Freight Information Page

This page is intended to provide some helpful guidelines and information pertaining to Theriault Fisheries N.V. freight boat service. We are providing freight boats as an adjunct to and in conjunction with our fishing company. This year of service has given us the experience necessary to formulate certain guidelines and policies. We strive to provide consistent and superior service given the constraints of time, the vagaries of weather, the unforgiving marine environment and the finite limits of shipping/warehouse space. So, while some of these policies may seem arbitrary and/or unfair, they have evolved through the crucible of time for the overall benefit of our customers, your vendors and our company.

All freight going to Bonaire or Curacao must be labeled with NAME and DESTINATION (i.e. - "John Doe - Willemstad"), please have each item labeled. Theriault Fisheries employees will not label freight, so if someone else or a vendor is making the delivery to us please inform them it is their responsibility to label each item (most shipping companies are very cooperative as long as they know ahead of time).

Theriault Fisheries is not a postal office and cannot accept any foreign parcel post or mail in care of our customers. All mail and parcel post items must be shipped to your respective post offices on either island. Anything shipped via the US mail service in care of Theriault Fisheries will be returned to sender.

please label your freight as follows:
John Doe/street address

city/ island

phone


Please remember that without a name and destination on the address label we will not accept any deliveries.

We will have freight houses in areas yet to be determined.  Due to the relatively small size of these buildings and the vast quantities of freight that pass through these communities, the freight houses can only be considered as temporary waypoints for your freight. We are not able to warehouse goods for any length of time. Please arrange to have your freight picked up as close as possible to the shipping date. For those unable or unwilling to comply with this request: we are not responsible for any freight held for 7 days or more; storage charges will begin to accrue after 14 days (equal to freight charge for each 7 day period); we reserve the right to dispose of anything left more than 30 days at customers expense.

All freight boats are scheduled to leave Curacao 3 times weekly. Weather permitting, we run all week year round. During the height of business, we also run on a daily basis. call for actual dates.

For same day deliveries we will accept shipments from 7:30am to 9:30am at motet werf. Please inform shippers that the earlier the better. Please give us the courtesy of a phone call for any large shipments so we can make the proper space accommodations. Thank you.

We will accept commercial deliveries (see restrictions below):
Monday thru Friday
7:00am to 3:30pm

Saturdays (when freight boat runs)
7:00am to 9:30am

Deliveries attempted during other times will be refused and trucks will be turned away.

Lumber/Building supplies are only accepted for same day delivery. NO Lumber/Building supplies will be accepted after 4:30 pm. No Lumber/Building supplies are accepted on Saturdays, Sundays or Holidays. Building supplies include: kitchen cabinets, plumbing supplies/fixtures, windows/doors, tile, flooring, paneling, bulk landscape supplies, stairs, hot tubs, etc. If in doubt please call.

Liquor will only be accepted for same day shipment, deliveries will only be accepted between 7:00am and 9:45am (Monday - Saturday) on sailing days.

Personal freight: please make an effort to have all boxes, cartons, crates etc. labeled and sealed properly. We will not be responsible for any items in unsealed containers and reserve the right to refuse such containers. Please do not use plastic garbage bags to ship your freight, too often they look like plastic bags of garbage. You are responsible for labeling your freight. The unusually hectic nature of freight and the large numbers of people to deal with has forced us to stipulate that Theriault Fisheries employees not label anyone's freight, after all you know where you want your freight to go. If you are dropping off your own freight in Bonaire, the freight house will be accessible whenever the terminal is open. If the doors are closed, ask a parking attendant to open them for you.

Please remember we are operating in a marine environment that is beyond our control. Your freight is being shipped on boats, on the water. We are subject to wind conditions, salt spray conditions and fog conditions as well as the normal rain, sleet, snow and sun variables. If you are worried about it, protect it. We jump through hoops to try to make sure all freight we ship is protected from the elements, but you are ultimately responsible for the proper safeguarding of your property.

Please inform any of your vendors that ship via truck of some basic tenets. All freight must be labeled. All freight must be properly protected (i.e.- we will refuse any new furniture that is not boxed, wrapped or otherwise protected). All freight must be delivered only during the hours previously mentioned. All freight that requires a signature will be accounted for by the number of pieces received. We will only sign a shipping document if we are provided with a copy of said document. We have made a rather substantial investment in equipment (loading booms, pallet jacks, etc.)Please have your vendors take advantage of this, any freight that can come pre-palletized and shrink wrapped can be easily and quickly off loaded, saving both sides time and headaches (remember though that if we receive one pallet of freight we will sign for one pallet - we do not count the number of pieces within the pallet). The condition we receive your freight is generally the condition you receive your freight. No claims can be made for freight once it leaves our care and custody. We are not responsible for hidden damages, those claims must be made to the original shipper. We have an astoundingly good record within the shipping industry, yet mistakes do happen, please bring any problems to our attention immediately.

The freight operation, while courteous to a fault, is not a courtesy service. All freight charges are due upon receipt unless you have a commercial shipping account (including a 1000.00 NAF deposit) with us. We only accept cash (no credit cards), and we will accept company checks. We have available a published price list which we use as a basis for determining the freight charges. Due to the vast variability of items we ship, prices are usually set upon visual inspection of the item in question and can vary from the printed cost.

Due to limited inside storage, many items will be restricted to outside storage. And we are not responsible for any items left outside overnight. Aside from the obvious gas containers, gas powered equipment, propane tanks and bbq grills, other items requiring outside storage include (but not restricted to) : kayaks, canoes, windsurfers, sailboats, jet skis, dinghies, soiled laundry, nursery stock, lumber, building supplies (see above), golf carts and bicycles.

We would like to make your freight shipping experience as painless and expeditious as possible. Your cooperation will help immensely. If you have any questions, please call and ask to speak to the freight department.

Thank you,

Theriault Fisheries N.V.