Help Needed - Shipping a GS from Alaska to Russia

[ruleman]

Hello All, I am posting on this forum per suggestion from a user in the UK GS forum.

I am reaching out on behalf of a friend of mine who set out from Brasil last year in a tour around the world. He is now 15 days away from reaching Alaska, and he has asked for my help to understand how to get his GS to the eastern side of the Bering Straight.

I came here to see if anyone here can provide useful information on how to ship the bike from Alaska (Anchorage or Fairbanks) to Russia (Magadan or Vladivostok). The goal is to do so during the month of July, and to be able to get it shipped in the minimum amount of time possible... which I assume means airfreight/air-cargo.

I hope folks that read this can provide first hand experience on how to get this done. Any recommendations or suggestions, or even contact information for people knowledgeable in the matter will be greatly appreciated.

It doesn't seem that this is an easy or simple undertaking, so I will keep my fingers crossed and will be back to check this thread daily.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Andres

PS: You can follow my friend's journey on facebook.com/diariodeumcapacete/ or instagram: @diariodeumcapacete

[PanEuropean]

Hello Andres:

It is not going to be an easy task, in fact, what your friend is trying to do just might not be possible.

For several years before I retired in 2014, I delivered new aircraft from the factory in Western Canada to customers in Russia, the far east, and the South Pacific. I frequently landed at Anchorage, Nome, Anadyr, Magadan, and Vladivostok.

The closest city pair is Nome to Anadyr, but that is of no interest because there are no roads out of Anadyr down to Magadan. In fact, there are no roads out of Anadyr, period. Also no road from Anchorage to Nome.

The next closest city pair is Anchorage to Magadan, but to the very best of my knowledge, there is no scheduled air service of any kind between these two cities. That makes sense, because Magadan is a pretty small place, there's just not enough demand for air service (passenger or freight) to anywhere in North America. People who want to get from Magadan to another country - any other country - fly to Vladivostok and then proceed onwards from there.

There might (emphasis on "might") be occasional ad-hoc cargo charter service out of Vladivostok to Anchorage, but I am pretty certain that there is no scheduled service on that route.

There are many very large scheduled cargo flights (wide body aircraft, like 747, DC-10, MD-11 and similar) landing at Anchorage every day from Asia, mostly originating from manufacturing hubs in Asia such as Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and cities in the P. R. of China. There are not so many flights going back in the other direction (the traffic flow is asymmetric) because the eastbound flights carrying Asian-manufactured goods refuel in Anchorage on the way to the lower 48 states, but America doesn't export much by air to Asia. Hence the aircraft, once arriving in America, tend to go onwards to other places, not necessarily back to Asia on the same route they followed on the eastbound flight.

Having said that, there are some flights that leave Anchorage for Asian cities. I think your friend's only hope would be to try and get the bike on a flight to (for example) Korea, then proceed onwards to Vladivostok by ship or perhaps on another flight. Be aware you need a wide-body aircraft (a twin-aisle aircraft) if you want to be able to put a motorcycle in the belly without heavily disassembling it. I don't think there is sufficient passenger demand on Korea to Vlad flights to justify wide-body aircraft.

Any way you manage to do it, it is going to be very expensive, and require you to "keep an open mind" about where you are willing to ship it to out of Anchorage.

You could, perhaps, ship it in the other direction (Anchorage - lower 48 states - Europe - Moscow - Vladivostok), but I hate to even think of what that would cost.

Good luck.

Michael

PS: I would not suggest going to Magadan even if you had a way of shipping from Alaska to Magadan. There is only one road out of Magadan (to the west).

[Snakeboy]

If your friend can get his bike to South-Korea there seems to be a ferry from somewhere in South Korea to Vladivostok...

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...st-ferry-91002

[ruleman]

Hello Folks,

The idea and goal of going to Magadan is to transit thru the road of bones. From there, my friend plans on heading on to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

I will continue checking alternatives. So far I have found some choices to ship the bike to Korea and Japan, but none yet to get the bike to Magadan or Vladivostok directly.

