Richard James International

17/09/2026

Please can you ensure that you advise us in advance of any large or awkward cargo arriving with us such as building materials, roofing sheets etc.

We are now loading for the Christmas voyages and have already received a significant amount of large project cargo. We will have limited floor space on this voyage so need information on large cargo in advance so we can plan and prioritise cargo.

02/09/2026

2026 Christmas voyages

We would like to remind everyone that we are now quickly approaching the Christmas voyages for all destinations. These are extremely busy voyages and we strongly recommend that you get your orders into us before the closing date to allow us to process everything.

Please deliver any cargo that requires floor space, such as pallets and large bulky items, prior to the closing date. Floor space is taken up quickly so we ideally need to have all large cargo delivered as early as possible.

Please ensure that all Christmas orders placed with RJI are in well before our published closing date so we can make sure they arrive here in time to process.

Below are the dates for all upcoming Christmas shipments -

St Helena - V261710
Closing date for all cargo – 02/10/26
Arrival date – 05/12/26

Falklands – V589
Closing date for all cargo – 02/10/26
Arrival date – 28/11/26

Ascension – V26/05
Closing date for all cargo – 16/11/26
Arrival date – 16/12/26

Tristan Da Cunha – V225
Closed
Arrival date – 17/11/26

Please note that while Falklands V591 does arrive just before Christmas, we strongly recommend that all Christmas cargo is shipped on V589 as there is no guarantee that we will be able to unload everything on V591 before the holiday and any delays to the ETA will mean that these containers are not opened until after Christmas.

02/09/2026

Personal Effects Shipments

We would like to remind all of our customers that it is essential that an RJI Personal Effects Declaration Form is completed. This can be found on our website under the forms section and can be downloaded or completed online.

We cannot accept packing lists that are not completed on our declaration form as you must sign to confirm that you understand the requirements for dangerous goods shipments.

All goods and personal effects that are packed by customers are x-ray scanned on site to confirm that no undeclared hazardous materials and batteries have been loaded but we still require the accompanying declaration.

Please note that we cannot ship your boxes without the RJI Personal Effects Declaration Form and while we try to chase customers for the forms, this takes significant time and we are not always getting responses which results in boxes missing several shipments.

We are now coming into the Christmas voyages and we already have a significant increase in the volume of personal effects coming in. We know how vital it is that nothing misses these voyages and our staff go above and beyond during this period to make sure no presents are left behind. Please help us ensure that everything is shipped by completing our forms for personal effects and making sure that all of your orders coming in from companies are very clearly labelled with your name and destination island.

For anyone packing personal effects for shipment, please do not pack your boxes over 25kgs each. We strongly recommend packing heavier items like tins into smaller boxes that make them far for manageable for scanning and loading.

10/06/2026

Signing for cargo collections

Please note that we will require all customers to sign when collecting their cargo moving forward. This had been delayed on the Falklands due to recent issues with the shipping schedule but will be implemented from V577.

24/04/2026

St Helena Airfreight Update

RJI are still working with SHG and Airlink to push through our airfreight consignments and find out why we are experiencing such delays.

We are now splitting our airfreight down into smaller consignments per AWB to try and avoid everything being bumped from a flight. We have also been using a more expensive booking route for our airfreight which should make it higher priority but this is clearly having mixed results at this stage.

These additional costs will not be passed onto customers. We are trying all options possible to create a more dependable airfreight service to the island and have followed all recommendations from the airline and SHG.

24/04/2026

Falklands Container Update

SAAS have confirmed that two additional sailings will be going ahead to help with the delays that have been experienced at UK and European ports. The delayed 40′ container that was split from our shipment on V573 and the first batch from V575 will now be arriving on V137S (ETA 08/05/26). The remaining containers from V575 will be arriving on V139S (ETA 19/05/26).

All invoices that have been sent out for V575 have information on goods are in the delayed containers. Please note that the these were originally marked as delayed to V577 but will now be arriving earlier on V139S.

Please contact us directly for any personal cargo updates.

We are sorry for the inconvenience that these delays have caused.

RJI offer a monthly consolidated container service to the Falkland Islands using both the MOD and SAAS service. Both have a transit time of approximately 36 days from the containers and vehicles leaving our warehouse in Bristol to arrival at our warehouse in Stanley. RJI offer an air freight service...

08/04/2026

Falklands voyage update

We have a meeting arranged with SAAS tomorrow to discuss the latest situation with our delayed container from V573 and our delayed containers from V575. We will update everyone as soon as we have firm arrival dates.

Please contact our office if you have any questions about your freight.

Once again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused by these delays.

08/04/2026

V573 Falklands Container Delay

We have been advised by the shipping line that one of our 40' containers on V573 to the Falklands has been delayed. We are waiting for an explanation for the delay and a new ETA but we have been told that the container had been wrongly discharged at an earlier port call. This is currently expected to arrive in Montevideo on the 25/04/26.

We are sorry for the inconvenience that this additional delay will cause. We are already dealing with significant disruption to the V575 shipment so the news that the feeder service (CMA GCM) has mishandled another of our containers is hugely frustrating. SAAS have confirmed that a meeting is being organised with CMA management to discuss these unacceptable problems.