We would like to congratulate both Somerdale International Limited and Tudor Rose International Limited for their Queen's Award for Enterprise International trade for 2009.

Both companies have traded in the Caribbean for many years and this prestigious award recognises their valuable contribution.

Recently Geest Line were contacted by Edgehill Associates to transport a number of large concrete beams from Trinidad to Dominica which were used in the construction of the new bridge in Roseau Dominica. The beams were larger than container size and required all involved including the port authorities of Trinidad and Roseau to pull out all the stops to get these large and heavy beams to destination.

The major players involved in ports and shipping in the Caribbean have met for the Caribbean Shipping Associations regular high-level summit, this time held in Trinidad’s Port of Spain over a three-day period.

Geest Line was among the shipping lines represented as topics such as port operations and investment in the region, the state of business, the economic crisis and its effect on the Caribbean all came under the spotlight.

Geest Line has renewed the charters of its existing four reefer ships for the next three years in a vote of confidence for the future.

Times are changing at Geest Line's UK port of call, Portsmouth, where the terminal handling the line's ships has been acquired by the local authority.

She was the biggest ship that Geest Line has employed on the Europe-Caribbean service in over 50 years and there's no doubt the Ditlev Lauritzen raised a few eyebrows during her port stays.

Every year brings its challenges but the year 2008 will be remembered for presenting more than most. However, the good news for Geest Line and its customers is that the Caribbean trade appears to have weathered the storm and the Geest service that emerges for 2009 is set to be stronger and better.Last year brought both natural and man-made problems that made life difficult for traders exporting goods to the Windward and Leeward Islands.

Geest Line Dominica agents HHV Whitchurch have been recognised for their sterling service after being named the line's Best Caribbean Agent.

New logo and new look - that's the style of Geest Line going into 2009 with a subtle change of title also entering the market.

Against the tropical green backdrop of the island of Dominica, Geest Line agents emerged from two days of conference debate with their minds set on how they can further improve their service to customers.