London & Home Counties Regional Sales Office: 07917 344 779 | Northern & West Midlands Regional Sales Office: 07876 820 833
London & Home Counties Regional Sales Office: 07917 344 779 | Northern & West Midlands Regional Sales Office: 07876 820 833
It is our intention to make life as easy for the customer as possible. Ramsay Shipping & Removals provide you with a fantastic door to door service from your home in the UK, delivered to your destination port in the Caribbean
Barrels are available new or recycled, in different sizes and are usually made of either sturdy metal or plastic; check they have been cleaned as it is not guaranteed with recycled barrels. The largest (normally) blue barrels are supplied with a plastic or silver metal lid which has a separate ‘belt like’ lever locking fastener to secure the lid firmly down in place and cost in the region of £70.00.
The largest size holds around 200 – 220 litres and has a wide open top of around 40 inches for easy packing and unpacking. As far as I am aware there is no weight limit to the contents…. as long as the bottom does not fall out when it is moved! You can ship almost anything in a barrel from household goods, clothes and toiletries to car parts, paddling pools and tools.
As the largest barrels hold 220 litres with a wide open top of approx 40 CM it makes it easy to load bulky, heavy or fragile items.
You can send items to cut down on your weekly shop, such as, detergent for clothes, washing up liquid, bleach and other cleaning materials. Tinned foodstuffs, rice, oil, foil, teabags, coffee and so on.
You can pack some of your home comforts alongside gifts for friends and relatives without compromising on your luggage allowance on the plane.
Some items such as housewares are very expensive or hard to get in Jamaica compared to the deals you get at home.
There are laws, rules and guidance about what items are prohibited from entering Jamaica. The Jamaican Customs website states that Prohibited Items include:
Prohibited items are absolutely forbidden from entering Jamaica, some of which include: Indecent and obscene prints, paintings, photographs, cinematograph films, lithographs, engravings, books, cards or written communications or any indecent or obscene articles whether similar to the above or not and any parcels, packages or packets having thereon, or on the cover there of, any words, marks or designs which are grossly offensive or of an indecent or obscene character. Coin-base or counterfeit coin of any country.
The following and similar publications:
All publications of de Laurence Scott and Company of Chicago in the United States of America relating to divination, magic, cultism or supernatural arts.
All publications of the Red Star Publishing Company of Chicago in the United States of America relating to divination, magic, cultism or supernatural arts.
Some meats, fish, dairy produce, seeds, sugar and other items are also restricted. There is further information on restricted items on the website, with a supporting PDF outlining the goods it applies to.
Barrels containing a mixture of food, used household and kitchen items, cleaning materials and other sundry items have the lowest tax bracket as they are considered to be items for personal use. When I asked the shipping agent in London how much tax I was likely to pay for one barrel they said it would be around $6,000 and would be payable at the wharf in Jamaica.
The plastic and metal barrels that once carried the goods, gifts and belongings of someone ‘a foreign’ to the hands of someone ‘back a yard’ are seen all over Jamaica in their retirement phase and are recycled as water storage containers, jerk bar-b-q’s (metal barrels only!) and other types of storage vessels.
It is a fairly simple process to arrange from the UK side of things and I would imagine the process is more or less the same no matter where you ship from:
Find a good local shipping agent to buy a barrel from, usually at around £70.00 for a 220 litre plastic barrel, most agents will deliver sometimes for a small fee.
Pack your barrel with care! Wrap lids with brown packing tape and separate food items away from toiletries, soap powder and cleaning materials, so they taste and smell as they should. Bubble wrap fragile items and use towels, bed sheets and other soft items as protection.
Arrange for collection from your shipping agent and make sure they put a ‘lock’ on your barrel. Pay for shipping to either Kingston or Montego bay. KEEP YOUR RECEIPT IN A SAFE PLACE AS IT SHOULD HAVE THE BARREL NUMBERS LISTED.
