Transporting equipment from Ireland to France by Ferry

n.d.os

I'm bringing our trade show stand to France in September for a show and I have booked a standard ticket. It's made up of mostly mdf panels. The van is 6m in length and under normal circumstances can be booked on using a domestic ticket. This line confuses me as it is equipment but it is not for sale. Should I have booked a freight ticket?

• all vehicles carrying commercial goods or equipment on any leg of a sailing.

https://www.stenaline.ie/customer-service/booking/what-are-stena-lines-vehicle-categories

coylemj

There's another clause further down the list that might catch you out - this type of vehicle must be booked as freight…

• all vehicles registered in the Republic of Ireland, and classified and taxed for Irish Motor Tax purposes as a Commercial Goods Vehicle. VAT, if applicable, will be applied to vehicles of 7m or more in length. Express boarding and disembarkation is not available for vans or horseboxes over 7m in length

If your van is taxed as private then it's down to what they mean by 'commercial'. You're gong to a trade show with display equipment so I would say it would be reasonable to categorise your cargo as commercial. As in, you're not bringing furniture to your new house in France. The fact that you are carrying kit which is not for sale might be significant when it comes to motor insurance but I don't think it will be a material fact here.

It's open to interpretation. Whether you declare it as commercial or not would depend (in my book) on whether you think someone from Stena will ask to inspect the contents of your van or they'll just wave you onboard.

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122524214#Comment_122524214

Thanks for your reply. The van is rented and it is 6m in length. I've contacted Stena Line who keep sending me a generic response but as you said we are not brining furniture to a house in France. It is going to an event. I probably should have looked into this more when booking us on the boat.

coylemj

Is the van taxed as commercial? If it is, there's no issue to be resolved, you have to book it as freight.

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122524388#Comment_122524388

I got through to Stena Line and they advised to rebook it under freight. Double the price. Aw well. Thanks for your help. Sorted now.

coylemj

An interesting fact I noted when i looked at the page the OP linked to above. Stena seem to care more about the length of a car whereas with Irish Ferries, it's the height. Stena list off several models that are between 4.7m and 6m in length, preumably it costs more to being them on their boats. For example, the Skoda Superb and Merc E-Class models are listed by Stena as being longer than 4.7m. Irish Ferries just ask that your car be not more than 1.9m in height, they assume that all cars and SUVs are within their limits.

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122524919#Comment_122524919

I found all of it very vague. To be honest, I probably could have rolled up in the van with a domestic ticket and all would be fine. Theres a lot of conflicting information on Stena Line and Direct Ferries websites.

Banzai600

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531732#Comment_122531732

yup, its not like you're selling goods or doing cross border trade, even though we are in the EU.

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531791#Comment_122531791

I'd completely understand if I needed a freight ticket, but as you said, I'm not selling anything, just transporting a stand to France on a ferry. The issue appeared to be with the vehicle. It's a commercial rental so it must be declared as freight. The ticket was double the price and the initial booking was for 3 people. They cap it at two on the freight booking. I can't afford any issues so hopefully its sorted now and I'll know more for future trips after doing it once.

Banzai600

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531878#Comment_122531878

they never make it easy….and its open to interpretation, if you'd of booked private, you could of got flagged checking in, and they would have said its commercial, and hammering you for even more money. Maybe buy those roll up banners next time and take the car. hope it works out, lots of sales leads.

n.d.os

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531905#Comment_122531905

Yes. I think that's exactly why I couldn't afford to take the risk. Unfortunately the roll up banners won't cut it anymore, but maybe as we get a little bigger we will use a stand builder based in mainland Europe.