Moving To Sanctuary Belize

Shipping Household Goods to Belize

 

 

When we have moved in the states, which we’ve done several times before, we call 2 or 3 moving companies; they come out, look over the house and then give us a bid to move to our new house.  We pick the best price and on the designated day the moving van shows up and guys start packing our stuff into it.  The moving van is this humungous truck that has doors on the side and at the end.  After a day of dismantling the beds, wrapping the furniture in blankets and packing the mirrors and large pictures so that they won’t break, the van is full, the doors are closed and it pulls away with all our stuff.  A couple of weeks later the van arrives at our new home and the process is reversed.  The guys show up again, all the stuff is unloaded with us frantically pointing out where the boxes and furniture goes in the new house.  The van is emptied, the doors are closed and it drives off to wherever a moving van lives until it’s needed again.  That is NOT how it is done when you are moving to Belize.

Oh, I guess you could have hired an international moving company to move us, but it would be very, very expensive.  So we did it the Belizean way; we did it all ourselves.  That meant that I had to find and buy a 40 ft.  waterproof, ocean-going container, get it to our house in Oklahoma City (OKC), pack it, and then find a way to ship it to Belize.  Once in Belize we had to get everything through customs and then to our property in Sanctuary Belize.  Finally, we had to find a way to get a fully loaded, 40 ft. container that weighed I don’t know how many thousands of pounds off a flatbed truck and onto our property in the middle of Belize with no container lifts anywhere near.  As we used to say in the Navy, piece -of-cake.

My first step was to find out how I could get my household goods to Belize in the first place.  Once I knew that, I could find the right kind of container.  So whenever we need information about Belize, what do we do?  Use Google search?  Not hardly, it shows you 3,000 options with the ones that pay Google the most on top.  Wikipedia?  No again.  It’s dated and biased by each contributor.  We go to the expert; Johnny.  Johnny Usher is the Belizean developer of Sanctuary Belize.

 

Johnny Usher: the heart and soul behind Sanctuary Belize

 

He is 3^rd generation Belizean and the “House of Usher” is well known in Belize and Johnny knows everyone.  That is one advantage of living in a country with about 325,000 people. (That’s smaller than the suburbs of most large cities in the U.S.)   Also, Johnny is a man of the highest integrity.  He will recommend people and companies that he knows, but only if he believes that they are the right resource for you.  He gets no kick-backs for recommending anyone.  We trust both his knowledge and integrity without any hesitancy.

Shipping Company

So Johnny told me about CW shipping in Camden, Ala.  They have a ship that departs Mobile AL about twice a month and makes deliveries to Big Creek, just about 30 or so miles south of my house.  WOW, I don’t even have to schlep all that stuff from Belize City where most of the imports enter the country.  I tried to find CW Shipping on the internet and never could.  I finally broke down and asked Johnny for phone number.  So I called them (334 682-9263) and talked to David the owner.  He was very nice and helpful but was usually pretty busy.  So I started talking to Tina, David’s wife and the office manager.  Now I had someone that could tell me the real scoop and make things happen.  It turns out that they will ship both 20’ and 40’ containers.  The 20’ container costs $1,850 + $70.00 documentation charge and $.75/$100 of declared value for insurance.  The 40’ container ships for $2,600 for an 8’ high and $2,800 for a 9’ high container (Do you know that you get an extra 320 sq. ft. of space for that extra 1 ft. in height?  More about that later) plus the same documentation and insurance charges.  And, the cost is per container, not per weight.  So I can put my car inside the container and there is no extra charge for shipping it.  Otherwise the cost for shipping a vehicle on deck is $1,300.  They also have a miscellaneous container for smaller loads that do not ship in their own container.  That cost is proportional to how much space is taken in the miscellaneous container.  The ship departs from the Alabama State Docks at the Blakely Terminal in Mobile AL.  The actual shipments are handled by David Vella and/or Zemmie Murray (251 432-6087 and 251 415-7049 (fax)).  Shipping time is 5 to 14 days to Belize depending on whether they stop at the Grand Cayman Islands before or after they deliver to Big Creek.  You need your container at Mobile at least 2 days before shipping to make sure the paperwork and loading is all done.  So depending on when your things arrive in Mobile, it can take as much as 3-4 weeks to get your shipment to Belize.  Longer if there is a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean.  Then, if you time it right, it could be in Belize as quickly as 2 weeks or less.  All depends!
(9/25/2013 - I just received word that CW Shipping is no longer shipping from Mobile Al. to Big Creek in Belize.  I will edit this again when I get some new shipping information)

