General Clauses

Please state quotation reference number when booking and on Shipping instructions to ensure correct invoicing and stowage.
Replacement Bills of Lading or freight invoice will be charged for if amendment is due to the Shipper's error.
Rates subject to increases from third parties outside the control of The Geest Line.
Appointment is to be obtained before delivery of commercial vehicles and out of gauge cargo.
A full written copy of the Company's terms and conditions of carriage is available on request or can be viewed here.
Rates are applicable for direct shipment only. For destinations involving transhipment, please refer to The Geest Line Head Office.

Portsmouth to the Caribbean

An indicative rate of exchange has been used for this long-term quotation. Exchange rates are determined weekly. The final invoice amount will be dependent on the rate of exchange for the vessel on which the cargo is shipped.

Containers

For haulage arranged by The Geest Line, allocated loading time is:
10ft container - 2 hours; 20ft containers - 3 hours; 40ft container - 4 hours. Thereafter charged at £30.00 per hour or part thereof.
The Principal Party will be responsible for safe handling of line-supplied equipment whilst it is located at loading premises - repair/replacement costs for their account.

For merchant haulage, when agreed, equipment will be available for collection from our Portsmouth Depot. The Geest Line will allow 48 hours for loading, after which a demurrage charge of £50.00 per day will be applicable.

Cargo weight within containers must be evenly distributed, must comply with road transport regulations and must not exceed maximum payload as plated on the container doors. If any container is received for shipment which does not comply with these conditions, The Geest Line reserves the right to take whatever steps may be necessary to rectify the situation at the Shipper's risk and expense, this will also apply to any containers where cargo weight exceeds maximum payload weight in all Geest Line destination Islands.
Shipper owned or third party containers can only be accepted at the discretion of The Geest Line. The unit must display a current C.S.C. (Container Safety Code) plate attached to the door of the equipment, be built to ISO standards and be fit for the purpose intended. A £50.00 inspection fee is charged for all shipper owned containers.

Shipper supplied reefer containers are accepted entirely at Shipper's risk and liability. The Geest Line accepts no liability for the operation or the carrying temperature of the container or its contents.
Quotations for cargo stuffed into containers at the terminal assume that the Shipper will make their own arrangements to deliver the cargo to our Portsmouth Terminal.

The Geest Line will stow in the container and charge:
£19.00 per 1000 kgs / 2 cbm (greater of), reducing to £14.00 per 1000 kgs / 2 cbm (greater of) if received palletised.
All container rates are subject to DTHC with the exception of Barbados, Dominica and Martinique which are FAS ports.

Haulage

Haulage required on a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday is subject to additional costs and only accepted with prior agreement.
Quotations are for delivery of a container to your address. The container will be on the rear of a trailer, approximately 1.6m above the ground. There is no tail-lift and the driver is not responsible for assisting in loading or unloading.
The access route must be sufficiently wide, high and load bearing to enable us to collect/deliver the goods and the Shipper must supply suitable access/egress and good hard standing for loading/unloading. We must be notified at the time of quotation/booking of any restricted access as we will not accept any wasted journey costs if the Haulage Company is unable to load/deliver the goods.
Any additional costs incurred on the journey (i.e. Congestion Charge/Toll Charges) will be for the account of the Shipper. Any additional costs incurred at the load/delivery point (i.e. Parking fines) will be for the account of the Shipper.
The Geest Line's breakbulk collection/delivery vehicles do not have tail-lifts unless requested at time of quotation and booking. Drivers are not responsible for assisting with loading or unloading.
For haulage supplied by The Geest Line, drivers are not obliged to assist in container loading and unloading or securing and un-securing tilt covers or roof bows on open top containers.
Hazardous surcharge of £60.00 is applicable with the exception of limited quantities as determined by the Carriage Regulations/ADR.
Job cancellations made with less than one clear working days notice may incur a cancellation fee.
If any container loading on a Friday is unable to return to the Portsmouth Terminal by 1700 hours, an additional £80.00 charge will be incurred.

Breakbulk Cargo

All cargo is weighed and measured on arrival at our terminal and quotations adjusted where necessary.
The measurement used for calculating breakbulk ocean freight cost is W/M = Weight (1,000kgs)/Measurement (1.0 cubic metre) whichever is the greater. All breakbulk rates are subject to DTHC with the exception of Barbados and Dominica which are FAS ports.
On deck stowage at Carrier's option.

