U.S. authorities have recovered a Jaguar XKE stolen 46 years ago outside a New York City apartment after finding it on a ship to the Netherlands and tracking down the 82-year-old original owner of the British luxury car, officials said on Wednesday.

A man who shipped the car from the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaport complex submitted paperwork to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in June, and an analyst who checked out the vehicle saw it had been reported stolen, said California Highway Patrol investigator Mike Maleta.

By that time, the crate with the 1967 Jaguar was already two days away by ship en route to the Netherlands, which is a hot market for vintage cars, Maleta said. Authorities arranged to have the ship operator bring the car back to Southern California, which it did in August, he said.