[sdslayer]

A few weeks ago, I started looking in this forum and thought people were borderline insane for tracking their new car so religiously. I thought "What are they doing? They have no way to change the outcome.." or "What does it matter if it is still in the paint shop, at the port, or in the Panama Canal?"

Now I find myself starting this thread.

My path:
Ordered in late July after missing 08 allocations
Saturday 8/31 noon PST (already in status 151 with VIN) later that day, VIN logged me onto Owners Circle where it was in the scheduled for production, all options/color/trim ok, but unknown vehicle
Monday 9/1 in body shop
Tuesday 9/2in paint shop, scheduled for 9/3
Wed 9/3 in assembly, scheduled for 9/3 completion (phone call said production complete, waiting release to carrier ; operator knew it was 335 cv)
Thur 9/4 released to carrier - OC says awaiting transport
Friday 9/5 in transit to port of exit
Sat 9/6 - awaiting shipment at port of exit - OC says 335cv
Sun 9/7 OC says 2009 335cv, options gone and replaced with std options
Tue 9/9 OC options back
Friday 9/12 - 800 - "in transit, contact center" OC - en route, options gone AGAIN - CA shows status as on vessel Hojin, prod complete 9/3

[methodtim]

Nice, congrats! My car just missed your boat. I'll be tracking it as well, as soon as I get word that it's on a boat. Here's my abridged story so far:

July: Ordered an 09 335i Coupe after missing 08 allocations
August: Had a crisis of conscience and changed order to 09 335i Sedan
September: Checking OC and calling automated number daily to track my car
September 12th: Car is now at port of exit waiting for a boat
October ???: Car arrives, Tim happy

[sdslayer]

Originally Posted by methodtim

Nice, congrats! My car just missed your boat. I'll be tracking it as well, as soon as I get word that it's on a boat. Here's my abridged story so far:

July: Ordered an 09 335i Coupe after missing 08 allocations
August: Had a crisis of conscience and changed order to 09 335i Sedan
September: Checking OC and calling automated number daily to track my car
September 12th: Car is now at port of exit waiting for a boat
October ???: Car arrives, Tim happy

Yeah, Hojin actually left port 1-2 days ago, so I think you wouldn't have been able to make it with a week 37 build. What's the big crisis with 2 extra doors?

Anyways, Hojin left Emden and is headed West. Anyone know what Ports this boat will take?

[methodtim]

Originally Posted by sdslayer

Yeah, Hojin actually left port 1-2 days ago, so I think you wouldn't have been able to make it with a week 37 build. What's the big crisis with 2 extra doors?

I'm expecting a baby. I was originally going to use my Ridgeline as the baby mobile, but I couldn't really justify having two coupes (bought a Mini for my wife back in May) and just the truck, especially since I'll be driving my kid to daycare and whatnot in about four months. After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally just made the call and changed my order around. Fortunately, it was still during the dead period so I still got a week 37 production slot.

[sdslayer]

Originally Posted by methodtim

I'm expecting a baby. I was originally going to use my Ridgeline as the baby mobile, but I couldn't really justify having two coupes (bought a Mini for my wife back in May) and just the truck, especially since I'll be driving my kid to daycare and whatnot in about four months. After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally just made the call and changed my order around. Fortunately, it was still during the dead period so I still got a week 37 production slot.

You are expecting a baby or your wife is? Congrats!

i think the weather may play a big part in when we take delivery..

[methodtim]

^Sometimes, it seems we're both expecting. Thanks.

You bring up a good point. I'm actually kind of glad I don't have a car at sea right now, what with the hurricane and all. Hopefully things will calm down by the time my car gets on the boat.

[spn]

Hello to the group. My car might be on this ship, too. I suspect it is, but I won't know until Monday. I do have a friend who has a car on this ship, though.

I have tracked a number of cars on this forum (see my number of posts to the left!) The e90 forum is the most active of all the car tracking forums and it is always the place I hang out to track a car. I will be tracking a '09 Mercedes SL63 AMG and my friend a '09 MB CL65 AMG.