Purchasing a 40’ Container

OK, so now I know how to get the container to Belize, but how do I get a 40’ commercial container?  I learned early on that I could not rent a container because there are few back-hauls from Belize.  I also had several people tell me that they would purchase the container from me for my cost when I got it to Belize.  So now I did Google 40 foot containers and started my research from there. I had to immediately rule out a lot of the “storage containers” because they were not made for shipping, only storing stuff and maybe being moved a few miles to a lot.  I needed the big, heavy duty, for real shipping containers like you see with the Tonka Toy models.   I was told that a 40’ container should cost between $2,400 and$2,500.  Maybe so in some places, but not in Oklahoma City.   After researching several companies that sold used containers, I found one located in Oklahoma City.  Every other location would have to charge me to ship the container to OKC and then ship it on to Mobile AL.  OKC is a central shipping area for the country and Hahn Logistics LLC was able to give me a pretty good selection right near my home.  So I went out to their yard and looked at all the 40’ containers that were available.  Allen Hahn ((405) 512-5950) was very helpful and explained the different types of containers I could get.  A used 40’ container 8’ high would cost about $3,950.  A 9’ high container would cost about $4,250.  All containers were sold “as is” with no warranty.  They were also all uncertified, which meant that their DOT certifications were no longer valid since they were “taken out of service.”  I called David at CW Shipping and asked if that would be a problem for him.  He didn’t care so long as it was waterproof.  The insurance would still be valid so long as the container itself did not collapse.  I found the following chart:

SHIPPING CONTAINER SPECIFICATIONS:

Exterior Internal Door Openings MAX Size/Type Length Width Height Length Width Height Height Width Payload 20' Dry 19' 10" 8' 8' 6" 19' 4" 7' 8" 7' 9" 7' 5" 7' 8" 38,000 40' Dry 40' 8' 8' 6" 39' 5" 7' 8" 7' 9" 7' 5" 7' 7" 43,000 40' High Cube 40’ 8' 9' 6" 39' 6" 7' 8" 8' 9" 8' 6" 7' 8" 43,000

MEASUREMENTS MAY VARY SLIGHTLY

Specifications 8X8'6" Standard 20' 8X8'6" Standard 40' 8X9'6" 40' Hi-Cube Inside Cubic Capacity 32.9 CBM (1,161 CF.) 67 CBM (2,366 CF.) 75.6 CBM (2,671 CF.) Maximum Payload 38,000 lbs 43,000 lbs.. 43,000 lbs. Tare Weight / weight of empty container 5,138 lbs. 9,151 lbs. 9,658 lbs.

Now I’m getting somewhere, these are REAL containers and I’m going to own one.  WOW! 

I met Allen at the yard and then I saw the flatbed truck that would haul the container.  It was 55”, almost 5 feet, off the ground.  How was I supposed to load this puppy?  I had a full new Viking kitchen that included a 900 pound (yes 900 pounds in its shipping box) refrigerator that stood 8 feet tall as well as a 6 foot long 750 pound stove.  And I also wanted to put our Mitsubishi Endeavor SUV inside the container.  How would I ever get it up that high?  I started thinking about ramps, folding mirrors (the container is only 7’7” wide and the Endeavor is 7’ wide, pretty close), cranes to get the kitchen appliances in.  I’m beginning to have nightmares about this.  On my 3^rd trip to the yard to meet with Allen, I see a different type of flatbed trailer; it’s called a “low boy” trailer and it’s only 34” up from the ground.  It’s made to carry the higher 9’ high containers.  Well, 34” is a lot more doable than 55” and I’m now realizing that I will need that extra 320 sq. ft.  You see, I went home after the first trip to the yard and took tape and laid out the dimensions of the container on my garage floor.  Two 20’ long rectangles 8’ wide.  I then measured the car and found it was 15’ long.  Umm, I’m now down to only 25’ in the container.  We started putting the boxes and some furniture inside the taped lines.  I rechecked the shipping dimensions for the kitchen appliances, refrigerator, stove (a very nice stove with 6 burners, a grill and two ovens), hood, and two ice makers (have to have one for the outside palapa BBQ).  It became apparent very quickly that the car was going on the deck of the ship.  So I opted for the 9’ container and the low boy flatbed to haul it.

