9elf S

I learned that my C350 is on the Phoenix Leader, a car carrier transport ship, which left for the US from Europe on March 1st. Its estimated time of arrival in Southern Califonia (probably Long Beach) is March 22nd.

Anyone know how to track the ship during its voyage or arrival at port?

pgaduane

Last position of the Phoenix Leader was off of Long beach back in November 07. But here's a link where you can track your ship or others.

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/index.html#search

Happy sailing....

9elf S

Thanks for the link. I've learned that the Phoenix Leader will dock at Port Hueneme in Oxnard and confirmed with the dock's calendar on estimated arrival date, but can't find a reliable source for tracking purposes. The link would be great if the information was up to date.

Gouda

It's amazing what can be learned here. This is almost as good as flighttracker.

itcrashed

Looks more like the 23rd according to Port Hueneme...

http://www.portofhueneme.org/documen...0229104942.pdf

The interent is a terrible thing to waste

9elf S

Below is a post I found in a BMW forum on ship tracking. Credit goes to STE92VE of the E90Post.com forum.


If you are going over the location of the ship that is carrying your beloved BMW, let me offer you the benefit of my pre-occupation with tracking my E92.

There are two ways that your ship can be tracked on its voyage. When it is close to shore, the AIS (http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/enav/ais/default.htm ) is in use. This an automatic system and is limited to only ships within radio range. When your ship is out in open water, you need to rely on WMO-VOS (http://vos.noaa.gov/vos_scheme.shtml). The problem with this system is that it is a voluntary one and not all ships participate.

Once you have determined the name of your ship there are various websites that offer you the ability to track your vessel. These sites are free and some only require you to register to get the most current updated information.

While your ship is in the North Sea, which includes the ports of Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Zeebrugge, etc., vesseltracker.com (http://www.vesseltracker.com/en/Home.html) provides up to a 2 hour delay of your ships position. This is an AIS based website. Free registration is required for this feature.
There is another AIS website, but I will not mention that now for specific reasons which I will explain later.

After your ship leaves the North Sea on her way to the Atlantic Ocean, she passes through the English Channel. You can track her movements at http://www.ais-live.co.uk/ which is another AIS based website. This site is free, information is real-time and does not require registration.

Once through the English Channel, your ship begins her trans-Atlantic crossing. To continue tracking, you must cross your fingers and hope that your ship is one that voluntarily participates in the WMO-VOS program. If she participates, you can track her progress at http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/index.html. If you enter the ships name and can not pull up any reports, try entering her call sign.
This is a free site, information is usually updated 2 hours after a ship reports their position and registration is not required.
If your ship does not participate, figure that it takes 6-7 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean until you can resume tracking with the following website.

Earlier in this post I mentioned another AIS based website. http://www.aislive.com/AISLIVEPORTAL...ndex=0&tabid=1 It is a global AIS tracking service that provides real-time information. It can be used for ports all over the world. The reason why you should not use it from the time your ship leaves Bremerhaven is that you need to register for a free trial which gives you only 2 weeks access to the subscriber area. This is iimportant for those whose ships are going to ports not offered to the non-registered user or their voyage is longer than 14 days.
There also seems to be a lag in the time you first register and when you get your sign-in information. Remember to completely fill in the form.

chief_p

I tried all the links above, and could not find the Grand Orion. It was suppose to dock in balimore on march 10, 2008. Any help would be appreciated
lasy numbers in my vin are X98R018768.
thanks

9elf S

Have you gone to the Port's website?

ColoradoDriver

Here you go:
Vessels arriving at BALTIMORE, United States
Vessel Name Ship Type IMO Built DWT Destination ETA BALTIMORE
GRAND ORION VEHICLES CARRIER 9303194 2006 17500 BALTIMORE 13 March 2008 04:00

chief_p

Thanks ColoradoDriver, I went to the port web site, but could not find anything. was there a link on the web site that I could have clicked on to get that information?

ColoradoDriver

Yes. Here is one I use. My ship is due in Baltimore 3/22 @ 0600:

http://www.portarrivals.com/list.asp...ALTIMORE:zoom:

ColoradoDriver

Also, because of the terrible weather in the North Atlantic, vehicle carriers got delayed. Notice how a bunch of them will be hitting Baltimore 20-22 March. That should delay processing at the VPC a bit.

chief_p

Thanks a lot.
Good luck on your car arrival.
I will post pictures as soon as I pick mine up.

Baron Samedi

Thanks for the link Colorado. My car's also on the Grand Orion. My dealer called me yesterday to say that the ship was to dock today (3/14). Since I see it docked yesterday at 04:00 do you think that's 4am? I was hoping to take delivery of my car next week. I wonder if a week's enough time to get it to the dealer and prepped. We'll see.

ColoradoDriver

Yes, that was 4 AM. Sold cars are prepped first, but it usually still takes a couple of days. Then it all depends on when the trucks have a full load going in your direction--plus actual transit time.

itcrashed

bah, mine is on the Grand Orion as well...I've got to wait at least 2 weeks for it to be trucked to the west coast

9elf S

I was watching the Panama Canal live webcams on Saturday to see if I could catch a glimpse of the Phoenix Leader coming through the Canal. This is the only car transport ship I saw that day, although I could have missed it. The resolution is not good enough to make out the ship's name, but based on the Canal's schedule the ship would have been either the Phoenix Leader or Favorite Ace.

ColoradoDriver

It is not the Phoenix Leader, but may be Favorite Ace:

http://www.fartygsbilder.com/ovriga/Favorite_Ace.jpg

9elf S

Yea...I think you're right. Too bad, would have been neat to see it cross the canal.

9elf S

My car finally arrived on Monday at the VPC Long Beach. Should be there a few days to process and then off to the dealer. On one of the BMW forums, I found a link that describes the vehicle preparation process at BMW's processing station outside of Oxnard. I assume MB's process is similar. I was surprised by the amount of cars damaged during shipping, which we and the dealers probably never find out about.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...&highlight=vpc

Baron Samedi

This happens because the port facilities are operated by the manufacturer so any repairs that happen at the port are technically performed by the manufacturer. Consequently, no damage disclosure requirements apply because the vehicle has "never" left the manufacturer. Big loophole and not fair in my mind.