This September Geest Line again proudly supported the annual GDM Lindex charity karting event which helped raise £2600 for the charity Debra UK.  Debra is a national charity supporting individuals and families affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) – a painful genetic skin blistering condition.

The 100 minute endurance race was again held at the PF International Kart Circuit in Lincolnshire, with a grid of 22 teams all competing for honours.  Nick Barker, IT Manager at Geest Line, along with brother Andy battled back to a podium finish after a difficult start.  The best-ever result saw Geest Line again finish ahead of fellow industry competitors.  A good night was had by all for a worthy cause.

Once again the staff at Geest Line were out in force to support the annual Macmillan Coffee morning. Some made cakes, some bought cakes, some just ate cakes. However all took part and more importantly put their hands in their pockets, making a very commendable £208.70. Well done to all for supporting such a worthy cause.

For many years Geest line has been shipping livestock and the latest shipped to Mustique via St Vincent were two fine horses emigrating to the Equestrian Centre on the beautiful island in the Grenadines.

The Equestrian Centre in Mustique already has 11 working horses and 4 retired horses, plus the two new ones Willie and Snoopy.  Mustique has had horses on the island since the 1970s when some home owners imported horses for their personal use.  Over the years the Equestrian Centre has developed into a professionally run stables with two British Horse Society Instructors and trained staff.  They offer pony rides for children aged 2 years and over, pony camps, dressage, jumping lessons and trail rides.  The horses can often be seen taking a well-earned swim in the heat of the Mustique sunshine.

Geest Line uses a dedicated and certified ‘Horse Box’ (a converted 20 Dry Van) to transport these animals. They are escorted on their journey by a dedicated groom and vet, which doesn’t seem to faze the animals at all, as the pictures show: Willie and Snoopy on passage, running free and taking a swim.

The two new horses will undergo a training program to prepare them for their work and they will be integrated into the herd by October 2016.  The Equestrian Centre have used Geest Line on four previous occasions, shipping a total of 9 horses to Mustique.

As the UK was getting used to a new Iron Lady in the shape of the Prime Minister, Geest Line found we have our own!

Susie MacGregor, who works as one of our Customer Service Agents also spends her time doing Ironman competitions.

A dedicated member of Stubbington Green Runners and Bayside Triathlon Club, when she is not assisting in the smooth running of the commercial side of Geest Line, she can be found running, swimming and riding her bike.

On July 17th she completed a 2.4 mile lake swim, a 112 mile cycle and 26.2 mile run in an incredible time of 13 hrs and 59 mins at the Bolton Ironman competition. In order to achieve this fantastic result she trained hard 6 days a week for 7 months, with early mornings and late nights, not to mention every weekend; in her own words ‘it took over her life’.

When asked if she would do it again she said ‘absolutely not’, however I am told she has been seen training as hard as ever, so watch this space!

58 riders for the PLANETS London to Paris 24 hour cycle challenge were fuelled to complete the gruelling 300+ kilometre distance by a very generous donation of bananas from Geest Line.

The money raised during the event, in excess of £65000, will be used to pay the next 6 months of instalments in the purchase of an intraoperative radiotherapy machine, which will put Southampton at the forefront of advanced surgical oncology therapies worldwide.

Geest Line is proud to be associated with the Royal Navy’s Merchant Navy liaison scheme. This scheme is in place to give Junior Naval Officers the chance to sail in Merchant vessels in order to build a stronger common understanding between the maritime communities. With four vessels running out of Portsmouth on a weekly basis Geest Line was approached to be part of the scheme by providing berths in their vessels.

Only too pleased to assist, S/Lts Alex Snow and Mark Walker embarked on the 31^st May for a round trip:

S/Lt Snow observed ‘Clearly, due to the nature of their business, the routine on board differs significantly from that of the RN. With far fewer systems to operate and exercise (eg, weapons, communications, CBRNDC, aircraft etc.) a much smaller crew is required. However, with 150m of upper deck exposed to the weather, not to mention cranes and stacks of containers, there is lots of maintenance to do. During the ocean passage it became clear how much effort is required to keep the ship in an orderly fashion. At one point the Chief Officer (second in command) was seen aloft the main mast conducting ships husbandry. Both of us found this to be a fine example of team work’

Both S/Lts benefited enormously from the scheme, S/Lt Walker observed ‘Most notably from the Captain who took a keen and enthusiastic interest in teaching us not just astronavigation, but also other questions pertaining to the safe navigation of his ship. Captain Trimanez was enthusiastic for us to learn celestial navigation long hand without the aid of computer software such as NavPac. To this end we found themselves consulting Nautical Almanac’s rather than our computers for the times of sunrise, sunset and MerPass. The Captain also required us to calculate Local Hour Angle of Aries each evening in order to conduct simultaneous sights. This allowed us to use the rapid sight reduction tables to employ the intercept method and find the ship’s position. By way of demonstration, the incomparable to Captain Trimanez who was capable of fixing the ship consistently within 3 miles of the ships actual position and plotting it manually before we were finished with our own sights. Something we will never forget’

Both Mark and Alex have now returned to HMS Penzance, which will see them serve in the Middle East. As they left S/Lt Town joined for his trip around the Caribbean curtesy of the Caribbean’s leading Shipping Line. Long may our association continue.

