Shipping barrels to Jamaica or other nations may not be the most common method of transportation, but they have remained an important part of Caribbean culture for decades. These barrels are often found full to the brim, which makes them a great choice for sending heavier goods. Often these shipping drums are full of dry goods and items of clothing. Barrels were chosen as the shipping container of choice as they were more effective at waterproofing the goods then commercial shipping boxes. They are also much easier to manoeuvre as they are cylindrical and can be rolled. This is a real benefit when loading and unloading from the deck of a ship, which traditionally was the most common mode of transport.

Typically, specialist barrel shipping companies are used to ship barrels to Jamaica and other Caribbean nations. But for both security, speed and price; it is worth exploring other options.

There are many specialist shipping companies in the UK and where you can source a 55 gallon barrel for around £40. It is possible to find second hand drums and barrels on sites such as eBay, Gumtree and Amazon. We advise caution when buying used containers as they may have traces of hazardous materials due to whatever was initially stored in them.

Shipping barrels to Jamaica: When you send anything to Jamaica make sure that you have not included any homemade foods or food outside of it’s original packaging.

It is important to know what items can be included in your barrel. Failure to adhere to the customs regulations of the country you are shipping to can mean that you end up paying a lot of extra money in customs duty and tax. Read the full list of ParcelHero’s prohibited items to check the items that you are considering sending. It is also worth checking the dedicated customs sites of the nation you are sending your items to; for instance; if you are sending a 55 gallon barrel to Guyana, then simply head to their customs information and view their full list of prohibited items.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of items that people often ship without realising that they are prohibited.

• Alcohol
• Batteries containing liquid
• Cash
• Meat or animal products
• Perfume / fragrances
• Tobacco
• Seeds

Ask any father and he will tell you that there is a fine art to packing. Whether that be a car, a house or a shopping bag. When it comes to packing plastic barrels, it is no different. Once you know what you can ship it is time to start placing them in the barrel itself.

Shipping barrels to Barbados: Bringing what is termed as “Foreign Rum” by Barbados customs can incur you serious penalties. Luckily, Barbados has a fine selection of rum to quench your thrist should you need.

Step 1: Your first step is to examine all your goods and decide which ones have the potential of getting damaged at any point during transit. When you have found these items, it is time to protect them. Bubble Wrap is your friend here, we suggest that you purchase a large amount of bubble wrap and packaging tape.

Step 2: Some items will fare better in small cardboard boxes while others will be fine wrapped in a couple of layers of bubble wrap. Generally, place your most delicate items into a cardboard box. Either put polystyrene chips in the box or wrap the items in bubble wrap. You can check to see if your box is packaged properly by shaking the box and if you can hear any movement then you need to add more packaging material.

Step 3: For the goods that you are covering in bubble wrap, carefully wrap each delicate item in the wrap and tightly fasten it together with your packaging tape.

Step 4: It is important that you place everything that you want to include on the floor where you can clearly see it all.

Step 5: Carefully go through each item and place them in categories on your floor, place heavy square items together, cans and tins together and so on. Then simply start placing your selected goods inside the drum. Start by placing the heaviest items first.

Step 6: Any dry food stuff such as rice or flour must be placed in plastic bags and placed on top of the barrel. This prevents any unwanted leakage.

Step 7: When it comes time to close the lid, place a tamper proof metal tag over the lid seal to ensure that your items are not tampered with over their journey.

Step 8: Avoid Packing anything with glass.

Tip: Be sure that any heavy items you place in the barrel first will not be damaged by the weight of the items placed on top of them.

Shipping barrels to Trinidad: Under no circumstances are you allowed to ship Camouflage clothing or equipment into Trinidad.

This is the most important part of the whole process, if you incorrectly label your barrel than it can end up costing you or your receiver far more than you originally planned. Follow the steps below to ensure that your parcel arrives with no complications.

Step 1: Measure your 55 gallon barrel. Measure the width, length height and weight of the drum.

Step 2: Choose your shipping company, use ParcelHero to see all the available options on offer from the world’s most trusted couriers.

Step 3: Enter your details. On the ParcelHero front page, you will be asked to enter the postcode/city of where you are shipping form or two as well as the measurement that you took down earlier.

Step 4: Next, choose which courier and specific method you want your barrel to be transported via.

Step 5: You must now decide which coverage option best suits your needs. ParcelHero offers you £50 free cover (except on Hermes shipments), but it is more likely that you want to add more insurance to your shipment so scroll through the options that are on offer and chose the most appropriate one.

Step 6: Enter any other details that are required and you will have a payment screen, enter your details and you will be provided with your shipping labels.

With 55 gallon barrels, this process is different from most other packages. While you still print out the labels, we also recommend that you write the delivery details on the drum with black permanent marker. The bigger the better here, as it eliminates any confusion.

Now simply wait for your courier to collect you 55 gallon barrel, you can track it’s process around the world with ParcelHero’s tracker.

Shipping barrels to Guyana: It is worth knowing that you cannot ship shaving brushes manufactured in or exported from Japa into Guyana