My story is a long one, but this will be my second SL63 AMG. I tracked my first SL63, coincidentally, on this same ship in April (you could do a search on Hojin in the April time period). My first SL63 is being lemoned because it is needing a part that can't be found (wet clutch=torque converter), so my whole beautiful car is being lemoned and I have to start over. It is an amazing story, I know! Anyway, if my car does prove to be on this ship, I hope you don't mind that I join along. I have a ton of tracking experience. The fun really begins in two weeks when Hojin reaches the Panama Canal and we can watch her on the web cameras.

Here is her picture. There is no pride in ownership with this ship, obviously. But, she made the journey safely in April, so hopefully she will do the same this journey.

[spn]

Here was Hojin earlier today as she made her way through the English Channel. She is off AIS radar at the moment. I suspect she is out of the English Channel and into the open ocean (and can no longer be tracked with AIS). Her journey to the Panama Canal will take two weeks. It is a really hard wait.

[HStan]

Originally Posted by spn

Hello to the group. My car might be on this ship, too. I suspect it is, but I won't know until Monday. I do have a friend who has a car on this ship, though.

I have tracked a number of cars on this forum (see my number of posts to the left!) The e90 forum is the most active of all the car tracking forums and it is always the place I hang out to track a car. I will be tracking a '09 Mercedes SL63 AMG and my friend a '09 MB CL65 AMG.

My story is a long one, but this will be my second SL63 AMG. I tracked my first SL63, coincidentally, on this same ship in April (you could do a search on Hojin in the April time period). My first SL63 is being lemoned because it is needing a part that can't be found (wet clutch=torque converter), so my whole beautiful car is being lemoned and I have to start over. It is an amazing story, I know! Anyway, if my car does prove to be on this ship, I hope you don't mind that I join along. I have a ton of tracking experience. The fun really begins in two weeks when Hojin reaches the Panama Canal and we can watch her on the web cameras.

Here is her picture. There is no pride in ownership with this ship, obviously. But, she made the journey safely in April, so hopefully she will do the same this journey.

Hi all -- I'm on Hojin as well (an E93). SPN, your April posts were very helpful -- I had fun using some of your recommended sites to track Hojin a few days ago into Bremerhaven, then on to Emden and through the English Channel. She's due in Jacksonville on Sept 21 and Port Hueneme (my dropoff) on Oct 5, although I gather these dates may change.

Was your SL63 a European Delivery? If so, how did the redelivery of your replacement car go? Did you have to go back to Europe?

[spn]

Originally Posted by HStan

Hi all -- I'm on Hojin as well (an E93). SPN, your April posts were very helpful -- I had fun using some of your recommended sites to track Hojin a few days ago into Bremerhaven, then on to Emden and through the English Channel. She's due in Jacksonville on Sept 21 and Port Hueneme (my dropoff) on Oct 5, although I gather these dates may change.

Was your SL63 a European Delivery? If so, how did the redelivery of your replacement car go? Did you have to go back to Europe?

I didn't do euro delivery this past April for my '09 SL63 (or currently), but I did do euro delivery for my '06 MB SL500 in Februay 2006. I learned from that experience in '06 that the shipping process (trucking the car from Stuttgart to Bremerhaven) can add another TWO WEEKS onto the whole re-delivery process, so I opted not to do it for my car this year. I didn't want to have to wait one minute longer than necessary. Did you do euro delivery?

I am trying to get aislive to help track this ship (or whatever ship my car ends up on). I subscribed to ais tonight and I am awaiting activation. That will help us a lot. Aislive use to give out free subscriptions, so EVERYONE on the forum could track their car's ship, but those subscriptions are almost impossible to get, and I can now see by all the current postings that nobody has a subscription. Hopefully I can help, soon.

[HStan]

Originally Posted by spn

I didn't do euro delivery this past April for my '09 SL63 (or currently), but I did do euro delivery for my '06 MB SL500 in Februay 2006. I learned from that experience in '06 that the shipping process (trucking the car from Stuttgart to Bremerhaven) can add another TWO WEEKS onto the whole re-delivery process, so I opted not to do it for my car this year. I didn't want to have to wait one minute longer than necessary. Did you do euro delivery?

