Geest Line

What Geest Line does

Geest Line Limited is a UK-headquartered maritime shipping company providing direct cargo transportation services between the United Kingdom (Portsmouth), the Netherlands (Vlissingen/Flushing), and 11 Caribbean destinations including Antigua, Barbados, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts, St Lucia, and St Vincent. Founded in 1935 as a horticultural business and operating shipping routes to the Caribbean since the 1950s, Geest Line is the only shipping line offering direct UK-to-Eastern Caribbean service without transhipments, providing weekly sailings with transit times of 9 days to Barbados and 12 days to Antigua/St Kitts.

The company's service portfolio spans containerized shipping (20ft and 40ft dry van, open top, flat rack, reefer, and specialized rum tank containers), refrigerated carriage including Controlled Atmosphere conditions for bananas, break bulk for out-of-gauge cargo, exclusive LCL (less-than-container-load) chilled/frozen groupage, consolidation services, and inter-island Caribbean shipping. Operations are supported by a network of local shipping agents in each Caribbean destination and terminal partnerships with Portico Shipping in Portsmouth and ZZC Terminal (Zoomweg Zeeland Coldstore BV) in Vlissingen, the latter providing 25,000 sqm of cold storage capacity with temperature control from -18°C to +20°C.

Geest Line operates a quote-based, transaction-fee revenue model, charging per shipment based on cargo type, volume, and route, with additional BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor), ETS (Emissions Trading System), and fuel surcharges applied to cover regulatory and fuel cost volatility. Primary customer segments are banana and fresh produce exporters (notably a 25-year relationship with Dominican Republic banana growers shipping weekly) and general freight importers/exporters. The company is privately held following its April 2021 acquisition by a joint venture between Seatrade Group and Jamaica Producers Group, and operates with a 51-100 employee headcount across its Fareham headquarters and Rhoon Benelux sales office.

Name

Geest Line

Legal name

Geest Line Limited

Website

https://geestline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Geest Line Limited is a UK-headquartered maritime shipping company operating the only direct weekly container, reefer, and break bulk service between the UK/Netherlands and 11 Eastern Caribbean destinations, specializing in refrigerated banana and produce transport.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Container Shipping

NAICS

Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111), Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation (4831)

SIC

Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Reefer/Temperature-Controlled Ocean Forwarding (TLACABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Project & OOG/Breakbulk Ocean Forwarding (Out-of-Gauge, RoRo) (TLACABAH), Ocean Import Forwarding (Destination Handling/DO/ISF) (TLACABAE)

Keywords

• Ocean freight shipping
• Container shipping services
• Refrigerated cargo transport
• Caribbean trade routes
• Break bulk shipping

Headquarters

HQ city

Fareham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Freight Shipping Services: Core revenue from shipping various cargo types including containers (dry van, open top, flat rack, reefer), break bulk, and LCL shipments between Europe (UK/Netherlands) and Caribbean destinations. Pricing based on cargo type, volume, and route.
2. Fuel Surcharges: UK Fuel surcharge applied to shipments, varying by effective period (currently 12% as of June 2026). Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) also applied based on voyage.
3. Environmental Surcharges (ETS): Emissions Trading System surcharge applied to cover carbon emission costs, currently $6.75 per unit for recent voyages.
4. Specialized Equipment Services: Additional charges for specialized services including refrigerated carriage, out-of-gauge cargo, vehicle exports, and consolidation services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Geest Line operates scheduled container shipping services between the United Kingdom / Northern Europe and the Caribbean, with direct sailings to 11 island destinations. The company carries containerised cargo, break bulk freight, refrigerated (reefer) cargo including controlled-atmosphere produce, LCL reefer consolidations, and provides inter-island services across the Caribbean basin.

Product overview

Geest Line operates as a maritime shipping company offering a portfolio of cargo transportation services between the UK, Europe, and the Caribbean. The core service platform comprises Shipping Containers (including multiple container types such as dry van, open top, flat rack, reefer, and rum tank variants in both 20ft and 40ft sizes), Refrigerated Carriage, and Break Bulk services. Add-on services include LCL Reefer (less-than-container-load chilled/frozen groupage), Consolidation (sorting and storage for multi-supplier/multi-consignee operations), and Inter Island Services (regional Caribbean shipping). The company specializes particularly in fresh produce transport, especially bananas, with refrigerated and controlled atmosphere capabilities, serving 12 Caribbean and European destinations including Antigua, Barbados, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent, Netherlands (Flushing), and UK (Portsmouth).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Break Bulk Shipping Carriage of non-containerised, oversized or project cargo that does not fit standard container dimensions, serving shippers of heavy machinery, vehicles, and oversized freight moving between the UK/Europe and the Caribbean.

Quantifiable outcome

• Transit time: 9 days UK to Barbados
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Francis Trading Agency LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for Antigua (St John's). Handles cargo operations, customs clearance, and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to Antigua.
• Caribbean International Freight & Logistics LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for Barbados (Bridgetown). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to Barbados.
• H.H.V. Whitchurch & Co LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for Dominica (Roseau). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to Dominica.
• Maritima Dominicana SAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to Manzanillo, Dominican Republic.
• Jonas Browne & Hubbard (Grenada) LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for Grenada (St George's). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to Grenada.
• S.L. Horsford & Co LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for St Kitts (Basseterre). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to St Kitts.
• M & C Shipping LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for St Lucia (Castries). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to St Lucia.
• Corea & Co (1988) LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for St Vincent (Kingstown). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to St Vincent.
• Ship & Port Agency Curaçao N.V.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for Curaçao (Willemstad). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to Curaçao.
• Gulf and MaritimecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal shipping agent for Guyana (Georgetown). Handles cargo operations and local customer support for Geest Line shipments to Guyana.
• Portico ShippingcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTerminal operator for Geest Line's Portsmouth port operations. Manages the Albert Johnson Quay facility including warehouse, container handling, and quayside operations.
• ZZC Terminal (Zoomweg Zeeland Coldstore BV)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTerminal operator for Geest Line's Netherlands operations at Vlissingen (Flushing). Modern cold storage facilities with 25,000 sqm capacity and heavy lift capabilities up to 100 MT.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/geestshipping?lang=en
• Facebookfacebook.com/stuarthirstltd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/geest-line-limited

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Geest Line