Importing rugs from India – it’s second Nature to us!

We were delighted to be able to offer our services to a small, local family business, Second Nature, recently.

Second Nature has a gorgeous shop in Dumfries along with a successful online business and their products are sourced from all over the world, including Morocco and India. The business believes in the principles of fair trade and environmental protection, and are passionate about sourcing and importing products that fit with their principles, and are either natural, fair trade or eco-friendly. Of course, it helps that the products are all high quality and wonderful to browse.

We were asked to assist the company with a recent import of fantastic products, including a range of hand loomed Indian rugs. They had two containers which needed to be transported from Kerala, and we were more than happy to help.  The company were so impressed that in their own words they became ‘geeky’ about being able to watch the two containers as they made their way from Kerala to Felixstowe, mentioning on their Facebook page that they’d watched the shipments on the Marine Tracker app and been very excited as they watched one dock, and the other making its way around Portugal!

We look forward to being able to help Second Nature with more of their imports in the future and bring more of their fantastic wares to the UK from overseas.

What is the role of a ship broker?

A ship broker plays a very important role in the transport of goods by sea, and the broker’s main role is to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible, bringing all the parties involved together and resolving any issues as they occur.

Examples of the type of project we oversee could include matching a UK-based grain merchant that needs to sell 3,000mt of grain to a client in Morocco and who is looking for a suitable ship to transport it with a European ship owner who is travelling to Morocco and is looking for cargo to take back to Northern Europe.

A ship broker usually works on behalf of one of the parties but acts as a mediator between one or more of them. The simplest scenarios to oversee usually involve just a cargo merchant, a ship broker, the ship owner/charterer and the purchaser of the cargo that’s being shipped.

Sometimes things can become more complicated, and that’s when the ship broker’s work is really cut out for them. In some cases, we can be dealing with a cargo seller, who has a broker of their own acting on their behalf, in addition to an intermediate broker, the charterer’s broker, the charterer, the ship owner and then buyer of the goods. It can be a challenge to keep the communication going between so many different parties; all with their own interests, but a good ship broker will have the benefit of experience and a good network of contacts throughout the business.

T.ward shipping is proud to have built up a great range of clients and contacts during out many years’ ship broking experience, throughout the UK and Europe. We are happy to facilitate and oversee all aspects of Shipbroking and charters for your cargo or ship.

Good Luck with the ICS Exams

This time of year means just one thing for some young students in the shipping industry; their Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers exams. These important exams are looming now and it’s likely that most students will truly have their heads buried in their books.

The ICS is the professional body for members of the commercial shipping industry, founded in 1911 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1920. It is the only internationally recognized professional body in the commercial maritime sector representing all section of commercial shipping such as brokers, managers and agents, with 24 branches in key locations all over the world and a membership of over 4,000 individuals.

The Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) is the top ICS qualification, which is designed to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the commercial shipping industry. The PQE is made up of seven separate exams that can be taken over a period of five years, although most people complete them more quickly.

Embarking on PQE will mean you need to sit a minimum of two exams in your first year (one of which must be Shipping Business), and after that you can decide which subjects to take from the syllabus. Once you have completed your PQEs you will be eligible to apply for membership with the Institute.

t.ward shipping recognizes the contribution ICS has made to the commercial shipping industry in the UK and worldwide which is why we ensure that all of our new employees take steps to completing the Professional Qualifying Examinations (PQE) in topics such as Shipping Law and Dry Cargo Chartering (and more.)

There are other educational options with the ICS such as foundation diploma and advanced diploma, but only those who complete the PQE are eligible for membership of the ICS. Whichever avenue a student chooses to take, they can be sure the education they will get from the ICS will be a tremendous foundation to work from in their professional shipping career.

Our very own Callum Hamilton (MICS) completed his PQE in 2011 gaining membership to ICS in 2012. His hard work also gained him the Port Agency prize for best marks in the Port Agency exam in 2010.

Callum was delighted with his award and said, “All students want to pass their exams, and the target is always the pass mark, but it’s a real bonus when your hard work is recognised and rewarded.”

To all the students preparing for 2015 exams in April, t.ward shipping would like formally wish you good luck and best wishes.

For more information on the ICS please go to http://www.ics.org.uk/home

T Ward shipping pallets for the Turing Trust

T ward are pleased to promote and help good causes, so we’re very pleased to be able to help the Turing Trust in 2015. The Turing Trust is a UK charity set up by James Turing in 2009 after he visited Ghana during his gap year and witnessed a local school trying to teach over 50 students with no textbooks.

The Turing Trust was set up in response to James’ desire to promote education through using information technology. The Trust offers resources to some of the most disadvantaged communities of sub-Saharan Africa.

The trust operates a free computer recycling scheme, with the aim of to providing computer facilities to rural schools in Ghana. They wipe any donated PCs to the industry standard, offer a drop off service to Edinburgh customers and then ship the recycled PCs to Ghana; which is where t ward comes in.

In 2015 we will be acting as freight forwarding agents for The Turing Trust. Their first shipment consisted of twelve pallets as part of an LCL (less than container load) shipment which was collected from Edinburgh and then shipped to Tema, the Ghana via Port of London Gateway.

As the trust were exporting for the first time, we helped to take them through the process from start to finish, guiding them through the processes or customs entry, documentation and the logistics required to process their cargo in the UK before being shipped out.

