Houston We Have A Problem !

Hermes, International, Panamerican, South America

 Let me begin by saying that shipping a vehicle overseas can be a logistical nightmare; there are so many pieces to the puzzle it will make your head spin. I’ll give it a whirl to see if I can make it clear enough to make sense of it all. Private shippers, meaning those who do not have a license with a shipping company to utilize their services (like us), must use an “licensed agent” to coordinate all shipping logistics. Remember that there is a departure port and an arrival port, therefore you are required to have an “agent” at each; and yes you guessed it, that is a separate payment, I mean, agent per port.  The hired agent is the single point of contact for the drop off warehouse, container packing, trucking company (carrier), the departure port and the shipping company itself. Keep in mind you are working with dual agents, one from each country, so in the end you’re essentially coordinating 7 companies to get your vehicle overseas from point A to B. Here is a little sketch to put it into perspective….

Shipping logistics
A good agent on both sides is critical for success

We felt as though a brief explanation of the over all process was necessary before giving an update as to where we are in reuniting our beloved truck; so I hope that helps. When we dropped off Hermes at the warehouse for receiving and customs it was quite sketchy but we were assured everything was okay and on track by our agent. We spent the next few days in Houston tying up loose ends and catching up with friends, assuming everything was going according to plan. Upon arrival our arrival in Buenos Aires we got through our first hurdle of getting Lucia, our 2 year old foxhound/cattledog, out of customs and felt like things were off to a great start. I contacted our agent to confirm the expected arrival date only to find out that they were having significant issues with the receiving warehouse who missed the customs deadline in order to make our expected ship out of Houston (1 week delayed). Adding insult to injury, the warehouse failed to inform our agent that they missed the cut off and were having additional issues with “the paperwork”, so they claimed, and were not able to get our container cleared in time for the next ship out the following week (2 week delay). I immediately began micromanaging the situation, to include calling customs on my own to find out what the issue may really be.

Keep calm
Keep calm

At this point patience was beyond thin and I went straight to the owner of Sea and Air Experts; he informed me that he was changing the warehouse, carrier and shipping company all together to assure our shipment would be on its way. However, it wasn’t over, yet another speed bump:  Labor Day!  (additional 3 week delay). Ok, deep breath, it will be okay, we are in Buenos Aires – we are trying really hard not to complain but, begrudgingly, days and budget tick by.

Our agent assured us we were cleared for the next ship scheduled: September 15th, 2015. The paperwork was submitted and the truck completely cleared through customs on a ship stamped for anytime on or after the 15th of September. Low and behold, the shipping company was running ahead of schedule and moved the sail date to September 13th.  Our paperwork was stamped for the 15th, and already within the 72 hour window couldn’t be changed (4 week delay); so yes, you guessed it, yet another week.  Having made our lodging arrangements for the original ship date we are now checking out the day the truck was supposed to arrive and it’s still sitting in Houston, not scheduled to depart for another week.  The blows to the chin keep coming.

After four weeks of delays our truck is finally confirmed as loaded on the “Monica” shipping vessel leaving Houston, TX for Buenos Aires on September 22! We are thrilled with anticipation of its arrival…we just hope everything is in place on the Argentinian side and things go much smoother!