Once a car is booked on a ship, one of the first questions people ask is where it will land. Behind it is usually a worry: will I have to drive to Southampton to collect it, and does a port at the other end of the country cost more? You will not need to go to the port at all, and the port matters far less than it seems.
Here is where cars arrive, why the shipping line picks the port rather than us, and what happens to your car between the quay and our yard.
- Main deep-sea port
- Southampton
- Also used
- London Gateway, Felixstowe, Tilbury, Liverpool
- Who picks it
- The shipping line
- Where you collect
- Castle Donington, or delivered
Who decides the port
A container ship or car carrier runs a fixed rotation, calling at a set list of ports in order. Your car lands wherever the service it is booked on calls in the UK. So the port is set by the route and the sailing, not chosen for each car.
Lanes do change. Carriers reroute services, add ports and drop them, so we confirm the UK port when the car is booked rather than promising one at the quote stage.
The ports, route by route
These are the UK ports on the lanes we use, from the route data My Car Import checks against live sailing schedules.
| Feature | Typical routes into it |
|---|---|
| Southampton | Japan, much of China and South East Asia, the USA (east, Gulf and west coasts), Saudi Arabia, Morocco, much of West Africa, South Africa by vehicle carrier, Mexico, the Caribbean hub at Caucedo, and Brazil and Argentina |
| London Gateway | Some Chinese ports, Australia, and Cape Town by container |
| Felixstowe | Turkey, Egypt, and some New Zealand and Greek sailings |
| Tilbury | Some West African services, and some Greek sailings |
| Liverpool | Canada (Halifax and Montreal), and one US service from Baltimore |
| Portsmouth | A direct Caribbean service to the Windward and Leeward islands, and ferries from Jersey and Guernsey |
Southampton is the one you will hear most. It is the UK call for most of the deep-sea lanes we run, and it is where RoRo car carriers usually land. Our ports page shows the departure ports at the other end, country by country.
Cars that come by road and ferry
Not every car arrives at a container port. Cars from mainland Europe come by road transporter, crossing the Channel at Dover, and are delivered straight to our site in Castle Donington.
The shorter sea crossings use the ferry ports on the obvious routes:
- Holyhead: ferries from Dublin, for cars from Ireland
- Heysham: the ferry from Douglas, for cars from the Isle of Man
- Portsmouth and Poole: ferries from Jersey and Guernsey
Why the port matters less than you think
When a container lands, we do not leave it at the port to be emptied in a warehouse. We handle the move from the ship to the quayside, pay the port's charges, and bring the whole container to our private facility in Castle Donington by road or rail. Our own team unloads it there.
That means a container landing at Felixstowe and one landing at Southampton end up in the same place, handled by the same people. A RoRo car is driven off the ship at the port and then comes on to us. Either way, the port is a stop on the journey, not the destination.
You never collect from the port. Your car is released to you from our site once it is registered, or we deliver it to any UK address on an open or enclosed trailer.
The clocks that start at the port
The day a container comes off the ship, two separate charges can begin. The port charges storage for the ground the container sits on, and the shipping line charges demurrage for keeping its box. They belong to different companies and run at the same time.
Where free periods are published at all, they run to only a few days, and some of the biggest ports do not publish one. That is the single most avoidable cost in an import, and it is the reason we move containers off the port and onto our own ground rather than leaving them to wait. Our guide to port storage and demurrage charges explains what starts those clocks running.
Customs happens at the port
The car has to clear customs before it can leave the port, whichever port it is. Our in-house customs clerks make the entry through HMRC's Customs Declaration Service.
The clearance decision itself is quick. HMRC's National Clearance Hub works to a published target of three hours for marine freight when the paperwork arrives between 8am and 3pm. A declaration cannot be filed more than five days before the ship arrives, so there is no gain in going early.
What slows a car down is paperwork: an invoice that does not match, a VIN that differs, a missing original document. Our guide to customs delays covers the causes, and customs clearance for imported cars covers the entry itself.
From the quay to your keys
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Ship arrives
Discharged at the UK port
The container or car comes off the ship at whichever port the service calls.
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At the port
Customs clearance
Our in-house customs clerks enter the car through CDS and the import tax is paid.
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Straight after
Haulage to our site
The container comes to Castle Donington by road or rail, and a RoRo car comes on to us from the port.
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At our site
Unloading and testing
Our own team unloads the car, then it has its UK changes and testing on our own lanes.
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Within 10 working days
Registration
Our dealer-level DVLA account lets us register imported cars within 10 working days.
For what happens after unloading, step by step, see what happens when your car arrives in the UK.
Questions people ask
Which UK port will my car arrive at?
It depends on the shipping line's route. Southampton takes most deep-sea lanes, including Japan and the USA. London Gateway, Felixstowe, Tilbury, Liverpool and Portsmouth are used on some routes. We confirm the port when the car is booked.
Can I choose the port?
Not really. The port is set by the service the car is booked on, because each ship calls at a fixed list of ports. It makes little difference to you, as the car comes on to our site either way.
Do I need to collect my car from the port?
No. Containers come to our facility in Castle Donington, where our team unloads them. You collect the car from us once it is registered, or we deliver it anywhere in the UK.
Why don't you unload at the port?
Port storage and shipping line demurrage start soon after the ship arrives. Moving the container to our own facility avoids those charges and lets our own team take the time to unload the car carefully.
Where do cars from Europe arrive?
Cars from mainland Europe come by road transporter, crossing the Channel at Dover, and are delivered straight to our site. Ireland uses Holyhead, the Isle of Man uses Heysham, and the Channel Islands use Portsmouth or Poole.
Want to know the route for your car? Tell us where it is on the quote form and we will plan it from there.
