Trophy shipment by sea?

01 May 2008, 22:17

Hopefully I will soon have a shipment of my trophies from my September hunt in the Eastern Cape. They will be shipped to JJ Boyle in Seattle, then on to the tannery in Great Falls, MT. On my previous hunts to Africa, I've had my trophies shipped by air to the US.

This shipment will be for capes and horns of 12 animals from Steenbok to Eland (no Warthog

), so I think it will be a fairly large crate. I have heard that shipments by sea are substantially less expensive than air freight. I also realize that sea shipments are slower.

Has anyone shipped their trophies by sea? And, if so, would you recommend it?

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02 May 2008, 00:21

Stonecreek

I was told that sea shipment of small cargos (less than container loads) is both impractical and very slow. Besides, the cost of the air shipment for our group's trophies was less than the clearing fees charged by the import agent. While the import agent's fees in our case seemed exhorbitant, they should be the same whether by sea or by air, so it would seem that the savings to go by sea would be minimal at best.

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02 May 2008, 01:26

butchloc

i did it a while ago and it turned out just great. the stuff wall mounted and shipped in a partial container load. took just 30 days to get here and cost 1/3 the amount of air. BUT, i tried to get dried skins back and they told me that they wouldn't take them. had to be mounted first. something about being fearful of having stuff rot

02 May 2008, 04:18

Michael Robinson

I've done it and recommend it, especially for large shipments, at least to the east coast. I've had crates the size of compact cars delivered that way and it's much less expensive than air shipping.

It only works for mounted trophies, though, so in your case would not work.

It takes about one month to ship by sea from Durban to New York. Not sure about west coast shipping time or cost, however.

Anyone interested can contact these folks to find out about practicality, costs and timing:

Safari Air Cargo Systems CC

I have used them and they have been terrific to deal with.

Mike

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02 May 2008, 04:26

stubbleduck47

I used sea freight twice, 2003 & 2005 hunts. Shipped standard shoulder mounts, backskins, an ostrich skin, a couple of european mounts and a skull. NKWE taxidermists in Zeerust SA did the work, forwarded it to Safari Air Cargo Systems who shipped it to Fauna and Flora in NYC. Everything went like clockwork and the mounts still look just fine to me.

02 May 2008, 05:52

RSIMMONS

I had my 2006 SA mounts shipped via sea rather than air because the air cost was about 100% higher. I was quoted $1406 for sea shipment and $2919 for air shipment. I decided on sea shipment. I also made sure I got the marine insurance after reading a few post here about crushed crates. It took 18 dasy to reach Fauna and Flora in New York. I will ship my next trophy shipment via boat simply on a cost/benefit basis.

My worthless 2Â¢.

02 May 2008, 09:11

L. David Keith

Last May things changed on shipping raw trophies via sea cargo. It was a US Customs deal, not things rotting. Containers are airtight (supposed to be anyway, otherwise everything metal would ruin from salt air & spray). Contact John Meehan at Fauna & Flora Customs Brokers in Jamaica, New York. ALL raw imports must clear customs and most will clear in NY. Savings on sea vs air is great. Have you bought jet fuel today? I just spoke with John concerning my own trophies. Safari Cargo will insure your trophies for the full replacement value. You must specify the amount you want to insure, but the exporter must state what the replacement amount is. Insurance runs about $10.00 per $1,000. Don't guess about this stuff. Call John. He has answers and his business stands behind their word.
LDK

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02 May 2008, 09:20

graybird

Interesting that you guys have seen so much savings on shipping by sea. When I got my 2005 estimates for shipping via air and sea, there was only about a $100 savings using sea shipment. I opted for the air since the difference was basically null. Course, I only had 3 shoulder mounts, a half mounted warthog and a euro mount, which could have made a big difference.

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03 May 2008, 03:55

L. David Keith

graybird:

quote:
When I got my 2005 estimates for shipping

Gasoline wasn't $4.00 a gallon in the US in '05. Consider what jet fuel is right now in Africa. A smart move for anyone would be to check around, but deal with those who are well established. By that I mean "can stand behind the insurance your paying for."

Wait till we get a load of next years prices for everything related to hunting.
LDK