Shipping An RV truck from Central America to South America

Information is hard to come by. This is how I did it in May, 2009.
There are a couple of options, the best is to share a container with another vehicle. It is more secure. It is cheaper to ship Roll On Roll Off (the car is driven on and off the boat). Two agents said don’t talk to me until you are in port. It doesn’t do much good to reserve ahead of time, because sometimes the ships don’t have enough cargo for a port and don’t even bother stopping.

I considered shipping from Costa Rica in an open top container to Ecuador. But it was $2000 for the 40’ container, and then payment to the shipping company. The boat went from Caldera near Puntarenas, CR, to Guatemala, Peru, and Ecuador. There was at least one change of ship, and I didn’t want to be looking for my car in four different countries. The contacts in Costa Rica are Alejandra Vargas and Alejandro Arias of NYK shipping506-2296-8480. The ship leaves the end of every month (24th).

The name of an agent of a Toyota dealer in San Jose Costa Rica is…..

The best option to ship is from Colon, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia. It’s a short trip, there are no changes of ships, and frequent service. (Going from Cartagena to Colon or Costa Rica, I met a German couple who shipped on a banana boat for $3000 for vehicle and three nights of staterooms) I used an agent who came recommended by two sources, Evelyn Batista with Barwil Associates in Panama City. (Galarias Suites #35, Panama City, phone 507-263-7755. She speaks English well. She’s competent, gives good instructions and returns calls. From beginning in Panama to getting the car in Cartagena took 11 days.

In Panama City
Find out when boats are going (Roll on roll off are about every 12 days, LOLO is once a week, and containers?).
8 days ahead
Get permits from the National Police at the foot of Ancon Hill and down the street from the Smithsonian Research Institute. You go to the south side building for inspection first, then to the north side for the paper work stating there is no claim on the vehicle and it is okay to ship it out of the country. They will want a copy of the title of the car, the Customs paperwork when you entered the country, your passport, and the stamp showing when you and the car entered the country. There is no charge. It takes most of the day.

When you have that permit, take the cash to Barwil and get a receipt. They charge by volume, and my car is 10’ by 7’ by 21’, so it was $2080 roll on roll off. They will give you a draft of the Bill of Lading (the original won’t be issued until the car is in Colombia and you have to get it from the agent there). Get a receipt from them. Also get a draft of the Bill of Lading with a stamp on it. Evelyn got a really good deal on a flight for me to Cartagena (couldn’t take the same boat with the truck). She gave me the name of a person in Colon whom I never did find. She also gave me the agent and phone in Cartagena, which was a big help.

She suggested taking out everything of value in the vehicle, or putting it inside a locked container box. The company only takes responsibility for the outside of the vehicle, nothing left inside. She said they wouldn’t be interested in clothing or books. But computers and IPODS, yes. I put a lock on my closet door in the bathroom, and it wasn’t disturbed. I had nothing missing.

The work day before shipping
The day before you ship, go to customs in Colon with the car, the police permit. On the free road (not the toll road), you come to a fairly high bridge, turn right before that bridge, you should see lots of trucks going off to the right. Follow that road and take the second left turn into the Free Trade Zone (the first one is closer, but when I was there, it was one way outbound). Ask where the customs office is (close to the first gate). They will want a copy of the police permit, title, passport, stamps with you and car entering the country. Get a “Formulario de Control Vehicular, Vehiculo Extranjero-Salida. No charge.

Then go to Manzanillo gate, which is about 1 ½ to the left from the free trade zone. It says Manzanillo. Tell the guard you want to go to Barwil, and they won’t know where it is. But they will send you on the first right to the customs inspector. He suggested a helper, which turned out to be necessary. He took me to Barwil, where I got four copies of the Bill of Lading with a stamp that says, please accept this vehicle for export. The messenger took me to customs ($15 port fee), back to the inspection area. I speak pretty good Spanish, but it was nearly impossible to hear what the clerks wanted behind the glass window. Most of the helpers speak English. Once you have the clearance papers from customs, you can go to drop the vehicle off. Turn left again, and it is about ½ mile. It will be inspected and they will give you a stamped receipt for the car with your signature and the terminal authority. No charge. It takes most of the day.

Note, it is hard to get a taxi back, so you can either hire someone from Panama City to follow you and wait (about $50), or look up online to get a phone for a cab company in Colon. You don’t want to walk around Colon, so take a cab right to the bus station. Takes about 1 ½ hours to get back.

In Colombia
The boat takes less than 24 hours. It was supposed to arrive Monday May 25th, but didn’t arrive until Wednesday the 27th. I started calling the agent on Tuesday, and working on the papers on the 27th about 10 am, and finished Thursday at 5:30 pm. The agent here is Naves AV. Miramar Calle 24 #23-65, Cartagena, tel 574-660-9450, Luz Elena. Taxis back and forth to the port Contecar, are about $5 each way. It isn’t easy to get them in the port, you have to walk out to the main highway and hope. I got the phone number of a taxi company on the way out, and called them once. The rest of the time someone came eventually. It took a trip to the agency, four trips to the port and two trips to the main office of customs in town.

You need a copy and the original of; 1) the Bill of Lading. 2) title, and 3) your passport with a copy of the immigration stamp page, too. Luz Elena claimed she didn’t have the Bill of Lading, but I called Evelyn who said she did. So I went to the office, and told Luz Elena by phone I was coming, and what Evelyn said. She had it by the time I got there. She accepted payment of $44 for the paper work (Factura de Venta) to let Aduana know the agent wasn’t due any money. I went to the port to the Customs (DIAN), and he sent me back into town to the main office (in Barrio Manga) to Elisa, who gave me the paper work (Temporary Importation of a Tourist Vehicle) for the inspector and me to sign.

Back to the Port, Kelvis Escorsia, the customs inspector, sent me to the port authority to get the paper work that the vehicle was in port. Liliana Sanchez was very patient and helpful. The manifesto for the boat wasn’t closed, so she couldn’t give me what I needed. She needed a copy of the original bill of lading, the factura stating the agent was paid, and three forms to fill out: 1) registration of legal person making the request for release of goods, 2)Registration of authorized person, and 3) registration of company. I went back in the afternoon and when the manifesto was closed, she gave me a permit to have the vehicle inspected, which I took back to Kelvin Escorcia, the Customs inspector. We went to look at the vehicle (you have to give your passport to get a badge to enter the port. They also want a copy of your personal health insurance, so have a letter or card with you). Have an extra set of keys to open the vehicle, since the customs guys don’t communicate with the port authority. After he signed the inspection report, I had to take it back to town to get the boss’s signature. With the Temporary Importation of a Tourist Vehicle signed by the customs officer in town, by me and by the boss, I took those papers to the port authority.

Liliana of the Port Authority gave me a Notice of processing of authorization, which I took to another office, and they gave me a “factura” (bill). Naves said it would be $76 in cash in pesos, but it was $176, so make sure you have twice the amount in pesos that you think you will need. There is no bank at the port, and you have to get a cab to get to one.
With the “paid” stamp on the port bill “factura”, I got a ticket authorizing the removal of the car, which I took to the “Basculas” office which gave me the Registry of retiring merchandise “RIM’ which is a three copy sheet which you need to get out of the port.

Car Insurance
I hope to be getting car insurance from the State Insurance company “Seguros del Estado” 664-3137 in Cartagena. I drove into Panama and bought car insurance at a company at the border (Ancon, 507-210-8700 headquarters, Panama City).