Mercator has a dedicated import team who handles regular shipments of full shipping containers from South Korea to the UK. We were recently asked to handle this FOB (free on board) shipment of cosmetics from Busan to door in the UK for the UK importer.
Incoterms and Shipping from South Korea
The UK importer arranged with the shipper (seller) in South Korea to ship the full order in one 40’ and one 20’ shipping container. On the FOB incoterm, the UK importer was responsible for the ocean freight, UK landing charges, import customs clearance in the UK, and delivery to door, all of which Mercator’s import team handled.
Routing for Shipping Containers from South Korea
In conjunction with our partner agent in Seoul, Mercator liaised with the shipper in South Korea and arranged the sea freight for the two shipping containers from South Korea to the UK. The routing for this particular shipment was Busan to Felixstowe, which has weekly sailings. The transit time from Busan, South Korea to the UK is around 40-50 days depending on exact routing and whether the route is direct or it transits.
Clearance and Delivery of Shipping Containers from South Korea
Once the shipping containers arrived at Felixstowe, Mercator arranged the customs clearance and settled the UK import VAT and duty with HMRC. As the access at the UK importer’s delivery address was not suitable for large vehicles, we arranged for the shipping containers to be delivered to a warehouse in Felixstowe for devanning and loading on to smaller vehicles for delivery.
Preference on Importing from South Korea
There is a trade deal in place between the UK and South Korea, and as a result there are some commodities which benefit from preferential tariffs (either reduced or zero import duty rates). To check whether your shipment will benefit, you can search the UK trade tariff, select the relevant commodity and South Korea, the result will display whether there is a preferential rate applicable on those goods.
If you are looking for a UK freight forwarder to handle your shipping containers from South Korea to the UK, get in touch with our team. We have handled numerous shipments from South Korea over the years and have a very strong relationship with our partner agent based in Seoul. You can get in touch with our team by calling (+44) 02392 756 575, emailing sales@mercatorcargo.co.uk or completing the form below and our team will get back to you.
