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Efficient Clearance for Container Shipments

Kingston Wharves handles two types of containers – Full Container Load (FCL) and Less than Container Loads (LCL). LCL Containers are those that consist of various items for more than one person or consignee. This may be barrels, boxes, crates, pallets or others containing personal effects such as clothing, household appliances, small commercial items, motor vehicle or parts.  FCL containers normally have goods from one owner. These containers are often shipped by customers moving goods for their home use or businesses seeking to replenish their shelves or providing raw material in the manufacturing process. Returning Residents also often ship FCL containers with items and supplies to facilitate their resettlement.

Here are the steps to clearing your Container shipments:

Engage a Freight Forwarder and a Customs Broker

The customer is required to; 

  • Engage a shipping agent or freight forwarder in his/her country of origin to make arrangement to ship the container to Jamaica.  
  • Engage a Customs Broker in Jamaica to facilitate clearance (Goods valued over US$5000 must be cleared by a licenced customs broker).  The shipping agent/freight forwarder and customs broker can be employed separately, or they can be one and the same. Many overseas shipping agents have customs broker partners in Jamaica.  
  • The container is packed and shipped to Jamaica via a shipping line.  
  • The agents send a manifest and a packing list to notify and discharge the container from the vessel when it arrives at the wharf (Kingston Wharves)  
  • The shipping agent contacts the consignee, freight forwarder or Broker to notified them of vessel arrival 
  • The shipping agent issues arrival notice to the broker or freight forwarder to advice that the container has landed in Jamaica.   
  • After all obligations with the shipping Agent is settled. The shipping Agent issues a validated Bill of Lading for the Broker to proceed to the wharf for clearance 

The Customs Broker/ Freight Forwarder: 

  • Prepares a Customs Declaration and submits it to the  Jamaica Customs Agency. If all is in order, the Customs Officers signs the customs release for the   

container to be removed from the terminal by the customer through his haulage  contractor to a warehouse for stripping.  

 

  • The Bill of Lading is presented to Kingston Wharves when paying KWL charges and to lodge container to facilitate Customs examination. Containers can be lodged for: 
  1. Site –  The full container is taken from the terminal to the importers warehouse for customer examination and stripping 
  1. Stripping – The container is stripped and placed in Kingston Wharves Warehouse for Customs Examination and delivery to individual consignee 
  1. Strip and Stuff – The container is strip, examined by Customs and repacked into the container to be delivered to the consignee 
  1. Strip and Lift – The container is stripped, examined by Customs and the contents placed in our warehouse for the consignee’s delivery truck to collected.  

  

  

  • An appointment is made in the Port Community System (PCS) for Site containers  or for the container to be positioned on the loading bay at KWL for customs examination in the presence of your broker for stripping. 

  

  • The broker and or Freight Forwarder would contract a haulage company to pull the full container from the wharf. 
  • Bill of Lading or Order  
  • Customs Declaration  
  • Permits (if applicable to cargo) 
  • Authorised official ID (Driver’s Licence  

Fees associated with clearing your container include:  

  •  Agent/Customs Brokers Fees 
  •  Charges to the Shipping Line 
  •  Kingston Wharves Charges 
  • Customs Duties, Security Cess and Port Development Cost 
  • Demurrage and Storage—if the container is not cleared within seven days of landing. The demurrage is a cost payable to the shipping lines. 

Contact your freight-forwarder or call Kingston Wharves Total Logistics Facility Client Services at 876-618-1068 or email customerservice@kwljm.com. You may also visit the Kingston Wharves’ website at www.kingstonwharves.com.jm.

You are required to hire a truck/trailer. The trucker must make an appointment in the PCS to access the port. The trucker must present the bill of lading and customs documents for the container to be loaded onto a trailer chassis for exiting the wharf.  

  • Special Notes
Have the Resources on Hand to Unpack Your Shipment from the Container

It is recommended that the customer have persons and other resources on hand to assist with the unloading of their container on the same day when it arrives at their premises. 

Allowing the trailer to wait for the container to return it to the terminal avoids the accumulation of demurrage which will accrue if the container is kept for more than the charge-free time allowed by the shipping line. It also avoids paying the trucker twice, as the haulage company will require another payment to make the trip to retrieve the container to take it back to the wharf.  

Storage—Storage costs are levied by the Port Authority of Jamaica. Quoted in Jamaican dollars, this payment applies if a shipment is not cleared within seven days of its arrival at the port. Storage costs are based on the container size.  

 

Contact your customs broker. For KWL charges call the Kingston Wharves Client Services, Information Desk at 876-618-1068, ext. 5510 or email customerservice@kwljm.com. You may also visit the Kingston Wharves’ website at www.kingstonwharves.com .   

 Strip and Stuff Versus Strip and Lift  

If a container is a strip and stuff, the container is unpacked for examination, repacked and then hauled on the back of a chassis from the Terminal at the end of the cargo clearance process.   When a container is a Strip and Lift, rather than hire a trailer to remove the entire container from the terminal, the customer would hire transportation to remove the contents on the terminal, leaving the container behind.  

Any cargo that arrives in Jamaica is in the custody of the Jamaica Customs Agency until it is cleared. A separate entity from Kingston Wharves Limited, Jamaica Customs is the government’s revenue collection and border protection agency that collects duties the State’s behalf. Jamaica Customs examines and values the cargo (whether a vehicle or other) and collects its charges.   

Kingston Wharves’ role is to receive the shipment and provide for its storage as well as safe and efficient delivery when all steps in the cargo clearance process have been completed. KWL also handles containers being exported and those for transhipment.  

Your customs broker usually guides the customer and monitors the process to the point where the container is collected or delivered. Your broker is the liaison between you and the companies involved in the clearance process. The broker provides the relevant documentation and makes the necessary arrangements for the seamless clearing of your cargo.