The charity has been receiving a very welcome increase in donations recently, which means that now they are looking at potentially shipping a whole 20’ container in February 2015. We will be delighted to help them through the process once again.

If you’re interested in donating IT equipment or other items to this worthy cause, you can contact the team at: recycle@turingtrust.co.uk

It’s not just computers that can help students and schools in Ghana. The Trust also needs:

• Old games consoles, games, TV’s, radios, speakers, iPods, MP3 players and accessories for a start-up charity gaming café in Ghana - to raise funds for development projects
• Digital cameras & mobile phones (including chargers)
• Calculators, exercise books, rulers, pens and pencils.

The full list of items that the charity needs is available on their website along with more about the work they do and the worthwhile projects they are supporting.
http://turingtrust.co.uk/

Sleepers in the Garden

With spring just around the corner, thoughts are turning to getting the garden spruced up ready for the better weather, and this is a great time of year to start planning this year’s gardening projects.

T.ward can help with many of your gardening projects – we’ve been supplying reclaimed railway sleepers around Scotland for many years now and it never ceases to amaze us some of the creative ways that our customers choose to use them!

At 2.6m x 0.25 x 0.125m and with a weight of about 75 kgs they are fairly sturdy – which you would expect for something that is designed to be in the ground for hundreds of years!

One of the most popular ways to use reclaimed railway sleepers in gardening projects is to create a retaining wall.

Some of our imaginative clients have used them for other things – adding some attractive edging, supports, raised beds, steps, garden furniture, fencing and even bridges!

Of course, sleepers can be used outside of the garden - many of our clients are industry based and use our sleepers for a base for plant machinery, containers, pipes and much more.

There are many different grades of reclaimed railways sleepers, but t.ward shipping has seen a trend emerging in Grade A reclaimed railway sleepers – this grade guarantees quality throughout the railway sleeper. They are on the more expensive side but if you opt for a Grade A sleeper, you’ll certainly see the benefits in the long run.

For more info or to enquire please get in touch.

What is the Role of a Customs Clearance Agent?

The job that a customs clearance agent does is a specialised one that has to take into account the legislation of every country involved in the process of shipping goods. It involves being very organised and methodical, accurate and being able to communicate with all parties involved in importing and exporting goods around the globe.

Every country has its own different rules when it comes to customs, so the role involves making sure that we keep up to date with any changes to ensure that these regulations are carefully adhered to. The process involves preparing all the correct paperwork and/or electronic documents for each case, calculating and paying the required amounts of taxes on behalf of the customer, including all duties and excise taxes, and acting as the first point of communication for the importer/exporter and the governmental authorities involved in each case. As you can imagine, it’s a specialised job.

Customs Clearance Agents also have to make sure that they are up to date with the Tariff Schedule (or Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS)), as well as the listing of duty rates for imported items, and all regulations governing imports, submit it to the relevant government agencies to notify them - and arrange any clearance that’s needed for specific cargo.

A Customs Clearance Agent has to be accredited with ports, customs authorities and border agencies, as they will have to arrange to pass all necessary documentation on at customs and arrange for any inspections that have to take place.

At t.ward we have many years of experience in customs clearing UK imported goods for both private and commercial customers. We can help you obtain clearance for your goods through customs throughout the world and we’re also happy to advise you on import duty, tax and international tariff codes and permits.

 Contact us if you’re looking for advice or assistance on:

• Customs clearance advice for Far East sea freight imports for FCL / LCL
• Customs clearance in all UK Ports (for example - Felixstowe, Southampton, Grangemouth)
• Air freight customs clearance
• Tariff clarification
• Import and export licences
• Temporary imports
• Duty and tax planning

T Ward helps Stretch Tent Scotland

Here at T Ward, we like to offer our clients a really thorough service that’s tailored to their needs. We’re also experienced in helping clients reach the best solution for difficult logistical problems, and we demonstrated this last year when we worked with a company called Stretch Tent Scotland. The company supplies tents for use at large events such as weddings and festivals, and asked us to assist with customs clearance when they imported a batch of the tents from suppliers in Cape Town. The first shipment was due in April/May 2014.

The company bought the tents on CIF Edinburgh Incoterms, which meant was the shippers in Cape Town organized the shipping up to the first port of entry to the UK, which was Felixstowe. We assisted with customs clearance at Felixstowe and delivery to Edinburgh.

The complication was that because the gods were bought on CIF terms, the client had no control over which warehouse was responsible for their LCL shipment on arrival in the UK. As a result, the common charges (handling, security, documentation) levied by the warehouse for an LCL import were non-negotiable and Stretch Tent Scotland had to pay in order to release their goods – an extra expense they weren’t expecting. The costs were high, too.

Although there was no way around this problem in 2014, we advised Stretch Tent Scotland that next time they imported goods from Cape Town, they should buy them on FOB Cape Town terms. This would mean that shippers in Cape Town would only be responsible for getting goods to our nominated agent’s warehouse in Cape Town. From there onwards, t.ward shipping would be able to take responsibility for the shipment up until it was delivered to the client’s premises in Edinburgh.

There were no nasty surprises with the next shipment as we could decide which UK warehouse the goods arrived into. This saved a few hundred pounds and led to a happy client. In summary, t.ward can assist with all shipping, import/export and customs matters, and we are able to use our many years shipping experience to tailor our services to fit clients’ precise needs, potentially saving them money and ensuring that they don’t need to pay over the odds for shipping costs.