RoRo Shipping.

RoRo — roll-on roll-off — is the workhorse of international vehicle shipping. Rather than being packed into a steel container, your vehicle is driven up a ramp onto a purpose-built car carrier, parked on one of several vehicle decks, chocked and lashed to the deck by the ship's crew, and then driven off under its own power when the vessel berths at destination. There is no container to pack, no lifting, no bracing timber and no loading crew, which is why RoRo is normally the lowest-cost method for a single running vehicle and the only practical method for anything too tall or too heavy for a box.

NLX Logistics books RoRo space every week out of Southampton, Sheerness, Tilbury, Immingham, Teesport, Liverpool and Bristol with the major deep-sea vehicle carriers, and we handle the whole movement as one job: collection from your address, delivery into the port compound, the export customs entry, the bill of lading and destination agent liaison. You get one price, one reference number and one person to call.

Space on a vehicle carrier is sold by volume, so price is driven by the footprint and height of your unit rather than its value. A compact hatchback occupies a fraction of the deck that a long-wheelbase motorhome does, and that difference is reflected directly in the freight. The guide prices below show typical UK-to-worldwide costs by vehicle type so you can sanity-check a budget before you speak to anybody.

Because the vehicle is driven on and off, a RoRo booking assumes the unit starts, steers, brakes and drives. Non-runners can often still be shipped on a mafi trailer or in a container, but that is a different product at a different price, so tell us at the point of enquiry if the vehicle will not move under its own power.

RoRo decks are also strictly empty-vehicle only on most services. Personal effects, spare parts, tools and loose items inside the vehicle are prohibited by the majority of carriers and by many destination customs authorities. If you need to send belongings with the vehicle, a sole-use or shared container is the correct solution and we will quote it alongside.

We collect vehicles anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales, from private addresses, dealerships, auction houses, body shops and farms. Transport is by covered or open transporter depending on value and preference, and we can arrange collection of a purchased vehicle directly from the seller so you never have to drive it yourself.

If you prefer to deliver the vehicle to the port yourself, we will give you the compound address, the gate opening hours and the receiving deadline for your sailing. Vehicles are normally received between three and seven days before the vessel arrives; earlier than that and storage may apply, later and the unit may roll to the following week.

Every roro shipping booking with NLX Logistics follows the same simple sequence, and you keep the same reference number and the same contact from the first email to final delivery. You send us the details, we send you a written quotation, and once you are happy we confirm space and issue a booking pack with everything you need to prepare.

We never ask for paperwork you do not need, and we never spring charges on you at destination without warning. If a cost is likely to arise at the other end — terminal handling, customs examination, quarantine inspection, storage after free time expires — we tell you about it in the quotation so you can budget for it rather than discover it later.

Good paperwork is what keeps freight moving, so we front-load it. For commercial cargo we need a commercial invoice and packing list, your EORI number, the commodity codes and the incoterms you have agreed with your buyer. For vehicles we need the V5C or bill of sale, photographic identification for the owner and the keys. For personal effects we need a detailed inventory and, where relevant, evidence of residence.

If anything is missing we will tell you exactly what to obtain and where to get it. We would far rather spend ten minutes on the phone before the cargo moves than deal with a detention charge at destination because a certificate was never applied for.

Standard carrier liability is limited by international convention and is calculated on the weight of the cargo rather than its value, which means an expensive, lightweight shipment is barely protected at all. We therefore recommend all-risks marine cargo insurance on the declared commercial or replacement value of every consignment, which we can arrange at the point of booking for a small percentage of the insured value.

Cover runs warehouse to warehouse, includes general average contribution, and is underwritten on Institute Cargo Clauses A for most cargo types. Claims are handled with a single point of contact, and we will help you assemble the survey report, photographs and commercial evidence a claim requires.