Exporting a vehicle from Cape Town to South America

Sending your vehicle from South Africa (or any country of origin) to your planned destination requires detailed logistical planning, specifically around the forwarding, clearing and regulatory aspects of international cargo movement.

There are a multitude of service providers willing to assist with this process, unfortunately we have experienced that not all of them are offering a full end to end solution with all costs inclusive. We found out that more often than not, prices are marked up significantly to the individual that is unfamiliar with the industry.

After fumbling around trying to figure out what all the shipping jargan means and not knowing where to start, we turned to G.R. Fourie  (in his private capacity) to advise us with the shipping process to South America. Through exert advice Gerhard, a logistics specialist, saved at least USD2000 for each of the 2 vehicles shipped. On his recommendation we used Cape Town in South Africa as loading port and the Port of Montevideo in Uruguay as our destination port. The Port of Montevideo was chosen as Uruguay is known to be much less bureaucratic than some of the other countries in South America. It also makes travelling from South Africa quite easy as you are able to take a flight from South Africa to Sao Paulo and then to Buenos Aires, Argentina. You then need to take a short ferry ride from Buenos Aires to Montevideo.

Gerhard has assisted us with the following key aspects of moving our vehicles from South Africa to South America:

  • Identifying and booking the correct container size based on our vehicle’s dimensions
  • Assisting with relevant administration requirements for vehicles (both South Africa and South America requirements). There is a significant amount of documentation to be completed, incl. Carne du Passage, Vehicle Clearance certificates, Insurance for vehicles etc.
  • Recommendation a Forwarding Agent in South Africa as well as negotiating all freight and related land side costs with shipping lines
  • Appointing a “Despechante” or Clearing Agent in Montevideo. Communicating and arranging customs clearing of vehicles with clearing agent on our behalf
  • Loading of vehicles into container, lashing and strapping of vehicles inside of container and loading of vehicles under customs supervision
  • Verifying that correct shipping documents are available and completed on time
  • Tracking of container throughout the process, from loading date to offloading date

We were quite worried about the Land Rover having to travel from Cape Town to Spain and from there to Montevideo. We were absolutely elated when the container was opened in the harbour of Montevideo and there she was! After connecting the battery it started first time (with the normal puff of smoke, typically of a 300Tdi Land Rover engine).

The foto shows the Landy in the port of Montevideo with Eduardo Kessler, our friendly and very competent Despechante, while we were smiling from ear to ear!

GR Fourie is based in Cape Town, South Africa and can be reached on the following contact numbers:

Mobile no.(+27) 72 577 9942
E-mail addressgrfourie81@gmail.com
Skype addressgrfourie81
LinkedIn profilehttps://za.linkedin.com/in/gerhard-fourie-bba709100
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