One choice I have suggested he considers, is that he ships the bike to Vladivostok, and flies on his own to Magadan, where he'd acquire an Ural and ride that from Magadan to Vladivostok, where he'd sell the Ural and get back on his GS.

Any more input, especially on how to fly by himself to Magadan, will be appreciated.

[PanEuropean]

Magadan is primarily served by regional flights from Vladivostok. There are also flights from Magadan up to Anadyr, but those would be of no interest to your friend. Similarly, there are also flights from some cities further west in Russia to Magadan, but those would also likely be of little interest.

Be aware that Magadan airport is a long way out of town, in a village called Sokol. There are no services in Sokol except a bunkhouse for air crew. Sokol is not quite the arsehole of the world, but you can see it from there. It's about a 50 km drive into Magadan from the airport.

So far as riding from Vladivostok to Magadan is concerned, the road route is over 5,000 km ONE WAY. There are very few, if any, services along that road. I know because I have flown between Magadan and Vladivostok many, many times (and overnighted in both Sokol and Vlad many times).

As for your continued hunt for a method of transporting a moto from Alaska to Magadan - if you find a way, post the information here, because I assure you that you will be the very first person to have every found a way to ship a bike from Alaska to Magadan.

I'm not writing this to discourage you, just to save you from wasting a lot of time trying to find a solution that does not exist.

Michael

[PanEuropean]

Originally Posted by ruleman

Any more input, especially on how to fly by himself to Magadan, will be appreciated.

Vladivostok's IATA code is VVO. Magadan's is GDX.

Go to Google, and type "flights VVO to GDX" in the search box, then press the Enter key.

Michael

[motoreiter]

Originally Posted by ruleman

Hello Folks,
One choice I have suggested he considers, is that he ships the bike to Vladivostok, and flies on his own to Magadan, where he'd acquire an Ural and ride that from Magadan to Vladivostok, where he'd sell the Ural and get back on his GS.

Forget finding a Ural in Magadan. Here is link for what is available there right now; as you can see, most of the bikes are intended for city use and basically never leave Magadan and its environs.
https://moto.drom.ru/magadan/sale/

As Paneuropean says the road from Magadan to Vladi is very long, via Yakutsk and then down to the trans-Sib,then back to Vladi, all through rather remote areas. Not sure I'd want to do it a strange bike which has probably not been set up for that kind of ride.

[ruleman]

Originally Posted by PanEuropean

Hello Andres:

It is not going to be an easy task, in fact, what your friend is trying to do just might not be possible.

For several years before I retired in 2014, I delivered new aircraft from the factory in Western Canada to customers in Russia, the far east, and the South Pacific. I frequently landed at Anchorage, Nome, Anadyr, Magadan, and Vladivostok.

The closest city pair is Nome to Anadyr, but that is of no interest because there are no roads out of Anadyr down to Magadan. In fact, there are no roads out of Anadyr, period. Also no road from Anchorage to Nome.

The next closest city pair is Anchorage to Magadan, but to the very best of my knowledge, there is no scheduled air service of any kind between these two cities. That makes sense, because Magadan is a pretty small place, there's just not enough demand for air service (passenger or freight) to anywhere in North America. People who want to get from Magadan to another country - any other country - fly to Vladivostok and then proceed onwards from there.

Hello Michael and thanks for your response. I have been able to find two alternatives for my friend to fly by himself from Anchorage to Magadan (or almost there) but still looking for options to get the bike there as well.

Here is what I know so far:
- Bering Air will get him from Anchorage to Petropablov on a chartered flight - Waiting on Quote.
- AirRussia US will take him from Fairbanks to Magadan via Providenya-Yakutsk. Around $1300.-
- Neither of these will transport the bike as it is considered "dangerous goods"

Originally Posted by PanEuropean

There might (emphasis on "might") be occasional ad-hoc cargo charter service out of Vladivostok to Anchorage, but I am pretty certain that there is no scheduled service on that route.

