Report from Vladivostok
 

Here is the summary of my experience in Vladivostok.
I ferried the car from Sokcho, Korea to Vladivostok by Dong Chun Ferry.
This applies to car with cargo inside .

If you happen to ship your car to Vlad. from Sokcho, Korea follow following rules. I learned this from my experience. However I like to add a disclaimer here. It may happen to you or not. As we all know Russian bureaucracy changes by persons on both side of the table.
Some people say Zarubino port is better than Vlad. But unfortunately no passenger can travel by ferry from Korea. So if you want to use Zarubino: ship your vehicle and then fly to Vladivostok and take a bus to Zarubino.
This applies to Dong Chun ferry from Sokcho, Korea to Vlad.
1. When preparing for “Bill of Landing”. Insist upon making a detail list of the contents such as : car parts, clothing, food items, camping equipments, medicines and anything else on Bill of Landing .
Best thing is to prepare this list in advance and hand it over to ferry person. Always keep a copy.
CAR details such as: Engine number, Model and make. (Especially if the car is from USA) Ferry people will only enter VIN number as this is the only number on USA car registration. In my case they only put VIN Number and “Tourist Bags” and that gave an opportunity to Russian custom, which cost me money and time.2. Make sure to fill out the TWO custom declaration forms in ferry no matter what, which is in Russian. Employees from ferry will tell you that you don’t need to fill out. List items as described above from the list you have prepared.3. When you arrive at Vladivostok, let the custom agent know that you have personal contents in car and like to declare those. Show them the list. Make sure to get the stamped custom form . You are allowed to keep a stamped copy. In my case custom officer at Vladivostok port (on arrival from ferry) said I don’t need to declare and was cleared to proceed. A mistake: Later I was told by custom office on ground that I should have declared everything when I first arrived from ferry4. (REPEAT) For vehicles from USA, as US car registration has only VIN number and basic car information. Make sure that you have all the car information on Bill of Landing: especially engine number. This also caused me issues at other borders as they are expecting so called “car passport” with more details.5. Stay at Vladivostok Hotel, cheaper and free internet access.

Hope this helps.
arun AT drivearoundtheworld DOT net