Hi. I have a question about shipping SOLAS Flares. I have recently purchased a boat in France (An Amel Super Maramu Millennium “Liahona”) and have been shipping equipment etc. to La Rochelle, France, to outfit the boat. However, I can’t seem to find a way to ship the $500 worth of Pains Wessex flares that I have purchased. Nobody will take them because they are categorized as class 1.4A and 1.3A explosives per their MSDS documentation. Surely somebody has figured out a way to get flares to foreign countries for cruising. I have even contacted Pains Wessex and though they have tried to be helpful I have still run up against the wall (even when trying to ship them by ocean freight). Any help you might provide would be appreciated. (PS this is one of the few questions that I have that I couldn’t find an answer to in your Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia). Sincerely, Gary
Hi Gary: Shipping flares is almost impossible. Huge paperwork and crating problems (would you want to fly with fares in the cargo hold of your jet?). Pains Wessex have a distributor in New Jersey, Revere Supply 973 575 8811–who sometimes ship overseas for clients I am told–and they may be able to help you. Otherwise, the best thing to do is try and return the flares, or sell them to someone else, and buy them locally when you get to France. Good Luck–Steve Dashew
Posted by Steve Dashew (November 30, 1999)
