Azores forum < How did you ship your stuff to the Azores?

  • Robert Hahn

    posted by  in Azores forum 

    Hello,
    I shipped my household goods from Missouri, USA to the Azores. I contacted an International Van Lines which is a shipping company in Florida to handle my shipment. A local company was hired to pack and load the 40ft. container. My goods were transported by semi-truck to a Kansas City and loaded on a freight train and set to Norfolk, VA. It was then loaded on a container ship and ended up in Lisbon. Here's a great web site to track most any ship. http://www.vesselfinder.com/ Once in Lisbon the container was to be inspected by customs and then it was sent to Terceira.

    Portuguese in the US returning to the Azores have special entitlements when moving back to live in the Azores. I found that the US consulate and the Portuguese government were not in agreement with these entitlements. One mistake I made was to put the shipment in my name.
    http://www.embassyportugal-us.org/Embassy_of_Portugal/Genera
    l_Info_4_Prospective_Residents.html

    A few things I learned along the way: shipping a container is very expensive but worth it because most items on a island are expensive. Ask your shipper about ALL cost that are not included in your contract. Example, I had to pay customs for Lisbon and Terceira which were not on my shipping contract.
    Make sure you have a detailed packing list of the items in the container. Equipment and electronics must have Model & serial numbers. Obtain insurance because ships have lost containers due to rough seas.
    Once my container arrived in Terceira it had to be unloaded and trucked to my house because the container could not navigate the narrow local streets. Be aware that the local receiving company may change you a storage fee (demurrages) if the container sits on the property while you arrange for shipping and unloading.
    Be aware of items that are not permitted to be shipped. For example fire arms, plants, flammables.

    Company that handled my shipment in the USA http://internationalvanlines.com/
    This is the company that handled my shipment in Lisbon http://www.alcotrans.pt/
    Our local agent in the Azores was Soltrans, Mr Henrique Cardoso

    I hope this helps you and others that read this post.

Post a reply

Other replies