The final chapter of our BMW 335d’s voyage to the States has now been written.  The 335d left Bremerhaven, Germany, on 14 January aboard the MV Manon and arrived at  the Port of New York (which, in this case, is in New Jersey) on 31 January, a 17-day voyage across the Atlantic.  The Manon’s first stop was at the pier adjacent to the BMW Vehicle Distribution Center in Bayonne, where the 335d, along with its shipmates, was offloaded by stevedores.  The BMW Vehicle Distribution Center, or VDC (previously called the VPC, or Vehicle Processing Center) is, for all intents and purposes, an extension of the BMW factory in Germany.

The 335d was  driven directly to a segregated area at the VDC, where it remained until it was cleared by U.S. Customs inspectors, who physically inspect each car.  New cars are cleared through Customs electronically before the ship reaches port.  The 335d cleared customs in record time – within 48 hours of arrival.  Customs clearance for tourist delivery cars can occasionally take up to two weeks.

After the 335d was released by customs, it was checked for any damage by Automotive Visual Inspections (AVI), a private company hired by BMW.  Once AVI finished its inspection, the 335d continued its journey through the VDC.

BMW currently has three VDCs in the United States.  The New Jersey VDC processes ca. 100,000 cars per year and supports 12 states.  The West Coast VDC in Port Hueneme, California receives cars for the West Coast, and Brunswick, Georgia VDC receives cars destined for the southeastern United States.  Another VDC is planned for the Baltimore area, which will process cars destined for Mid-Atlantic states and the Central region.

The New Jersey VDC sits on 26 acres.  Over 87 BMW employees work at the VDC and their day typically runs from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The New Jersey VDC  processes an average of 300 cars per day (and, at times, up to 600)  including new and European Delivery BMWs, Minis, and Rolls-Royces, which arrive from Austria, Germany, South Africa, Spartanburg, and the United Kingdom.  The facility holds 3000 cars, and a recent 10-acre expansion can hold an additional thousand vehicles.

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Harms booked the 335d on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen MV Manon, voyage CQ002-MAN, which left Bremerhaven today heading for Göteborg, Sweden.

The MV Manon is a PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Carrier) built by Daewoo Heavy Industry in 1999. (MV stands for Merchant Vessel.) It was elongated in 2005 by 28 meters, resulting in a 20% increase in capacity, which now stands at 7200 cars or 3700 cars and 600 trucks.  The vessel carries a basic complement of 15 persons.  The deck area capacity is 63,124 m2.  It is a sister ship to the Boheme, Elektra, Undine, and Mignon.

The Manon is owned by Wallenius Lines AB, Sweden and operated by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and flies under the Swedish flag.

All cabins are located on the upper deck and the vessel is equipped with a dining room, TV room/library, gym, sauna, and outdoor swimming pool.  It has a permanent CO2 fire extinguishing system and a number of portable CO2 and foam fire extinguishers.  It has a freefalling lifeboat with a capacity of 30 people, an MOB (Man Overboard) boat, and four life rafts with a capacity of 16 people each.

After leaving Bremerhaven, it set sail for Göteborg (Gothenburg), where it is scheduled to arrive on the 15th.  It will continue on to Zeebrugge, Belgium (January 17), and Southampton, U.K. (January 18) to pick up more cars.  It then starts its trans-Atlantic crossing and will continue across the 50th parallel until reaching the coast of North America.

The Manon should arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 25.  From there, it is scheduled to arrive at the Port of New York on January 27, at which time the 335d will be offloaded at BMW’s Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC).