Choosing who moves your vehicle is a bigger decision than most buyers treat it as, because by the time something has gone wrong the cargo is already in somebody else's hands and halfway across the country. The good news is that almost everything worth knowing can be checked in advance, in a few minutes, using public information. This page sets out what to check, what to ask, and what the common warning signs actually look like.
Start with the licence
Anyone offering to carry your vehicle by sea from the United States as a non vessel operating common carrier has to be licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission as an Ocean Transportation Intermediary. That licence is public, it is searchable, and it takes about a minute to check. If a company cannot give you a licence number, or the number does not come back to the name they trade under, that is the end of the conversation.
Our licence is OTI No. 025125NF, held by Royal Port Container Lines, Inc. doing business as Cassandra Logistics. We would encourage you to verify it, and to verify anyone else who asks you to hand over a vehicle or send a payment. It is the single most useful check available to you and almost nobody makes it.
Worth knowing as well is the difference between an NVOCC and a freight forwarder. An NVOCC is a carrier, issues its own bill of lading and takes the cargo as a carrier. A forwarder arranges transport on your behalf and does not carry it. Both are legitimate and both are licensed, but they are different roles and the bill of lading tells you which one you are dealing with.
Read what the quote leaves out
The most common reason a shipping price turns out to be wrong is not dishonesty, it is omission. A number that looks lower than everyone else's is very often a number that covers fewer things, and the difference reappears later as separate invoices.
Ask, in writing, whether the figure includes collection from the yard or seller, delivery to the warehouse, any storage, the loading and securing, the United States export filing and the internal transaction number, the bill of lading, and the ocean freight to the destination port named. Ask what happens if the vehicle turns out not to run, not to roll, or not to fit the arrangement the quote assumed. Ask whether destination charges at the far end are included or collect.
A shipper who answers those questions plainly and in writing is a shipper you can compare properly. One who will not put the answers in writing has told you something useful.
Check who issues the bill of lading
The bill of lading is the document that matters. It is the contract of carriage, it is what your consignee presents at destination, and the name on it tells you who is actually carrying your cargo. Ask whose bill of lading you will receive before you book, not after.
Ask too whether the release will be by original bills or by telex release, and make sure you understand which. An original bill of lading is a physical document that has to reach the consignee, and that takes time and courier cost. A telex release is electronic and faster. Neither is better in the abstract, but finding out which one applies after the vessel has sailed is an avoidable problem.
Warning signs worth taking seriously
Several patterns show up again and again in the cases people write to us about after the fact. A request to pay a person rather than a company. A price that is dramatically below everything else quoted on the same lane. Pressure to decide today because a vessel is about to leave. An unwillingness to give a licence number or a company registration. A quote given verbally that never arrives in writing. A request for payment before any documentation exists at all.
Another is an offer to buy the vehicle for you, or to let you use someone else's auction account. That arrangement puts the title and your money in a position you do not control, and it is one of the most common ways people lose both. Buy in your own name and the problem does not exist.
None of these on its own proves anything. Two or three together are usually enough to walk away, and walking away costs nothing compared with the alternative.
Questions worth asking any shipper
What is your FMC licence number and what legal entity holds it. Whose bill of lading will I receive. What exactly is included in this price and what is not. What is the transit time to my port and how often does that service sail. What happens if the vehicle does not fit as assumed. Who files the export declaration. What is your free storage period and what applies after it. Will the release be by original bills or telex. Who do I contact when the vessel has sailed.
Those nine questions take ten minutes to ask and they will separate a serious operation from an unserious one very quickly. A good shipper will answer all of them without hesitating, because they are the questions a good shipper expects.
Where we stand on all of it
We are the carrier of record, we issue our own bill of lading, our licence is public and verifiable, and we put what is included and what is not in writing with every quote. We do not buy vehicles, we do not provide auction account access, and we do not quote numbers we expect to change later.
Our responsibility runs to the destination port named on the bill of lading. Clearance, duty, inspection and registration at the far end are handled by your own licensed customs agent, and import rules are set by the destination country and administered there. Being clear about that boundary from the start is part of what makes a shipment go smoothly, and we would rather say it plainly at the quote stage than leave it to be discovered later.
Choosing a shipper FAQ
How do I check if a car shipping company is legitimate?
Start with the Federal Maritime Commission register of licensed Ocean Transportation Intermediaries, which is public and searchable. Ask for the licence number and the legal entity that holds it, and check that the number comes back to the name the company trades under. It takes about a minute and almost nobody does it. If a company cannot give you a number, that answers the question.
What is an FMC licence and why does it matter?
It is the federal licence required to operate as a non vessel operating common carrier or an ocean freight forwarder from the United States. It means the company is registered, bonded and subject to regulation, and it gives you a verifiable identity to check against. Our licence is OTI No. 025125NF, held by Royal Port Container Lines, Inc. doing business as Cassandra Logistics.
What is the difference between an NVOCC and a freight forwarder?
An NVOCC is a carrier. It issues its own bill of lading and takes your cargo as the carrier of record. A freight forwarder arranges transport on your behalf and does not carry the cargo itself. Both are legitimate and both are licensed, but they are different roles, and the name on the bill of lading tells you which one you are actually dealing with.
Should I use a broker or go direct to a carrier?
Going direct removes a layer, and with it a layer of markup and a layer of distance between you and the people handling your cargo. A broker can still add value on complex routing. What matters more than the label is whether you can see clearly who is carrying the cargo, whose bill of lading you get, and what the price actually covers.
Why is one quote so much cheaper than the others?
Almost always because it covers fewer things. Check whether collection, warehouse delivery, loading, securing, the export filing and the bill of lading are inside the number or whether they arrive later as separate invoices. Ask also what happens if the vehicle does not run, does not roll, or does not fit the arrangement the quote assumed. A complete number is more useful than a low one.
What should a complete quote include?
Collection from the yard or seller, delivery to the warehouse, the free storage period, loading and securing, the United States export filing and the internal transaction number, the bill of lading, and the ocean freight to the named destination port. It should also state plainly what is not included, which on most shipments means everything at the destination end.
Should I get the quote in writing?
Always, and be wary of anyone who will not give you one. A written quotation lets you compare like with like, it records what was agreed, and it removes the arguments that otherwise happen later. A verbal figure that never arrives in writing has told you something about how the rest of the shipment is likely to go.
Are destination charges usually included?
Frequently they are not, and this is where a cheap quote often becomes an expensive one. Charges at the destination port are commonly collect, meaning your consignee pays them on arrival. Ask directly whether the quote is to the port with destination charges collect or prepaid, because the difference can be substantial and it is better known in advance.
Why does it matter whose bill of lading I get?
Because it is the contract of carriage and it names who is actually carrying your cargo. Your consignee presents it at destination to take delivery, so the document has to be right and it has to come from a party you can identify. Ask whose bill of lading you will receive before you book rather than after the vessel has sailed.
What is the difference between original bills and telex release?
An original bill of lading is a physical document that has to reach the consignee before cargo can be released, which takes courier time and cost. A telex release is electronic and faster, with the release instruction sent to the destination office. Neither is better in the abstract, but you should know which one applies to your shipment well before arrival.
Can I change the consignee after the bill of lading is issued?
Sometimes, but it is a formal amendment rather than a quick edit, and it can carry a charge and a delay depending on how far the shipment has progressed. The practical answer is to get the consignee details right at the booking stage. Tell us exactly who the consignee and notify party should be when you book and the amendment never becomes necessary.
What are the warning signs of a shipping scam?
A request to pay a person rather than a company. A price dramatically below everything else on the same lane. Pressure to decide today because a vessel is leaving. An unwillingness to give a licence number or company registration. A quote given verbally that never arrives in writing. Payment demanded before any documentation exists. Any two of these together are usually enough to walk away.
Should I let a shipper buy the car for me?
We would advise against it, and we do not do it ourselves. An arrangement where someone else buys the vehicle in their name on your behalf puts the ownership, the title and your money in a position you do not control. Buy in your own name through your own account and the title, the invoice and the export filing all line up behind you.
Is it safe to use someone else's auction account?
It puts the purchase in a name that is not yours, which is the opposite of what you want when a title and a large payment are involved. We do not hold, share or provide auction account access, and getting access to buy is a matter between you and the auction house or a licensed broker. The cleanest structure is the one where everything names you.
What if I have already paid someone and lost contact?
Check the FMC register for the licence they claimed to hold, since a licensed intermediary has a bond and a registered address and is subject to regulation. Keep every message, invoice and payment record. If a licence number was given, the Commission is the right place to raise it. We cannot act on your behalf in that situation, but we can tell you what documentation is normally expected to exist.
What should I ask before I book?
What is your FMC licence number and which entity holds it. Whose bill of lading will I receive. What exactly is included and excluded. What is the transit time and the sailing frequency. What happens if the vehicle does not fit as assumed. Who files the export declaration. What is the free storage period. Original bills or telex release. Who do I contact after the vessel sails.
How do I know the transit time I am given is realistic?
Ask which service and which routing the figure is based on, and whether it is direct or involves a transshipment. A number given without a routing behind it is an estimate rather than a schedule. Ask also how often that service sails, because a long gap between sailings matters more to your actual delivery date than the voyage length does.
Who handles problems once the vessel has sailed?
Ask that before you book, and get a name or a desk rather than a general address. Most shipments are uneventful, but when something does need attention it needs attention quickly, and knowing in advance who to contact is worth a great deal. A company that cannot answer that question has not thought about the part of the job that happens after the money arrives.
What is your licence number?
OTI No. 025125NF, held by Royal Port Container Lines, Inc. doing business as Cassandra Logistics. It is published on the Federal Maritime Commission register and we would encourage you to check it. We would also encourage you to check anyone else asking you to hand over a vehicle or send a payment.
Where does your responsibility end?
At the destination port named on the bill of lading. Clearance, duty, taxes, inspection and registration at the far end are handled by your own licensed customs agent in that country, and import rules are set and administered by the destination country. We state that boundary plainly at the quote stage rather than leaving it to be discovered later.
Do you put the exclusions in writing?
Yes, with every quote. We set out what the price covers and what it does not, because a quote that only lists inclusions is half a quote. It also lets you compare us properly against anyone else, which we would rather you did with full information than on a headline number alone.
How do I get a quote from you?
Send us the vehicle or cargo details, the collection location in the United States and the destination port, and we will come back within 24 to 48 hours with a written figure and a clear statement of what is and is not included. Start here.
Import rules change. The customs information on this page comes from official government sources and was accurate when published, but duties, age limits and eligibility requirements are set by the destination country and can change without notice. Cassandra Logistics is a licensed ocean carrier, not a customs authority or a legal adviser. We are not responsible for changes to foreign import law, or for decisions made by customs at destination. Always confirm current requirements with a licensed customs agent in the destination country before you buy.