Car Shipment from Panama to Ecuador

---

For those of you attempting to cross the Earth´s greatest short cut by means of the World´s longest highway, you must first unfortunately wait until it is completed. The Darien gap spanning more than 250kms, may be passable by some means of transportation, but none of which we had at hand. Aside from that, we had also been deterred from this path by several ominous stories of FARC gorilla awaiting passing tourists.

Abandoning our roadway campaign we searched for a shipping company that would assist us in our long journey to La Patagonia de Argentina. Hamburg Süd shipping was the ideal company for us, as its prices were the lowest and they had a ship that would take our car down to Guayaquil, Ecuador the soonest. We had the option of going up to Cartagena, Columbia, however this would not have been an economical choice for us as we would have still needed to pay close to the same $1000 price for shipping, and on top of that still pay for the gas needed to drive through the rugged mountains of Colombia and Ecuador. In the end, from our particular budget of food and gas, we would only be spending $300 more to ship our car down to Ecuador and fly down to meet it.

Our first contact at Hamburg Süd Co. was a nice lady by the name of Cristina, she can be reached on her cell at (66144023). She was able to connect us with another lady (Elisa Powell) who worked at the port (Puerto Manzanillo) where we needed to ship our car from. You can contact Elisa Powell at [e-mail] this lady worked late for us and drove us around to get us to banks to pull out money for our trip, and also arrange the customs (Aduana) for exiting (Salidida) out of the country. As this is what you will need to get your car out of Panama and into Guayaquil, Ecuador.

First off make sure to start all of this paper work on a Monday. You may first try and do several inquiries over the phone such as; pricing, times and dates of shipments, but keep in mind, like most companies, they do not work on weekends. The times are not flexible at the customs (Aduana) windows. Also if possible plan to have your car leave on a Friday, as it will take 3 days for the ship to arrive, not much time, but if it can arrive on a Monday then you can start the tedious paper work in Guayaquil, Ecuador sooner. The paper work will take a couple of days. Also, indicate to the Hamburg Süd employees that if possible you would like to do as much of the prepaid process as possible in Panama. This is to avoid more paper work at the Aduanas in Ecuador.

(Do in order as written, this will save you time going from one place to the next, the copies will be to: 1 set of copies for Hamburg Süd, 1 set of copies for Aduana-customs at the Port, and 1 set of copies for the Aduana-customs in Ecuador)
1) 3 colour copies of Passport
2) 3 colour copies of Drivers Licience
3) 3 colour copies of Ownership
4) 3 colour copies of Yearly renewal numbers (For Canadians, this is found on the back side of your Ownership, and is a white sticker given every year for your license plate.)
5) 3 colour copies of the entrance paper (entrada) you got driving into Panama
6) 3 colour copies of (la secretaria de la diriccion de Investigacion Judiaci, which can only be done near Panama City in a town (barrio) called Ancon, you should then ask a taxi or someone to direct you to the greater police station of TPJ. Here you should ask for (la secretaria general), you will get a visitors pass and here you will indicate your reason for being there. Just so you know, this is so the country is aware that your car was in good condition before it left Panama and that you have permission to leave with it. (Also, you will need to wear pants and shoes inside the buildings)
7) 3 colour copies of exiting paper (Salida) you will need to get this at a port just 500meters to 1km, before Puerto Manzanillo called (Zona Libre), ask for the Aduana office there. The road towards Puerto Manzanillo comes off of the Panamericana and is before you head into the city of Colon. (Making a RIGHT under the main bridge)
8) 3 copies of Bill of Landing (B/L), which will include, the container #, the booking #, the ship name and #, where you were staying in Panama, contact #s and names for your arrival in Ecuador. (note: they may ask for a cell phone, in foresight, this may have been a usual tool for us to making the process smoother.) The B/L info can be told mostly over the phone if you are wishing to stay in Panama City. However, hard copies of the paper work must be picked up and given to the office in Puerto Manzanillo (Colon). Hamburg Süd´s office can be found at the port just 50meters behind the Aduana window on the 3rd floor. This is where Elisa Powell works.

After these previous 8 steps have been done you will have 3 sets of copies in hand. One copy will be given to Hamburg Süd here at the office in Puerto Manzanillo. After you have given Hamburg Süd their copy you will have to go through a 3 step process. (Consisting of 3 Aduana windows)

You will go to the first Aduana window where you will give the listed package of papers above. They may ask for the original B/L, they stamp some papers, and then pass some papers back to you. You will need to hold on to these papers to show you have been to the first window. After that, you will go to the second window which will be noticeable by a large drawer where you will be sliding your papers and money through. The first window will point you to the next window. (It is literally right beside the first Aduana window.) There you will pay around $105, this is for security at this port and Fumigation of the vehicle. The receipt you will get back will be marked (MIT) hold on to this as proof of payment for the next steps.

The final window will be around the side of the Aduana building. (Again they will point you in the direction of the final window.) Go up to the window that indicates car shipment, car release or departure (Salida de auto). Here they will ask for the B/L stamped paper, this will allow them to forward the information to the workers at the other side of the port so they are aware of your arrival and able to alert the police check for your car. (This includes a K-9 search of your car.) When they have told you they are ready for you, you will then (if you’re lucky) have someone to follow you over to the neighboring port where you will park your car inside of a fenced in area, if not you will have to find your own way, lucky it is only right around the corner.

