From Mombasa, Kenya to Mumbai, India - January, 2004

Shipped our Af Twin and Transalp as "loose" Cargo aboard the container ship Global Prosperity (Nassau).

This ship has a drop down ramp (like cross channel ferries) so you can ride on, then you drop down two levels to a lower deck. The crew secure the bikes
then a water tight door is closed and your babies are safe from sea salt and the fingers of dodgey stevedoores..

We used Mitchell Cotts Freight forwarders for the Mombasa customs clearance etc and their fee was 125 pounds stirling. They were very professional and a
locally run outfit.

In India we drove the bikes off the ship and into a secure customs area to await inspection.

In Bombay we used Spurgeon Frieight Forwarders and they again were very professional and trust worthy ( ask for Felix ) Cost was 15,000 Rupees for both
bikes (about 190 pounds stirling).

We had to pay Indian customs a bribe. They asked for 2500 Rupees per bike!! We got them down to 1000 for both (about 12 quid).

We also had to get a form from the Indian AA to confirm the validity of our Carnets this cost 10 USD.

The normal process in India should only take about two days but due to an admin error, which lost us a day and took us into the weekend plus a bank holiday, meant the whole process was 7 days.

One point of note is that the arrival and departure of a ship is not set in stone and you can have couple of days to wait at each end....