Transporting the Container

Allen showed me a container that they just got in that was in excellent condition.  Minimal rust, no holes and it looked as good as new.  I told him I would take it.  But, could he help me make the shipping arrangements so I could pack it and then ship it to Mobile?  He was on it.  I told him that he’d better check Google Maps for my house because I lived in a gated community at the end of a cul-de-sac and I didn’t know if the truck and trailer could make it in.  Also, I needed the trailer to be parked at my house for at least a day to give us the chance to pack it.  If I used a hauler outside OKC, I was quoted that they would charge me for that down time at the rate of about $50.00 an hour after the first 4 hours.  Allen made arrangements for a local truck to take my stuff to Mobile without any down-time charge since the driver lived in OKC.  He would drop the trailer with the container at my house in the morning and come back the next day to pick it up and haul it to Mobile.  I was still worried about how that truck and trailer would get to my house.  I had measured the driveway, it’s a circular drive, and the 40’ trailer would fit if they could get it in.  Oh, and it wasn’t a 40’ trailer, it was 50’ because the low boy has a front platform.  Plus, you had to add the size of the tractor that pulls it.  As you can see below, it did fit, just barely.  We had to do a bit of lawn repair after the truck left.  Our neighbor on the left was gone when the truck was there and came home and saw some deep tire ruts on the median lawn.  They thought their son had done it while they were gone until I went over and told them we had done it and would repair the lawn.

Packing the Container

The truck arrived only an hour late, which was fine because we were still packing.  My son, Nick, who is a senior at OU got a bunch of his fraternity brothers and Nate, his high school buddy, to help us pack and load the container.  It was 105 F in OKC when we were packing the container.  Inside the container had to be at least 115 F or more.  But we only had the trailer there for a day so we had to really hump to get it all loaded.  Nate was the inside packer and he was magnificent.  He packed every corner and loose spot.  He had a natural sense about it made everything fit.  At one point before we started packing, I was worried about the load shifting.  So I devised a system where we would put plywood partitions inside the container every 10 feet.  We could nail a 2x4 on the floor (all the containers had wooden floors over steel beams so we could nail the 2x4 without a problem).  As I was discussing this idea with Allen he said that they make load locks for that very purpose that fit inside the grooves of the container.  They cost $65 each.  All right, another worry solved.  I had made arrangements with the appliance store to deliver our kitchen appliances as the first delivery in the morning after the trailer was delivered.  I wanted the heavy appliances at the very end of the truck so that we could unload them first.  The delivery truck arrived on time and it had a lift that would allow us to move the appliances straight across from one truck to the other.  It worked just as planned and Nate tied them down at the end of the container.                                                    

As you can see from the picture on the right, there wasn’t any room for the car, or anything else for that matter.  That’s Nate on the left with a thumbs up and my son Nick on the right.  Nick ended up driving our car to Mobile AL for us and seeing that it was delivered to CW Shipping.  Some things to be aware of when shipping your car, it must have a clear title, i.e., no loans on it, before U.S. customs will allow it to leave the country.  The gas take is supposed to be near empty, less than a ¼ tank to lessen the fire risk on board ship.  But I noticed when I picked it up in Belize that the tank was ½ full.  Also, if you are importing the vehicle under the QRP (Qualified retirement Program – more about that on another blog), it cannot be older than 3 years.

Clearing Customs in Belize

So the truck was headed off to Mobile and ultimately to Belize.  Our daughter was going through the trauma of getting accepted at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, which is a whole different story.   Enough said to just say it is different than the US admission process and very traumatic for a smart 17 year old graduate with all her friends not only accepted at various universities but actually leaving for universities in the U.S.  But the details were worked out and we planned to take her to Scotland on the 6^th of September and return directly to our new life in Belize, arriving on 9/11.  As empty nesters, we did not lose any time in flying away to our dream retirement.  The last kid is out and we are GONE!

But getting your household things to Belize is not enough, you need to get them INTO Belize, which means that you need to clear customs.  To do that you need a custom’s broker.  So how do you find an honest, reliable customs broker in Belize?  Call Johnny of course!  Johnny gave me Delroy Fairweather’s number.  (in Belize: 501 (country code) 610-5190 Cell   223-6236 office    delroybelize@gmail.com )  Deroy works for Benny’s in Belize City and does much of the custom’s import work for sanctuary Belize.   Delroy asked for lists of all the good swe were importing, including a copy of the title and purchase agreement for the car.  Yes, they want to see the sales receipt for the car as well as the title.  Fortunately my wife keeps stuff like that.  All of that was sent to him from the U.S. before we even left and he had preliminary approval from customs before our belongings  even left Mobile.  We were bringing our car and household goods into Belize under the QRP program.  As qualified retirees we are allowed to bring in all our household goods, even in multiple shipments, one car, one boat and one airplane.  I left my F-4 Phantom on the tarmac in San Diego a long time ago.

Yes, that's me on my F-4 Phantom just befrore taking off for a combat mission in Vietnam on board the USS Ranger (CVA-61)  "Long ago and far away in another galaxy"

Unless they have arresting gear on their runways here, I couldn’t land it here anyway. 

