MARITIME COMMUNITY

What does the term “Ship Spares In Transit” really mean? Free movement of “Ship Spares” for ships in international trade.  First of all we have to understand how import shipments are handled when it comes to Customs in the various countries. Most countries have a particular set of laws for taxes and duties that apply to import of various products. A ship in international trade is exempt from paying any of these taxes and duties to the various countries that they will visit. If it was their home country Custom can levy in most cases the various taxes and duties that are applicable. If the ship is carrying a foreign flag they are exempt from those taxes and duties. This term “Ship Spares In Transit” basically indicates to Customs that the parts are destined to go onboard a foreign flag vessel and are just transiting the country, meaning arriving as freight and depart as parts onboard the ship (end-user)

The flow of “Ship Spares In Transit” is international and relative very high volume.  Some parts of the world have more than others but that is due to ships trading patterns. Ship spares processed this way are usually moving fairly fast and Customs in general are very accommodating the keep the delay at bare minimum.

There are a variety of companies specializing in this kind of forwarding and trading and most of them are very good at their job and well connected around the world.