Finding this out would be fabulous, particularly if this service would have a turnaround route that could carry the bike.

Originally Posted by PanEuropean

Having said that, there are some flights that leave Anchorage for Asian cities. I think your friend's only hope would be to try and get the bike on a flight to (for example) Korea, then proceed onwards to Vladivostok by ship or perhaps on another flight. Be aware you need a wide-body aircraft (a twin-aisle aircraft) if you want to be able to put a motorcycle in the belly without heavily disassembling it. I don't think there is sufficient passenger demand on Korea to Vlad flights to justify wide-body aircraft.

Any way you manage to do it, it is going to be very expensive, and require you to "keep an open mind" about where you are willing to ship it to out of Anchorage.

The options explored so far for shipment are:
- FESCO can ship the bike from Seattle to Magadan via Busan-Vladivostok. Not quoted yet, but total transit time 45 days including customs (I think this is "if all planets align").
- Also working with World Cargo Int'l who can airfreight the bike from Seattle to Busan - They have also offered to help find a Ferry service from Busan to Vladivostok that can carry both my friend and his bike...
- These two options require him sending the bike from Anchorage to Seattle, which will cost an additional $$$ and take several days. This makes riding down again a logical choice, but the two flight options above become irrelevant.

Originally Posted by PanEuropean

PS: I would not suggest going to Magadan even if you had a way of shipping from Alaska to Magadan. There is only one road out of Magadan (to the west).

That is exactly the reason why he wants to go there... the "Road of Bones"

[PanEuropean]

Originally Posted by ruleman

- Bering Air will get him from Anchorage to Petropablov on a chartered flight - Waiting on Quote.

Uh, don't hold your breath waiting for the Bering Air quote. Four years ago, I chartered Bering Air to fly Nome - Anadyr - Nome. It was a simple flight, they flew there empty, picked up 4 people, and flew back. A small plane (King Air), not big enough to hold a motorcycle.

Only cost me $15,000.

Michael

[ruleman]

Originally Posted by PanEuropean

Uh, don't hold your breath waiting for the Bering Air quote. Four years ago, I chartered Bering Air to fly Nome - Anadyr - Nome. It was a simple flight, they flew there empty, picked up 4 people, and flew back. A small plane (King Air), not big enough to hold a motorcycle.

Only cost me $15,000.

Michael

Ouch! That doesn't sound promising...

I did get some contacts in the cargo operations area in Anchorage. My friend gets there today and will be talking with them to see if they can work out a way to load the bike on a plane stopping by... Fingers crossed.

[AnTyx]

Not that this is likely to be helpful but, Yakutia Airlines flies from Anchorage via Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy (which is not connected to anywhere by roads) to Yakutsk - the other end of the Road of Bones. The aircraft is a 737-800 and probably not able to take a motorcycle though. And right now their website shows a one-way passenger fare at $1500, that's without the bike.

Yakutia Airlines - who knows...

[ruleman]

Originally Posted by AnTyx

Not that this is likely to be helpful but, Yakutia Airlines flies from Anchorage via Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy (which is not connected to anywhere by roads) to Yakutsk - the other end of the Road of Bones. The aircraft is a 737-800 and probably not able to take a motorcycle though. And right now their website shows a one-way passenger fare at $1500, that's without the bike.

Yakutia Airlines - who knows...

Hi, thanks for the input.

I have talked with each of these operators and the challenge remains how to get the bike down to Magadan.

At this time, it is looking best to simply air freight it to Busan, then ferry it to Magadan via Vladivostok. Total transit time looks like 18 days, which is not horrible.

Now waiting to hear back on total costs, and for my friend to figure out what he will do without a bike for 3 weeks.

[Flying_Dutchman]

Hello, I've been following this post with great interest, because I want to go the other way, and I need to get my bike from Magadan to Alaska. Or if not Alaska, somewhere like Vancouver.