NOTICE – GEEST UK IMO SOLAS VGM

Geest Line take seriously the need to ensure the safe transportation of your cargo, and to provide a safe working environment for anyone involved with handling our loaded containers both at sea and landside. Geest Line intend to be compliant to this new legislation at all ports and terminals we operate from.

Under the amended version of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) convention regulation 2 of chapter VI which mandates the Shippers responsibility to declare to the Shipping Line and/or Terminal Authorities the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of a packed container before loading onboard a vessel effective any sailing on/after 1st July 2016.

Containers ex UK

Unless Geest Line are advised in writing by the Shipper (or their authorized representative, the person responsible for declaring the VGM) that they intend to supply the VGM direct to Geest Line, Geest Line will arrange to obtain the VGM via Method 1 at Shippers convenience, expense and risk by weighing the container on arrival at the terminal. The VGM will be obtained using calibrated lifting equipment and issued by the terminal operators (MMD) to Geest Line. The VGM will then be supplied to the Shipper (or their authorized representative) at earliest opportunity for any shipping paperwork to be corrected accordingly and requested to confirm acceptance of the VGM prior to loading to vessel.

Where discrepancies exist we will contact Shippers (or their authorized representative, the person responsible for declaring the VGM) on a case by case basis to resolve any issues.

The cost per container for this operation/administration service will be £19.50 per container. Where Shippers provide their own VGM to Geest Line this charge will be waived, however an admin/check charge will be incurred of £5.00 per unit.

Should you require any further information or clarification please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 1489 873 511
Web: www.geestline.com

Geest Line UK Customer Service Department

Whilst the United Kingdom were deciding the fate of their place within Europe on the 23rd of June, Geest Line was hosting their annual Cocktail party at the Restaurant des Régates Le Havre. This is our chance to thank our French customers for their continued support with our trade lane to the French West Indies, and this year we were joined by our new clients representing interests in Guadeloupe.

The weather was beautiful, as was the setting, making for a most enjoyable evening. We now look forward to a prosperous future, as we continue to connect Europe with the Caribbean.

After the tremendous success of Top Gear in Barbados in 2014, the weekend of the 7 and 8 May saw the inaugural Barbados Festival of Speed. Once again Geest Line was ever present supporting this prestigious event by being the carrier of choice for vehicles from the UK to Bushy Park. This year it was difficult to look into Barbados’ world class racing circuit without seeing Geest Line branding.

Geest line is very proud to have been trading in Barbados since 1961. Captain Peter Dixon, Managing Director of Geest Line said  ‘Due to our long association with Barbados Geest Line is very much viewed as part of the commercial family on the island, as such it is very important to us to continue to support such events which bring the islands and the wider global community together.’

Once again Lewis Hamilton was in attendance with his team, undoubtedly the star of the show he lit up the circuit in Bushy Park with his 2013 F1 car. Also taking part were Monster trucks from the USA and banger cars from the UK. But perhaps the highlight for the younger kart and aspiring F1 drivers was when Lewis took to the track to race against them.

Since April 2016 Geest Line have once again been calling into Guadeloupe on a weekly basis. To cement this new alliance and to boost their presence in the region further we teamed up with our French agency, Madship a subsidiary of NAXCO Group and took a booth at the Caribbean Transport and Logistics Trade Fair (SCTL) 2016 in Martinique.

This was the first event of this dimension in the Greater Caribbean region. It’s purpose was to showcase all transport & logistics stakeholders in the Greater Caribbean. In doing so it brought together all the stakeholders in Logistics and Transportation of the region with services including warehousing, freight forwarding, information systems, export/import consulting, infrastructure, advanced logistics and training.

The three days comprised seminars and company/organisation sponsored booths, thereby linking the major operators of maritime and air transport; ports and airports around matters of the region. Providing a meeting place for companies from the French, English and Spanish speaking Caribbean.

Geest line saw this as the perfect opportunity to increase visibility in the Greater Caribbean region, especially the French West Indies.

It was a very successful few days for Geest Line, as we achieved all we set out to by participating in the Trade Fair. We now look forward to working with our partners in the region and enjoying a long and prosperous period.