Yes, I went with European Delivery. Dropped the car off at the Munich Harms office on July 31; it was loaded onto the Hojin at Bremerhaven on Sept 10. There were several other ED Bimmers in the Harms lot that looked as though they'd been sitting there for quite some time, so the 6-week delay for my car was probably typical.

[spn]

I subscribed to AISLive to help us know when Hojin reaches and transits the Panama Canal. (It will also help us watch her arrive/depart Jacksonville, SoCal, etc). Hojin is scheduled to reach the Atlantic anchorage of the Panama Canal on September 25 and transit the canal on the morning of September 27. These dates could change, though. From the Pacific side of the PanCanal, it takes one of these super vessels approximately six to seven days to reach southern California.

On the day that she does transit the canal, we will be able to watch her on three separate web cameras that are placed along the PanCanal route. The Panama Canal is 50 miles long and it will take Hojin about eight hours to sail from the Atlantic anchorage to the Pacific anchorage. I will be able to track this on AIS radar, as well, and I will post the radar images.

I have not received my login information, yet, for AISLive. It usually takes AISLive several days to process orders. Maybe tomorrow they will email me my login information. AISLive radar only works when ships are within 50 miles from shore, so it is not helpful right now, as she is in the ocean headed towards Jacksonville. Once she reaches Jacksonville (Sep 22nd?), we will be able to watch her come and go on radar. Some ports have web cams; I don't know if Jacksonville is one of those ports.

[spn]

Originally Posted by HStan

Yes, I went with European Delivery. Dropped the car off at the Munich Harms office on July 31; it was loaded onto the Hojin at Bremerhaven on Sept 10. There were several other ED Bimmers in the Harms lot that looked as though they'd been sitting there for quite some time, so the 6-week delay for my car was probably typical.

Wow! That's a huge delay. I would have just died. If you have read my other Hojin posts from April, then you probably know that you could have another delay at Port Hueneme. These ED cars oftentimes get hung up in customs. When my car went through in 2006, it went through immediately. But, since that time, it can take a week or two for cars to go through customs. I don't know what the wait time is currently, since I have not tracked a car since April. Because of these hangups, I won't do ED again, unless it is a car I really am not that excited about getting (like maybe a SUV). I am starting to get a little more passive about this tracking; I used to be completely obsessed with my car tracking.

Here is the web site for the port of Jacksonville vessel schedule (click on little box on the left side of screen):
http://jmtx.com/port_%26_vessels.htm

Here is the web site for the PanCanal transiting schedule:
http://www.boydsteamship.com/traffic...king_slots.htm

Here is the web site for the port of Hueneme vessel schedule:
http://www.portofhueneme.org/busines...l_schedule.php

Here is the web site for the port of San Diego vessel schedule (I don't know if Hojin is stopping in SD, but they oftentimes do):
http://www.sdmis.org/schedule/

Hojin will stop in the port of Long Beach because she has Mercedes onboard. These ships oftentimes stop in San Diego to unload Porsches and Volkswagens; the port of Long Beach to unload Mercedes/Smarts; and the port of Hueneme for BMWs/Minis. These ships can carry up to 6000 cars on one journey and they usually include several of these manufacturers at one time as part of their vehicle cargo.

[e92pvaz]

if you go to port of hueneme web site and click on vessel schedule it says the hojin is scheduled for october 5. kind of wraps up all the mystery in tracking...

[spn]

It appears that my car did not make it on Hojin, so it is unclear when it will be assigned a ship. I show the next vehicle carrier ship does not leave Bremerhaven for two weeks. With that, I suspended my subscription to AIS. I may instead take a car that is already on land. Sorry. I will update if plans change.

[Dr. T]

Just came across this thread My E93 M3 is on the Hojin. The wait is excruciating! Tracking seems to help a bit. Hopefully we can get some webcam views as she goes through the canal.........are we obsessed or what?

