jomac1290

Hi All
We are in the process of booking removals from Ireland to Brisbane and there is both a vast difference in quotes and time of shipment. We are looking at 20ft sole use container and wonder what have others paid and time when shipment arrived.

So far it ranges from 6 -11 weeks with some companies telling us it'll never arrive in 6-8 weeks dont know who to believe???

Costs so far from 5000-6400 euro. Anybody recommend a decent company good price and honest time frame from experience.

Thanks in advance

Jo x

Pollyana

6-8 weeks is possible, depends on the route, whether the ship leaves immediately, and many other factors. If the container is one of the last on and the ship leaves fast you could be lucky. If you have to wait for the ship to be ready that adds time; if its a ship calling at ports en route that can add a lot of time too. Then once it gets this end it may take time to clear customs - something coming in just before Christmas (as mine did) may take till February to clear.

Bermudashorts

I would recommend just going with the cheapest quote. I reckon the companies are much the same, you will get some people who had a good experience with say Pickfords, others that didn't, same with all the others.

Also re the timing, I would probably not base a decision on what estimate they give you now, because you will get an estimate once you book and as Polly says it just depends on shipping schedules and what ship they can get your container on. Our container took 9 weeks, which I thought was quite good.

Sherlock Holmes

As it's only 20 feet, why not use a shared container? Cheaper and probably won't take any longer.

I used Anglo Pacific. For me they were fantastic, for others, they had trouble. Not sure why it should be so hit and miss but it seems to be.

heldownunder

Ours took 8 weeks door to door . Oh researched ships and found the ones which were more direct ie no stopping in the med - he then insisted that our stuff got on that ship -left house 14th oct on ship for 19th arrived in brissy on 2nd dec was inspected and arrived at house on 12th- the day we moved in. We choose to have no furniture at uk end as it was easier to campout when friends can lend things...

skinnygeorge

Think ours was spot on 8 weeks, We went with GB Liners, 5600 pounds and 600 ish insurance door to door. As we took all we could valued at about 20,000+. No complaints really but if you do not want to bring something take it out of the house before the removal men get there. `Cos if it don`t move its boxed and its no use pointing stuff out before hand and instructing them not to pack it!.

Red_V_Roger

Cheapest sea route is trans-shipping through Singapore. i.e. container goes UK-Singapore, gets offloaded then gets on a different boat Singapore to Oz. This is much cheaper than UK - Oz direct. Count on 10 - 11 weeks for trans-shipped freight.

ozhappy981

We used Crown from the south of England to Perth - which is obviously shorter than Ireland to Brisbane. The sea voyage took exactly 30 days, plus a week before it left England, plus two weeks in Fremantle because of the Christmas holidays.

Ask the removal firm some questions:

1. Which shipping company do they use?

2. How often do ships leave port? (Gives you an idea how long your stuff waits until it leaves Ireland. If they have a container ship leaving every 7-10 days - great; but if it's only once a month - not so great.)

3. Does the ship stop en route and the stuff gets off-loaded and back onto another ship (as per Red Roger's post)? This can add two or three weeks to the trip as your stuff sits around in a foreign port waiting for the next ship to come in. Some shipping companies do two stops: Rotterdam and Singapore.

4. What route does it take? (I remember one poor poster and their ship went the other way round via South America - it took MONTHS!)

5. What happens on arrival in Brisbane, i.e. does the removal firm have its own bonded warehouse for customs clearance? (If they have their own bonded warehouse it's quicker then if they use an agent.)

And as Polly said, time of year is important as well - and out of your control. From mid-November onwards, all ports get very busy - and then you have the Christmas holidays.