Temperature Controlled Cargo

All cargo requiring temperature controlled conditions is to be delivered to Polarkold (address above) the latest cargo can be delivered to Polarkold for the following weeks sailing is 12:00 on the Friday before vessel sailing.

Personal effects

In the case of Personal effects no claims will be accepted for missing items unless a valued list of contents is supplied by owner/shipper prior to commencement of carriage.

Geest Line Limited. Registered in England No. 266840. Registered Office As Above. Page 1

Vehicles

If cargo is stowed inside a passenger motor vehicle please add US$200.00 to the freight cost. A full inventory must be supplied prior to shipment.
Vehicles must be high pressure washed or steam cleaned prior to delivery to ensure a clean, mud free condition or will be refused entry to Portsmouth Terminal.

Vehicles must be in full running order before loading onto the vessel. Should an engineer be required to assist in starting the vehicle any additional costs will be passed on to the Shipper.

Barbados does not accept the import of cars that are over four years old, any import cars must have less than 50,000 kilometres/ 31,069 miles and have new tyres and battery.

Trinidad does not accept the import of cars that are over six years old.

Lorries/ Tippers
Cargo loaded in the cargo carrying area of the vehicle must be consigned to the same Consignee as the vehicle and the cargo is also to be evenly distributed and loaded onto pallets. If the cargo cannot be palletized it must be shipped breakbulk.

Hazardous Cargo

Cargo must be correctly declared, packaged and labelled in accordance with all relevant regulations.
Vehicles used currently/previously in the transportation of Petro-Chemical products must have a Gas Free Certificate prior to loading.

Insurance

The Geest Line recommends cargo insurance. Please contact Centor Insurance and Risk Management, our Broker and quote "Geest" to gain competitive rates for insurance. Centor's contact details are: Telephone number: +44 207 3308713 Web address: www.centor.co.uk

Horses

Shipment terms are FFA - Freight Free Alongside. Shipper must provide all food, bedding etc. The ship supplies water only. A stockman must travel who has obtained a recognised certificate demonstrating experience of handling livestock at sea. Insurance compulsory. Prior booking essential. 

Yachts

Yachts must be presented on cradle suitable for ocean passage, at the Shipper's expense. Yachts cannot be discharged direct into water without written confirmation from the Geest Line's Agent at destination. Port handling charges still apply.
Yachts ex Portsmouth water require lifting strops and the Shipper is to supply strops at their cost. Craft's own crew will be responsible for securing lifting slings while it is in the water.

Yacht masts must be packed in a crate capable of supporting a person's weight (100kgs approx) and be sufficiently rigid for lifting to take place without danger to mast.

Le Havre Customs

Our Customs entry covers the formalities only; it is the responsibility of the Shipper/Forwarder to present the necessary detailed Customs documentation to the French Authorities.

Customs documents should be from the Supplier's country into France with T1 or EX1 e.g. from Holland or Antwerp, as customs occasionally do not clear commercial invoices from another country.

BAF & CAF

Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) & Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF) variable according to time of shipment.

Minimum Charges
Ocean Freight - Breakbulk general cargo - USD100.00*
Breakbulk reefer/chill cargo - USD150.00*
Breakbulk hazardous cargo - USD120.00*

UK Terminal Handling - Breakbulk general cargo - GBP16.00*

Breakbulk reefer/chill cargo £30.00*

*Subject to commodity, volume, weight

Payment Terms

If cargo is to be shipped "Freight Collect", The Geest Line must first obtain confirmation, through The Geest Line agent at destination that the Consignee agrees to settle all charges before cargo delivery.

The Geest Line must receive payment in cleared fund before the Bills of Lading or cargo can be released. Cheques take 5 working days to clear after our receipt.

For shipments which require cleared funds, the funds are to be received by the Thursday prior to vessel sailing date.

Payment can also be made by Visa, MasterCard and Maestro or direct into our Bank.

The Geest Line Bank details:
Natwest
130 Commercial Road 
Portsmouth PO1 1EJ
Sort Code: 56-00-64
Sterling Account Code: 36924873

^{Please note: For payments over £500.00 made by credit card there will be an additional charge of 2.5% per transaction.
Please note: For any currency other than GBP paid into The Geest Line account there will be an additional charge of 2% per transaction.}

^{Conditions of Carriage are available on The Geest Line Website: www.geestline.com}