Aid Relief
Inherent to the markets we serve is the need to handle disasters.
The first was the Montserrat disaster where Andy Thorne, Kestrel’s Owner & Chairman, was one of the first Europeans on site and directed logistics for Aid to arrive and be distributed, diverting ships & cargo to help where needed.
Through to current day, this hasn’t changed – when the Haiti earthquake struck Kestrel put the first NGO vessel in – when others said it couldn’t be done.
To Date we have sent 12 Ships & Shipped over USD14 Million in Aid.
Kestrel is able to service the remote and inaccessible areas of the world and proud to promote it’s Aid and Relief Service for all types of cargo to the areas where it is needed most. We work in conjunction with such agencies as the United Nations, Samaritans Purse, Unicef, the Red Cross, and the World Food Programme.
Areas we operate in include Mongolia, North Korea, Haiti (& the Caribbean), East Timor, Dili Indonesia.
We ship all types of cargo BREAKBULK CARGO – earth moving equipment, diggers, SHELTERS & HOUSING including equipment & construction materials, FOOD – flour, rice, corn, basics, CLOTHING, MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PHARMACEUTICALS …… Below are some of the Aid Agencies we work with :
- Unicef
- World Food Programme
- American Red Cross
HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF AND LOGISTICS
Just because the TV cameras stopped rolling, the need for Aid into this area did not.
400 tons of emergency relief and aid has been shipped so far. Kestrel did 15 charters for Samaritan Purse in 2010 and were the first to have a direct NGO charter calling Port Au Prince just 2.5 weeks after the quake.
Kestrel Liner Agencies group of companies is a resource for coordination of relief shipments to aid in the recovery of Port Au Prince, Haiti. Our network covers over 100 ports from around the world including the USA, UK, Europe, Latin America and Asia. While the Port of Port Au Prince is currently closed to cargo operations. During the time since the earthquake Kestrel has been able to arrange for roll on/roll off service from Florida for vehicles and heavy equipment. The company sourced and continues to source Shipper Owned Containers (SOC's) for use in transportation and storage. Shipping to alternative ports including Cap Haitien and ports in the Dominican Republic.
Rescue operations were put under way by governments and NGO's. A number of USA naval vessels made their way to PAP. All container liner operations were suspended because of damage to the port.
Kestrel attended to charter service for international governmental and NGO's once the immediate rescue mode was dealt with and a clear picture of what infrastructure was available to land cargo to serve PAP. Operations were only available to ro/ro vessels in to Cap Haitien at the north end of the island or Rio Haina, Dominican Republic. We had to determine how to get cargo to the affected areas through the Relief Organisations. Only Shipper Owned Containers were shipped because it was (and still is) doubtful that carriers' containers will ever be returned in view of the devastation.
