Stuttgart to Sydney...and beyond

[OzzieT]

Here is the latest update - I know many of you will be on the edge of your seats with excitement just like me.

The Hoegh Bangkok has just passed Cape Town on its way to Durban which is the next stop. We are at day 21 of the 53 day journey to final destination.

A trivia question. Which is the longest leg of the journey? Is it Santandar, Spain to Durban, South Africa? Or is it Durban, South Africa to Melbourne, Australia? Tough one.

My immediate answer was Durban to Melbourne at 5,650 nautical miles. But in fact Santandar to Durban at 6,408 nautical miles is longer. This equates to two more days at sea.

Sponsored

 

[OzzieT]

Well team it's a little over 8 days to go before Hoegh Bangkok arrives at the port of Melbourne on it's way to the final destination at Port Kembla, near Sydney.

You will have seen @Megatron 's excellent post in this thread about importation delays into Australia for new cars due to the country's strict quarantine requirements. All cars are inspected for bugs, leaves, spiders, bird poo and any other suspicious looking items which could impact our bio-security. But the quarantine service has not been able to keep pace with the increased volume of new cars (post-COVID) coming into the country and the backlog is enormous. This delays vessel's getting to port, it delays the unloading process itself and it delays the distribution of vehicles to dealers and owners.

So I have been doing a bit of research on Melbourne and Port Kembla.

Melbourne doesn't look too bad with three vehicle carriers at berth:
- Sara Leader
- Hoegh Trapper
- Hoegh Trooper

Port Kembla looks like its a nightmare with 10 vehicle carries at berth or waiting to berth:
- Tonsberg
- Mediterranean Sea
- Hoegh Oslo
- Tannhauser
- Viking Sea
- Morning Cherry (hello I'm Captain Stubby from the Morning Cherry!)
- Glovis Courage
- Dream Jasmine
- Dugong Ace
- Toronto

And to bring it to life you can see the picture below with the yellow dots. I have to say that my heart sunk a little looking at this. It appears the vehicle importation backlog has eased a little at Melbourne but Port Kembla is going to add some serious delays to my vehicle delivery.

 

[Megatron]

Well team it's a little over 8 days to go before Hoegh Bangkok arrives at the port of Melbourne on it's way to the final destination at Port Kembla, near Sydney.

You will have seen @Megatron 's excellent post in this thread about importation delays into Australia for new cars due to the country's strict quarantine requirements. All cars are inspected for bugs, leaves, spiders, bird poo and any other suspicious looking items which could impact our bio-security. But the quarantine service has not been able to keep pace with the increased volume of new cars (post-COVID) coming into the country and the backlog is enormous. This delays vessel's getting to port, it delays the unloading process itself and it delays the distribution of vehicles to dealers and owners.

So I have been doing a bit of research on Melbourne and Port Kembla.

Melbourne doesn't look too bad with three vehicle carriers at berth:
- Sara Leader
- Hoegh Trapper
- Hoegh Trooper

Port Kembla looks like its a nightmare with 10 vehicle carries at berth or waiting to berth:
- Tonsberg
- Mediterranean Sea
- Hoegh Oslo
- Tannhauser
- Viking Sea
- Morning Cherry (hello I'm Captain Stubby from the Morning Cherry!)
- Glovis Courage
- Dream Jasmine
- Dugong Ace
- Toronto

And to bring it to life you can see the picture below with the yellow dots. I have to say that my heart sunk a little looking at this. It appears the vehicle importation backlog has eased a little at Melbourne but Port Kembla is going to add some serious delays to my vehicle delivery.

I have some good news to share ? I took delivery of my CT4S earlier this afternoon. It was basically dark when I got it, so no photos yet - but importantly I hope this means better news for you @OzzieT

The Oslo only spent 3 days in Melbourne, so very minor delays (if any). After arriving on 22nd, the Oslo left Melbourne on the 25th of April and I got the My Porsche notification that it had arrived at the Dealer on the 29th.

Interestingly this timing was quicker than the Hoegh website, which suggested it would not leave Melbourne until the 29th.

Based on your note, it seems the issue of Melbourne's backlog has migrated to Sydney. ? you also get the benefit of a European origin and things clear for you. For me, the last 2 weeks has been the hardest part of the wait (I even saw the Oslo one day while driving to work), so close yet so far.