If you are importing using the QRP, then the duty free benefit is for one year from when the QRP is issued.  Therefore, you want to be sure that you time its issuance close to when you will be bringing your things into Belize.  We received our QRP last December.  Delroy, as well as several other resources, can help you get a QRP, including the legal staff at Atlantic Bank.  Getting our personal items into Belize duty free was a BIG savings.  Belize is a poor country and much of its revenue comes from imports.  I was told that SUV’s have some of the highest duties with the tax at upwards of 40% of the car’s value.

Auto Insurance a MUST in Belize

After getting to Sanctuary Belize on the 11^th, we went to Big Creek to get our car and container on the 12^th.  I was in for a big surprise; the customs officials at Big Creek were actually very nice and very helpful!  I usually find government officials very difficult to work with.  They have their rules and they are not to be messed with.  The Belizean customs officials actually helped us get through the paperwork.  We got the car OK but there were some missing papers that were needed for the container so we had to come back the next day.   There was never any suggestion of paying anything extra (i.e. a bribe).  There was the usual going from window to window but everything went smoothly and we got the keys to our car and drove our car home.  On the way back to Sanctuary Belize I called Johnny about something and said that we were driving our car home.  He asked is we had insurance yet.  I said no, I would get it the next day.  Johnny was very insistent that we get it immediately.  Now Johnny is seldom insistent about anything.  He suggests and recommends but seldom insists.  He said is we got stopped by a road check, not uncommon in Belize, we could go to jail if we did not have insurance.  He said to go back to Big Creek and find the local insurance agent and get coverage.  He was so insistent that we immediately turned around and headed the ten minutes back to Big Creek and found a local auto insurance agent.  He ran his agency out of his home and wrote the policy as we waited.  We got the basic 3^rd party coverage with the intention of getting more comprehensive insurance later.  But it meets the legal requirement for insurance.  It took about 15-20 minutes and cost $50.00 Bz for three months coverage.  Cheap for staying out of jail.  BTW, we have been stopped at road checkpoints since then and they always inspect the insurance sticker we have on the windshield.  Thanks again Johnny.

Unloading the Container on our Property

                   Alfonso and Abe finding just the right spot for the container on our property

The next day I went back to clear the container.  Delroy had E-mailed them the missing papers and everything went smoothly.  But now I had a 40 ft. container jammed to the gills with all sorts of stuff that had to be inspected.  They knew we were from Sanctuary Belize and said that we could have the container inspected on our site.  The only problem was could I pick up the customs agent from Dangriga and drive him back after he inspected the container.  To get the container inspected on my proprty, you bet, no prob.  Deloy had made arrangements for a flatbed truck to pick up the container at the Big Creek Port.  They have the big cranes there to pick containers and place them on trailers.  No problem.  But then there was also the problem of getting it off the flatbed onto my property at Sanctuary Belize.  I had been talking with Johnny about it and he said no problem, they do it all the time.  Just call him when we were on our way.  So I was off to get the customs agent while the truck driver loaded the container and headed north to Sanctuary Belize.  We both arrived at the property right at 12:00 noon when everyone takes lunch.  No one was at the property to off load the container.  My worst fears were realized; we got the container all the way to Belize to have a major glitch at the very end.  I took the customs agent and truck driver to get a bite to eat and returned to find two sky trains and a bunch of guys at the property.  We selected a nice out-of-the way spot on high ground and the driver backed the truck right into it. 

                                                         Abe lifting the back of the container

Abe directed the sky trains to hook the top of the container front and back and lifted it about 5” off the flatbed, whereupon the truck pulled forward and the container was gently lowered to the ground.  No sweat!

                               Alfonso watching as the container is lowered to the ground

Meanwhile the customs agent was getting bored waiting around.  So before the container was even off the flatbed he asked me to open it for inspection.  Fortunately I had kept the spare keys to the giant padlocks since the set sent with the container were lost.  I opened the back doors, he looked in, “umm, a two flatbed TV’s?”  No I said only one as shown on the manifest.  “umm, a bicycle?”  No I said, two bicycles as shown on the manifest.  “OK” he said, “You can close it.”  Customs inspection done!  It’s nice to be associated with such a well-respected project as Sanctuary Belize.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit it was a tough process.  Lots of details to watch for.  Lots of unknowns for me.  And all at the time that I was retiring from Southern Nazarene University, getting my daughter into an overseas university, and spending 2 weeks in Kenya for Morningstar Institute.  We were also getting our house in OKC sold only to have it fall out of escrow the day before the scheduled closing in the middle of packing the trailer. It was probably two of the most stressful months in my life.  And I know stress.  But it all worked out and we did get our belongings to Belize.  Now we just need to finish building the house.  But that is story for another day.

If you have questions or want additional information or contacts, feel free to E-mail me at Tom@Therskowitz.com

God bless.

Tom