Shipping a Car Abroad from the UK: RoRo, Containers and the Bits People Forget

The two main ways to ship a car: RoRo or container

There are two common methods, and the names tell you most of what you need to know.

RoRo stands for roll-on, roll-off. The car is literally driven onto the vessel by a driver at the port, parked in a dedicated vehicle deck alongside lots of other cars, then driven off at the other end. It is a bit like a giant car ferry. Because it is efficient and the ship is built for exactly this, RoRo is generally the cheaper option and is a well-trodden route for ordinary running cars.

Container shipping is what it sounds like. Your car is loaded into a steel shipping container, secured in place, and the container is sealed shut for the journey. Nobody touches the vehicle again until the container is opened at the destination. That extra layer matters: the car is fully enclosed, protected from weather, sea spray and the general knocks of port handling, and it is out of sight the whole way.

So the quick version is that RoRo tends to win on price, while a container wins on protection. Which one is right depends less on budget alone and more on what you are shipping, which is where the next part comes in.

When a container is the sensible choice

For a standard, drivable everyday car, RoRo is often perfectly fine and keeps the cost down. But there are situations where a sealed container is the better call, and sometimes the only call.

A container suits any car that cannot be driven onto the vessel under its own steam. RoRo relies on the vehicle being a runner, so a non-runner, a project car or anything that will not start needs to be loaded into a container instead.

It is also the natural home for classic, luxury and high-value vehicles. If you have spent years getting the paintwork right on a classic, or you are shipping something expensive, the idea of it being driven and parked by strangers on an open deck is not appealing. Sealed inside a container, it is protected from the elements and handled far less.

One thing worth knowing about containers is the shared option. Rather than paying for a whole container to yourself, you can share one with other vehicles, which brings the cost down. The trade-off is time: a shared container often waits until it is full or until other bookings are ready before it ships, so it can be slower than a sole-use container or a RoRo sailing. If you are on a deadline, factor that in.

Electric cars are a special case

If you are shipping an EV, plan for a container from the start. Electric vehicles generally cannot travel by RoRo. The reason is the large lithium-ion battery, which is treated as a fire and safety consideration at sea, and many RoRo operators simply will not carry them. The trend across the industry has been to move EVs onto containerised transport instead.

There are a couple of practical points that come with this. Carriers usually want the battery at a moderate state of charge before loading, commonly somewhere in the region of thirty to fifty per cent, rather than fully charged or nearly flat. Industry guidance from car shipping specialists such as shipcars.co.uk and Autoshippers points in this direction. A partial charge keeps the risk profile lower while still leaving enough power to move the car on and off safely.

You should also expect a hazardous goods surcharge on top of the shipping cost, because lithium batteries fall under dangerous goods rules for transport. It is not a penalty, just the reality of moving batteries by sea. The sensible move is to tell whoever is arranging the shipment that the car is electric or hybrid right at the quote stage, so the correct handling and paperwork are built in rather than bolted on later.

The paperwork people forget

This is the part that quietly derails shipments, so it is worth getting right early.

The V5C logbook is the key ownership document, and the name on it needs to match whoever is exporting the car. If you have just bought the vehicle, or it is registered to someone else, sort that out before anything is booked. For a permanent move abroad, meaning twelve months or more, you fill in the permanent export section of the V5C, detach it and send that section to the DVLA, and keep the rest of the logbook, because you will usually need it to register the car in its new country. Do this rather than letting it slide, as it is the official record that the vehicle has left the UK.

Classic vehicles have an extra hurdle. A vehicle over fifty years old can count as an object of cultural interest, and exporting one may require a special export licence issued through the Arts Council route under the cultural goods rules. Turnaround can take time if an application needs to be referred to an expert adviser, so if you own something old and interesting, check this well ahead of your shipping date rather than in the final week.

Finally, do not assume your normal car insurance travels with the car. Standard UK motor insurance usually does not cover a vehicle while it is being shipped internationally, so it is worth arranging separate export or marine cover for the journey. It is the kind of gap nobody thinks about until something goes wrong, and by then it is too late to fix.

Putting it all together

Boiled down, the decision is not that complicated. A standard running car on a budget often suits RoRo. An EV, a non-runner, or a classic or high-value car generally wants a sealed container, and an EV has no real choice in the matter. A shared container saves money if you are not in a hurry.

Get the V5C in the right name, complete the permanent export section for a long-term move, check the classic vehicle licence rules if the car is over fifty, and line up proper insurance for the crossing. Sort those four things and you have dealt with the issues that trip most people up.

Every destination has its own import quirks too, from duties to inspection rules at the far end, so if you are unsure which method fits your car or what the destination country expects, it is worth a quick chat with a freight forwarder before you commit. Getting the plan right at the start is far cheaper than untangling a problem once the car is already on the water.