*Groupage is when customers do not have enough cargo to fill their own container, and so they choose to send smaller consignments, with other customers' goods into a container arranged by us.
All shipments are loaded into sea containers for safer transit.
They are secured and marked for ease of identification on arrival, with Redcoat staff overseeing both loading and un-loading processes.
We book container space on sailings from the United Kingdom (both 20ft. and 40ft. containers as required) and accept bookings, large and small, for each vessel. Goods can either be delivered to our facility near Gatwick or collected by our own or other contracted vehicles.
Simply call us when the goods are ready and we will arrange a collection, either on one of our own vehicles or use a third-party carrier depending on location.
We have a fixed charge for each collection in our own vehicle and for other collections, we simply recharge you what the Carrier charges according to a sliding scale based upon weight.
At the time of booking - just your name, contact telephone number and the collection address; once we have the goods here, we can arrange to pack goods securely into strong cartons or palletise them (at no extra cost). If there are items that are extremely valuable or fragile (like a television/hi-fi/furniture containing glass etc.) we may recommend professional packing in which case we would obtain a quotation from our packers and seek your approval to proceed.
We are not able to sell insurance cover ourselves but we can put you in contact with a company who offer Marine Insurance Cover – they will charge you direct for this service.
Redcoat will complete all export documentation as part of our service, including the Bill of Lading, the original of which is the document, the Consignee must present this in order to be able to claim the goods at the other end.
In addition, if you have purchased any items without paying VAT (since they are to be exported) we will undertake to present such documentation to Customs at the Port of Departure and, subsequent to confirmation of sailing, send Certificates of Shipment to your supplier(s) in accordance with your instructions.
It is essential that any Customs documents which are required to be presented to them on departure are in our possession before we load the container as they cannot be processed afterwards.
Once the vessel has sailed, we will send the Original Bill of Lading (with copies attached) by our own courier service to Banjul and these will be released, against a signature, to the Consignee. This is not to be relied upon as a Notification of Arrival service.
**Please ensure that you have advised the recipient yourself when to expect the goods.**
Please complete the form at the bottom of this page for an accurate quotation.
Normally, we wait until we have all the goods here in our possession so we can check, weigh and measure the complete shipment, before we finalise the charges. However, we can weigh and measure goods collected in our own vehicle and calculate the charges then and there if you would prefer.
Payment does not have to be made at the time, but the balance MUST be received in full before the Original Bill of Lading may be released to the Consignee. So it is in your interests to ensure that we do receive it in good time.
Storage charges will begin to add up in Banjul for any days lost awaiting the Bill of Lading.
> CAN I PAY IN BANJUL/FREETOWN?
Yes, you can, but only in Pounds Sterling. We would need to know this at the outset so that our office can contact the Consignee and verify that they will indeed accept our charges. We will then be notified here that the Consignee accepts and the shipment loaded. A copy of the Bill of Lading will be sent to you for reference purposes.
>> Reception and processing of cargo at our facility, including securing in cartons, on pallets or otherwise (not requiring professional case packing) and labelling
>> Documentation, including Customs formalities at Port of Export, Certificates of Shipment and preparation of the Bill of Lading
>> UK Road Haulage charges to the Port and UK Terminal Handling Charges
>> Sea freight to Freetown Quay
>> Courier of the Bill of Lading to the Consignee
Charges you may need to pay that are not covered in our general fees:
> Insurance - available on request (but see above)
> Specialised packing (i.e. for glass, high-value goods or heavy machinery)
> Collection - £35.00 per collection in London and South East, other areas on request.
> Importation charges at destination - this is payable locally to the ports and customs authorities.
> Storage at the port - please clear your goods promptly to avoid storage charges.
> Local handling fees (in destination country)
We recommend that you try to pack your pieces into as few units as possible - that is, it’s better to have 2/3 large cartons/cases than 20 smaller pieces.
Apart from obvious things like Live Animals and Perishables, the only restriction is that goods of a *hazardous nature MUST be professionally packed and, in some case, cannot be loaded into a container which has another type of hazardous material already - best to check with us first!
*e.g. Paint that is not water-based, chemicals, etc
If you have a large quantity of goods, redcoat can arrange for you to have sole use of a 20ft or 40ft container. Your goods do not have to be separately marked, packaged and labelled AND once cleared by Banjul Customs, may be trucked to the point of unloading, avoiding the contents having to be handled again and stored at the port.
We offer 2 methods:
1. We can arrange for a container to come to our facility here, immediately prior to the sailing of your choice and either receive deliveries from you and/or your supplier(s) in the days leading up to loading, load it for you and complete the export documentation etc
2. We can arrange for the container to come to a loading point of your choosing for you to load - again, we will prepare all the necessary documentation.