[sdslayer]

spn,

Sorry to hear about your car. You were right about Hojin's schedule at Jacksonville:

HOJIN
9/22/2008
Location: BLOUNT IS 22
Agent: Lavino
Cargo: AUTOS

[spn]

From Jacksonville, it will take two or three days to get to the Atlantic Anchorage of the PanCanal. Keep an eye on the Boyd's link I posted above for updated info.

Here is a graphic illustration of the PanCanal system. Ships going through the PanCanal go southbound (towards the Pacific) beginning VERY early in the morning. They begin about 5 am PST time. So, if you want to see your ship go through the PanCanal, you have to start with the Gatun Locks very early. These super vessels with cars usually start around 5 am PST time, but I have seen them go as late as 9 am. Have a photo of your ship at hand so you can compare the photo of the ship with what you are seeing on the web cam, so you know you are following the correct ship.

Here is the link to the cameras:

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

It will take about an hour+ for the ship to get through each lock system (actually, two hours for MF Locks). So, it is a slow process. Hojin will begin at Gatun Locks (first web cam) and then it will take about four hours for her to get to the Centennial Bridge web camera, which is just before the Mira Flores Locks. These ships usually reach the Cent Bridge cam around noontime or early afternoon. Then about an hour later she will reach the Mira Flores Locks camera and complete her passage through the canal system and out the Pacific side about 4 pm. It will take her 6-7 days to sail to southern CA.

She will be trackable to you guys once she reaches the San Diego area if you register for this AIS tracking service at this web site (it is free, or was, I haven't checked recently.)

http://shinemicro.com/Live.asp

You will be able to follow her up the coast to PH and know exactly when she docks in PH. It does not look like she is going to San Diego. She will be stopping in Long Beach to drop off Mercedes, though.

The plans for my car are still up in the air. I still might be tracking a new car in a week, or so, so I might still be around these threads.

[3er858]

Great information!!! I was wondering how long it took to get through the canal... thanks for the links also.

[sdslayer]

MMSI 576151000 Latitude N 30°25.295' Last seen at 23/9/2008 0:33:24 UTC
Name Hojin Longitude W 81°21.206' Destination Jacksonville
Callsign YJYN8 Heading 16° ETA 22/9/2008 23:45:00 UTC
IMO number 8916267 Length 200 m Vessel Type Cargo
Status Anchored Beam 32 m Extra Info N/A
Speed 0.4 knots Draught 9.5 m Retrieved at 23/9/2008 0:34:51 UTC

It only lets me save the image as a PNG, which doesn't have a background. I haven't figured out how to save the whole image yet, but it appears to be anchored offshore.

[methodtim]

Originally Posted by sdslayer

MMSI 576151000 Latitude N 30°25.295' Last seen at 23/9/2008 0:33:24 UTC
Name Hojin Longitude W 81°21.206' Destination Jacksonville
Callsign YJYN8 Heading 16° ETA 22/9/2008 23:45:00 UTC
IMO number 8916267 Length 200 m Vessel Type Cargo
Status Anchored Beam 32 m Extra Info N/A
Speed 0.4 knots Draught 9.5 m Retrieved at 23/9/2008 0:34:51 UTC

It only lets me save the image as a PNG, which doesn't have a background. I haven't figured out how to save the whole image yet, but it appears to be anchored offshore.

Just take a screenshot, open it through mspaint and save that as a jpg.

http://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Screen...rosoft-Windows

[spn]

Originally Posted by sdslayer

MMSI 576151000 Latitude N 30°25.295' Last seen at 23/9/2008 0:33:24 UTC
Name Hojin Longitude W 81°21.206' Destination Jacksonville
Callsign YJYN8 Heading 16° ETA 22/9/2008 23:45:00 UTC
IMO number 8916267 Length 200 m Vessel Type Cargo
Status Anchored Beam 32 m Extra Info N/A
Speed 0.4 knots Draught 9.5 m Retrieved at 23/9/2008 0:34:51 UTC

It only lets me save the image as a PNG, which doesn't have a background. I haven't figured out how to save the whole image yet, but it appears to be anchored offshore.

Where are you getting this info?