Best of luck Ozzie

 

[OzzieT]

I have some good news to share ? I took delivery of my CT4S earlier this afternoon. It was basically dark when I got it, so no photos yet - but importantly I hope this means better news for you @OzzieT

The Oslo only spent 3 days in Melbourne, so very minor delays (if any). After arriving on 22nd, the Oslo left Melbourne on the 25th of April and I got the My Porsche notification that it had arrived at the Dealer on the 29th.

Interestingly this timing was quicker than the Hoegh website, which suggested it would not leave Melbourne until the 29th.

Based on your note, it seems the issue of Melbourne's backlog has migrated to Sydney. ? you also get the benefit of a European origin and things clear for you. For me, the last 2 weeks has been the hardest part of the wait (I even saw the Oslo one day while driving to work), so close yet so far.

Best of luck Ozzie

Congratulations on your new car! Look forward to the photos and your review. Appreciate the information you have shared, very useful indeed.

 

[Megatron]

Couple of pics below. Absolutely loving the car so far. Happy with the options I picked and while I sort of wish I got the Gentian Blue, think the Grey looks great. I paid for the coloured wheel centres too, as I had that on my prior 718 Cayman... a little thing but I think it makes a big difference.

Only issue I've come around to is charging. I'm in an awkward spot as I live in a somewhat regional town north of Melbourne and commute the 200km round trip 4 days a week. I'm also doing an involved home renovation so my home charging won't be set up until the reno is finished in ~September. Now I thought this wouldn't be a massive issue as we have 75Kw public chargers (Evie) in the street right behind me right beside a gym, so the plan was charge there every day or two and get some exercise... but currently they don't work and unfortunately nor does the chargers in a nearby town. So I'll have to be a bit creative to avoid swapping back to my other ICE car.

Fingers crossed Evie resolve it quickly, but seems worrisome that they have the same issue nearby. But importantly again, the car is seriously awesome!

 

[OzzieT]

Lovely photos. Congratulations! Yes I think we will all need to adjust to 'charging thinking', it needs to be something you are consciously considering - at least until you've got your ecosystem set.

 

[OzzieT]

Taycaners - quite an important moment occurred a few hours ago - the Hoegh Bangkok carrying my car - crossed into Australian territorial waters - as it passed the beautiful town of Albany on the south coast of Western Australia. Just a few more days to Melbourne.

 

[Taycan2023y]

I finally received the call from the dealer that the car has arrived today. I'll pick it up in a weeks time after the ceramic coating and tinting is completed. Hopefully you don't experience the same port congestion delays that I experienced.

 

[OzzieT]

Yes Taycaners - the ship has arrived in Melbourne. The shipping schedule is, frustratingly, showing a 10 day stay in Melbourne before departure to Port Kembla. The positive is the schedule has improved by a day with arrival on 26th May. Allow a week to the dealer and another week for pre-check, tint and other items and we are looking at 9th/10th of June delivery. Well that's my best estimate at this stage.

 

[whitex]

You are so close. Surprising even myself, this was around the time where I stopped watching it every day. Once I knew it was manufactured and coming in less than a month, I found myself checking every 2 or 3 days, rather than one or twice a day prior to then. I think checking daily while knowing it's so close just aggravated me too much, even though my total deposit-to-delivery took 20 months. Hang in there, it's coming soon enough!

 

[OzzieT]

In an absolute SHOCK development - Hoegh Bangkok departed Melbourne for Port Kembla (Wollongong’s port) 24 hours ago, a week earlier than the original schedule. This is what happens when you stop checking the shipping portal every few hours. Clearly the quarantine importation issues at Melbourne have improved. Getting very close now

 

[whitex]

In an absolute SHOCK development - Hoegh Bangkok departed Melbourne for Port Kembla (Wollongong’s port) 24 hours ago, a week earlier than the original schedule. This is what happens when you stop checking the shipping portal every few hours. Clearly the quarantine importation issues at Melbourne have improved. Getting very close now

If you stop checking now, the next thing you know is your dealer sending you pictures of the car in their parking lot! You know what they say, "a watched pot never boils"

 

[Taycan2023y]

Picked up my car today.

 

[OzzieT]

Picked up my car today.

Congratulations! Beautiful day for a drive.

 

[Taycan2023y]

Car is amazing but the infrastructure is brisbane with charge fox is so poor. I wish Porsche didn’t make us pay for 3 years of subscription. At least in that sense we would have freedom to pay and use non fox chargers.

Sponsored