'll be shaking in your boots...we were!). We got our quotes using a company called Grupo Kam as a broker. Heidy Kam is the contact in panama City tel 507-236-00181 or 507-661-40071 and email . They also chaperoned us through the documentation/police/customs stuff....cost was $206 for this but without fluent Spanish I doubt you could do it yourself....and even then?? They also took pity on us (I don't think anyone is very used to people shipping a car...everyone seemed a bit uncertain about what forms etc needed to be completed!!) and we were able to follow senor Kam and his driver from Panama City to Colon and they found us a local fellow to take us through the whole process (obviously an ex-port worker as he knew his way around as well as knowing everyone...cost $10, cheap at the price!) and also took us to the ship's offices (this is not normally included in the price, they were just being incredibly kind).
Step 1 - Ensure you get a guaranteed sailing (we met a couple who waited 6 weeks for their vehicle to come from Colon to Guayaquil and the trip only takes 4-5 days!). Fax copies of passport, international driving license, car ownership papers (our Canadian insurance papers worked) to shipping office and they will issue a Bill of Lading with details of ship and sailing date etc which is required for the next step
Step 2 - Since car has to be put into the container at least 1 day before sailing you have to get to Panama City 3 days before sailing in order to get documentation (customs and police can run out of paper, computers not working, person who needs to sign is off sick etc). Grupo Kam drove around with us to get all of this and again I doubt we could have done it alone without fluent Spanish. Cost was $206. First to a police station in an appallingly poor part of town (we were told to watch our car even though it was outside a police station!). They then examine the car to check VIN and engine numbers etc and you then wait for ever whilst they type something up. The document you get is the departure (salida) document for your car. Then a policeman accompanies you to the Judicial office where your papers are submitted and you then wait until a very official document is presented to you - Policia Tecnica Judicial document. Then on to customs who are in a totally different area and here you it stamped in your passport that you will be leaving Panama without your car...very important stamp.
Documents you provide - passport, int d/l, car ownership etc plus tourist card plus "vehiculo extranjero - entrada" that you got at the border when you entered Panama.
Documents you receive - "vehiculo extranjero - entrada, and the policia tecnica judicial document.
Step 3 - drive car to Colon and go straight to shipping office (Inter-Ocean - its past the port gates and to the left - almost next door to Panama bank and round the corner to Citibank). Either get shipping company to find you someone to accompany you in the port or ask Grupo Kam, unless your Spanish is excellent, but even then......? Our fellow, who was clearly an ex-port employee as he knew everyone we passed and knew how it all worked, charged us $10. At the shipping office you pay for the freight in cash - $905 for a 20 foot container, and you receive from them an original Bill of Lading plus a letter to the port authority requesting permission to enter the port, plus a plastic seal for the container plus information on their office in Guayaquil. NB ensure you have multiple (3+) copies of passport, int d/licence, car ownership, entry permit for car, tourist card.
Step 4 - Go to the port office which is to the left of the gates and present Bill of Lading and pay $106 for port fees. Then go to customs window (same building) and present all documents and receive their approval. Drive car into port to an open warehouse where the car is inspected to record features eg spare wheel, battery(?), radio, tools etc (not personal effects however). Security fellow then looked into several of our boxes but seemed to have no agenda. (We arrived at 12ish and everyone was on a 2-hour siesta, therefore much waiting!). All papers were inspected but no apparent stamps or other action. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. In fact we got the impression that shipping a personal car was relatively unusual and so they were interested but also the official seemed at times to be unsure as to what they should do...a bit unnerving at times!) We then drove car into container where "she" was tied down with ropes and had wooden wedges nailed down behind the back wheels. Doors were locked but we were told to open the windows 5inches (we were concerned but all was well) since the heat in the container can cause the windows to shatter. Container doors are closed and bolted and the seal was ceremoniously put in place.
Receiving the car in Ecuador
You need to call either the Panama or Guayaquil to determine ship's actual arrival time - our ship ended up leaving 3 days late. Present yourself at the shipping office in Guayaquil as soon as the office opens - 9am. Contact person here is Katty Mora, tel 229-0049, fax - 2290054, email kmora@navesur.com. Pay cash for the container handling charges - $146.60. Receive instructions on location of port (far south of Guayaquil), "marina Puerto" together with the name of your contact there. Receive another original Bill of Lading plus receipts etc (all important), plus letter of authorization to take car. Meet contact at port, Antonio Ruis, although in reality he'll find you as the office rings ahead and the port area is vast and confusing. Prepare yourself for 7-8 hours of non-stop running around from office to office accumulating documents and official stamps - Antonio moves extremely fast and we struggled to keep up in the hot sun.
Documents you provide - copies of (as well as originals) passport plus page with entry stamp, int d/licence, carnet de passage (essential!), car ownership, original bill of lading plus receipt for $146.60, letter of authorization from shipping company to take car, list of personal effects (keep it high-level eg camping stuff, cooking stuff etc)
Documents you acquire - "autoridad portuaria de Guayaquil" - a check-list of car's features, letter to port asking for permission to enter port, verification document from customs to say all is in order, form VT037-SUB from security, green form from security to say how long container had been stored (which is then taken to a counter where you wait a couple of hours in a queue to pay storage fees (in our case $8.85)).
All papers are then presented to customs before you can exit the port gates.
Fee to Antonio (agree on this upfront) was $150 + $20 (for incidentals?) +$3 (tip to security) + $20 (bribe).
All in all an exhausting but successful operation!!
