Barrels to the Caribbean

[BobCooper]

During our stay back in England we'd accumulated a lot of miscellaneous bits and pieces we wanted to take back to our boat in the Caribbean. Boat parts and equipment we knew we couldn't get easily there, stuff we'd been given, like charts and books, even a folding trolley. It weighed 50kilos in total. With excess baggage costing £10 per kilo, that would be £500. I googled 'International shipping', a subject that gets horrendously complicated and just as pricey.

I then discovered that there is a service from England to the Caribbean islands, where you can purchase an empty barrel in the UK, fill it up regardless of weight, and ship it for a fixed price. I've detailed all the costs in a post on our website.

http://www.freewebs.com/onthenose/alongtheway.htm

 

[FullCircle]

With a name like Cooper, do you make the barrels yourself?

 

[TQA]

Tropical Shipping in Miami do the same for most of the Caribbean. $30 buys you a 75 gallon cardboard barrel and the shipping price is the same regardless of weight.

There is little rhyme or reason to the shipping rats with most around $90 but Antigua is $107 and Dominica the next Island South but one is only $65.

I moved lots of gear down to the USVI this way. NO CUSTOMS HASSLES!

Antigua has just changed it's duty free rules too!

Antigua made a HUGE move to further welcome the yachts to the island!

At a meeting held on Thursday 2nd December between the ABMA, Ministry of Finance and the Comptroller of Customs it was agreed that all goods and services for genuine yachts in transit will be free of all taxes and duties including for fuel and provisioning to be used by charter guests. Support containers are considered a temporary import and will be free of all duties and taxes subject to the contents being re-exported and any spares consumed being shown to have been used in the maintenance of the yacht. In instances where major items cannot be accounted for, the applicable duties and taxes will become due and payable. Once imported, crews will have free access to the containers.

Temporary import of goods in support of events will be discretionary and generally free of all duties and taxes, however, 14 days notice is required of any goods to be temporarily imported for these purposes. Event organisers such as ACYM, Superyacht Cup, RORC Caribbean 600, Antigua Classic Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week should take special note. In the event of a disagreement a liaison group comprising members of the ABMA, the Ministry of Finance and Customs will consult in order to reach a resolution.

 

[Rum_Pirate]

I then discovered that there is a service from England to the Caribbean islands, where you can purchase an empty barrel in the UK, fill it up regardless of weight, and ship it for a fixed price. I've detailed all the costs in a post on our website.

http://www.freewebs.com/onthenose/alongtheway.htm

Would you be so kind as to provide the name and contact details?

 

[GrahamP]

UK to caribbean

http://www.jpram.co.uk/

 

[BobCooper]

The company we used was Gee Shipping - the website seemed easier to use and costs easier to access than other sites. We had a problem with them however in that they didn't pay the local company Caribbean Freight on time, and 17 barrels were 'held' until they did. I managed to pay the local shipping agent a deposit (now returned) to get my barrel cleared through Customs, but others had to wait. I think the problem was the long Christmas break and bad wather in England. There is another company called Ram Shipping you might try, or see what else Google turns up.

 

[BobCooper]

With a name like Cooper, do you make the barrels yourself?

No, but I always seem to have to stave off comments like that