Hope for safe travels…..
I am looking forward to meeting my barrels ‘on the other side’ after seeing them off safely in London. Next time I glimpse them they will have crossed the ocean waves and will hopefully of landed in Kingston, Jamaica wondering why it is so hot all of a sudden!
If you want to ship to Jamaica, there are eight easy steps to clearing the articles at the wharf.
Packing a barrel doesn’t need to be complicated. Carefully organise your items, placing heavier goods at the bottom and fragile items well protected. It’s easy to overpack, so plan ahead and only send what you really need.
Clearly write the sender’s and recipient’s name and address on the barrel using a permanent marker. This makes identification at the destination port much easier.
Once you have packed your barrel the shipping agent generally collects it from you and a small tamper proof lock is added to the lever. Each lock has a unique ID number for every barrel and the ID number should be written on your receipt by the shippers. The lock should not be removed until someone is present to witness the customs officials strip the barrel at the wharf to work out the tax payable in Jamaica. There is no key for the lock as the sender may not be travelling to Jamaica to receive the barrel, but it is more of tamper proof security seal which needs strong pliers to cut off. The person that goes to collect the barrel at the wharf should be aware of the ID numbers and have a record of them to check the barrels have not been tampered with.
Use a thick black marker pen and write your name (or person to be shipped to) and address clearly on the barrels, so they are easily identifiable at the wharf. The shipping agent will generally add their own label as well, but it is best not to rely on it.
When travelling through customs be sure to join the ‘Red To Declare Line’ at the airport and ask for an unaccompanied baggage form known as C15 or ‘yellow form’. Fill this out with the Customs/Immigration Declaration Form, the C5 or white form and hand it to a representative. This proves you have travelled and shipped the items to yourself when clearing the goods at the wharf. The customs official at the airport will check your allowances in your accompanied luggage and if you have not exceed the US$500 limit it will be transferred to the items you have shipped lowering your tax payable at the wharf.
Should they consider that you have items for resale, then higher tax will be applied. If you pack electrical items or high value items, such as tools, or large quantities of alcohol then higher tax will be applied. I would NOT advise sending down a barrel full of new clothes and shoes as you will get stung with high tax, even worse if the goods are name brand items. BE WARNED!
1 – Arrange Transportation to the Wharf – ensure the vehicle is large enough to hold the items you intend to pick up. Remember your I.D., TRN Card and shipping paperwork.
2 – Make your way to your Shipping Agent Office which will be located near to the appropriate Wharf, pay your Landing Fees and get your Bill of Lading. Make sure you know which Wharf to go to.
3 – Head to the Wharf, go to the Main Building hand in your paperwork and pay your handling charge.
4 – Go to the Manifest Building hand in your paperwork and wait for more paperwork and directions of which berth to attend to clear your goods.
5 – Once at the berth number, hand in your paperwork and wait for your name to be called. On entering the berth you will be asked to unpack your barrels for customs to look inside and value the contents.
6 – Proceed to the Customs Cashiers Desk where they will finalise the value of the items and give you a Customs Import Entry Form (C78X).
7 – Take the Customs Import Entry Form (C78X) to the Payments Office, pay the required fee and keep your receipt safe.
8 – Show the receipt to the Gate Pass Office and wait to receive a Gate Pass. Go back outside and find your driver, approach the gate and show the paperwork and the driver will also need to show their Driving Licence. Approach the loading bay near to the berth, show your paperwork and load your items into your vehicle. Drive back to the main exit, show paperwork and finally leave the wharf.
Whether you need a quote, have a question about shipping, or just want guidance on the best option for your items, our team is ready to assist.
Email: info@ramsayshipping.co.uk
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Contact Ramsay Shipping and Removals and we will deliver the needed materials to your home.
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Choose the approximate date that you want your goods to sail and we will return to collect your goods.
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Sit back and relax while we take care of your cargo and deliver it safely to your destination.