At this place your car will be searched by K-9 and police, and maybe interrogated. After that there will be a small office where you will be able to show your B/L and your MIT receipts. You will then have to wait for someone to come and pick up your car and put it into the container. We were told we would be following someone in, driving our own car, but the process took so long that we needed to leave, in hopes to find any flight to Ecuador that evening. We left one of our 2 sets of keys inside our unlocked car with the shipping company, and hoped for the best.

In total this process took us 7 days, 2 of which was a weekend full of searching online as nothing was open. The paper work will take you at least 2 days if not more, PLAN ACCORDINGLY, be patient things are not done on computer but more via fax, paper, and word of mouth. Take your time, do things step by step, and make sure to have plenty of copies of everything, say things 5 times if necessary and make sure they are saying them back the exact same. Emails work best if your Spanish is not up to par.

The next step will be, to confirm with Hamburg Süd right before you leave the port, that your car is prioritized in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Have them confirm with someone on the Aduana-customs side in Ecuador, that your container, with your car, will be immediately taken off and recorded upon arrival, if not as soon as possible. This is mandatory, if you are to get your car back in a timely fashion. This process needs to be done in order to receive your (La Tarja de Desconsolidacion or Interchange) without this your car can not be seen on their system. (This makes the paper work process very hard, we had to wait a day for them to take it off and record its arrival)

Upon your arrival in Guayaquil, Ecuador, you should first seek the Hamburg Süd office in the city before seeking the ports. The address is ( Av. Las Monjas No.10 and Carlos Julio Arosemena, you can also ask a taxi to take you to the Edificio Berlin behind El Diario Extra, just to confirm.) There you will need to present the copies of the listed package above, but NOT GIVE THEM TO KEEP. You are only there to receive their papers of confirmation of arrival and payment of fumigation and the process of papers on that side. They will make a note of your arrival and then they will tell you that you will need to go to a neighboring bank called El Banco del Pacifico. They will tell you the information on how to pay. You will go to the bank and fill out a payment slip and the price, for us was around $70. The people at the bank will give you a receipt slip. You will present that to the Hamburg Süd office, (Where you just were) and they will give you your necessary papers that you will need to present along with the listed package of copies above.

After this has been done, you can then take a taxi to El Puerto Maritimo, this is one of the main ports, and is where the main Aduana is located. You will need to complete something like a cover page for this booklet of colour copies, along with a list of your car contents and the Tarja de Desconsolidacion which you will need to get before talking again with the Aduana at this main port. This cover page you will have to make yourself and will look something like this:
(Note) If you were not specifically told which port your car will be arriving to in Guayaquil, (Like we were, and believe me, many will say there is only 1 port in Guayaquil, but upon arrival you will learn there are plenty.) then there is a program at the main Aduana at Puerto Maritimo and you can ask someone there, to help you find out how to use this program or how to find out what port your container arrived at. This is a necessary aspect of making this contents page and also, in knowing where to find your car.

Señor
Jefe de Zona Primaria
Corporación Aduanera Ecuatoriana
Ciudad.

Ref:
Embarcador: Carl Dale Kemp
Pasaporte:


Once this page has been done along with all of the copies attached to the list, then you must ask a taxi to take you to a port called INARPI S.A. # 1. This port will be where you will need to get the Tarja de Desconsolidacion, (record of container movement, verifying its listing of transfer from boat to docks.) A very helpful and knowledgeable and English speaking taxi is (MAX CAR: Driver, Marlo Eras. cell. 088845402, he can be reached 24hrs, and has another company number, 096387470) He might be a bit more expensive but he is handy, $20 an hour, or 10$ a trip from port to port, as it is quite far. Here at INARPI S.A. you will show your papers and explain your situation, ask for a Victor S. or the boss. (I cannot recall his last name) he can help utilize your papers to tell you if your car has been taken off and recorded or not. They will give you honest time lines and yes or no answers. (The only ones you will receive upon this endeavor.) If you are lucky it will be done the day of arrival, but be prepared for a day or 2 days wait. Once they have told you a timeline, be there, in pants and boots, and they will issue you a safety helmet, reflective jacket and a pass card along with a code and hand identification aspect. (Which they will do the run down with you.) You will then be ushered along to the container where your car will hopefully be in, and they will open it in front of you. Have all of your papers, to confirm! Then they will drive it out and do the Tarja for you. (The Tarja is the information for the other port where you will have to pay an unloading fee.)

Then you will have to take a taxi back over to the main port of Maritimo. At the Aduana there you will give the full package of the contents page, the copies, the Tarja, the list of items in the car and B/L. After this they should help take you over to your car in INARPI S.A. 1. This is where our car arrived, this may be different for your car, but the process of picking up your car will be the same. They will go to the port and observe your vehicle making sure that it is the same on paper as it is there. You will get a stamped piece of paper, indicating its clearance, and with this you will go to INARPI S.A. 2. Where you will need to pay a fee of around $50. We had thought we had done all of the prepaid stuff at Hamburg Süd. But we were forced to anyway. This is not to say that you should not do the prepaid, god only knows how difficult it might have been and how many other things we would have had to do if we had not done prepaid. After you have paid, then you will take your (boleta, factura) or receipt to the INARPI S.A. 1 or whatever port your car arrived at and get issued all the attire needed to enter the port again. Once this has been done you will give this receipt to the people at the port and your car will be yours.

This is no easy task. Stay calm and patient, these steps are based on our experience. Our reasoning behind doing this blog is to help other travelers like ourselves accomplish their dreams of driving the Americas. Good Luck! (because you’re going to need it)

---