ABOUT US
We provide a professional and excellent weekly Shipping service to the entire Caribbean. 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. We do not only ship household goods, we ship pretty much anything that moves from Industrial equipment to cars and tractors. The following information is from ‘The Art Of Packing A Barrel’ By Sweet Jamaica (An amusing tale, complements of the sweet Jamaica writer).
Frequently Asked Questions
-
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 £65.00. 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.
The Art Of Packing A Barrel
Shipping a crate or a barrel is not as hard as you think and with the great service at the wharf it makes it all the more enjoyable…
To send or not to send, that is the question. The lure of shipping a barrel is one that is likely to cross your mind when you are travelling to Jamaica for an extended stay, or when visiting or staying with friends and family. The thought just kind of appears in your mind as a solution, when the headache starts and the panic sets in over your luggage allowance and whether you can fit all the things you want to take with you. It is easy to get carried away though when you find the one intended barrel, becomes two, and two becomes three… we could go on, but you get the idea!
Barrel Security
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.
There are 8 (eight) easy steps to follow for clearing a barrel in Jamaica…
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 wahrf.
The paperwork that I carried with me to Jamaica had an expected date of arrival printed on it as 24th September 2012, and it instructed you to telephone the office if you had not heard from them by that date. I was surprised to get a telephone call from Shipping Agent, on the 21st September advising me that the barrels were ready for collection, before I had the chance to call them. The staff were very friendly and polite and gave me the address to come to in Kingston to collect the ‘Bill of Lading’paperwork for clearing the barrels at the wharf.
I chartered a lovely, experienced driver Fenton and his mini bus for $9,000 (including Gas) through a recommendation from a friend, to drive me to Kingston Wharf and return with the 3 barrels. Fenton arrived as requested at 5.00am before ‘the Cock(erel) had taken off his draws’ as my good friend would have said and we set out in the early morning darkness for Kingston clutching my personal identification, TRN Card, the paperwork from the Shipping Agent, my C15 form from the airport and receipts for the majority of the items I had shipped in the barrels, as proof of the cost I had paid for them in the UK.
We headed through Ocho Rios and travelled east towards St.Mary, which was a more scenic and traffic free route instead of the more familiar journey through Fern Gully and Flat Bridge. Swiftly driving along the deserted A3 Highway we quickly reached Ian Fleming International Airport (formerly Boscobel Aerodrome) and continued eastward towards to Orcabessa.
Turning off the Highway and heading through the interior of the country as the sun was coming up the beauty of Jamaica was revealed in the lush green canopies of trees and the numerous hills, gulleys and riversides we passed on the journey. Our route passed Stoney Hill on the outskirts of Kingston which had a lushly covered hillside which looked serene and magnificent against the dense forest trees that covered most of the other peaks.
What I Thought About Kingston Wharf and Shipping Barrels
Following numerous horror stories about collecting goods from the wharf I was filled with anticipation about how long it was going to take and what the experience was going to be like collecting the barrels myself. In reflection, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and it was nowhere near as tiresome as everyone had told me. When I mentioned this to friends they retorted that Christmas and Easter were a different matter…
Arriving at the wharf early was key to my success in this operation as it meant I beat the queues, try it yourself and you will be glad you did. Everyone at the wharf was professional but polite, friendly and (mostly) happy and were intrigued by my presence there. Bring proof of purchase in the form of receipts to show to the customs officers so that they can value your goods correctly. The best tactic in these circumstances is to be friendly and co-operative and that also means being patient when necessary… if you get ignorant with the Customs Officers you may find they get ignorant with you!