My plan is to leave end of April 2018 from the UK and end up in Magadan and then continue from Alaska to New York soon after.

I saw the series of YouTube videos by Oisin Hughes where he ships his bike from Magadan to Vladivostok, then rides it 250km south to Zarubino where he took a ferry to Seoul in South Korea, and from there he flew the bike to Vancouver.

Have a look :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDK4...OcKusU4PdcKXiN

I would love to avoid all the drama that Oisin went through and have been looking for flights from Magadan to Alaska but no luck.

In any case, maybe your friend can do the reverse route that Oisin took? It sounds like you have found a similar solution already?

Best of luck and please do let me know what the final outcome is.

[circusinthesky]

Might be easier to ship bikes to/from US/South Korea, then take the Ferry to Vladivostok.

[ruleman]

Hi Folks, I realize I didn't provide an update on how things turned out for my friend... whom I met last month in Barcelona for some Tapas and Beers to celebrate the closing of his second year touring the world in his GS.

So, how did he get to Spain from Alaska? The answer isn't too simple. We tried and valued absolutely everything... from chartering a plane to fly him and his bike (Mucho $$$$), asking a fishing boat captain if he'd drop him off on in a russian port (yes we did), piggy-backing the bike on a private cargo plane doing a refuel stop in Canada on its way to Magadan, and shipping the bike in a container to Magadan from Alaska while flying him to the destination separately.

I can honestly say we evaluated every option and still were not able to find one that made sense for him. This doesn't mean it cannot be done, so don't give up!!!! Just means you need a lot of things to align for things to work out for you, so plan well in advance.

The first option with the charter plane was ludicrous money like Michael said. Bering Air didn't ever get back to me on email, and on the only call I had with them where someone was able to give me a remote idea on cost, they were estimating upwards of $25K to pick him and the bike up in Anchorage or Fairbanks and drop him off in Anadyr (I think)... still waiting for them to send the email quote!

Someone at the Anchorage airport said to talk to the fishing boat captains, so I did. I called a couple, and while the first two laughed at my question, there was one that actually considered it... said it would take a lot of paperwork and wasn't sure how to handle so he had to decline. I am almost certain that if I knew every detail on the documentation side, he would have taken my friend and his bike for very little money.

There was also a suggestion from someone from Russia Air about talking with airfreight/cargo operators in the Yukon that cater to private cargo planes moving oil-rig equipment from Canada to Russia. The idea was to find a plane and captain that would accept to load the bike and drop it off in Magadan. This seemed ideal, but was truly a very long shot and we did not explore further.

The final one was the longer burn and cheaper alternative. Multiple shipping companies could handle the bike from Anchorage via Seattle/Vancouver port in a container, then on thru Busan to Vladivostok, then ferry to Magadan. Airplane ride to Magadan wasn't too difficult either. My estimation was around $4500 to get the bike there and $800/1200 airfare. The problem here was time... no less than 45 days of transit to get the bike delivered door to door (wihtout any hiccup). More reasonable to expect 60 days than 45. Just too much for my friend's plans.

In the end, and after calling much around, we found that Air Canada had an offer called Fly My Bike running during the summer from 3 or 4 locations in Canada, to several countries in Europe. Ended up choosing the simplest alternative, flying my buddy and the GS from Calgary to Frankfurt. The cost was the most attractive part of this deal... paid $1200 US for his ticket, and $250 more for the bike to travel. Another rider arriving the opposite way offered the shipping pallet at no-charge, and the company that does the inspection prior to loading waived their fee (they like these crazy bastards I guess).

From there on, my friend went around northern europe, down to the Balkans, thru Italy and met me in Spain... he is now in Northern Africa.

So thanks to all for your help and suggestions. May reach back out here once he decides to take on the road of bones from West to East, in case he wants to go from there to the US again. What is most likely is that I'll convince him to go to Korea and Japan instead...