It is with the greatest sense of honour that the award of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) has been granted upon Kestrel Worldwide Shipping’s chairman, Andy Thorne, in His Majesty the King’s New Year Honours List for services to British Exports and to British Interests in the Caribbean.
This exceptional accolade is made in recognition of Andy’s vast knowledge, commitment and philanthropic work in the Caribbean and the wider Commonwealth. The OBE was established by King George V in 1917 to honour those who served in non-combatant roles to reward contributions to the Arts, Sciences, Charitable work and Public Service. The Honours system has a long history dating back to the Norman Conquest in 1066. The “Home Chapel” of the Order of Chivalry is located within St Paul’s Cathedral, where a service of Thanksgiving is held every four years. The motto of the OBE is “For God and the Empire”.
Andy Thorne’s shipping company, Kestrel, specialises in global services to the Caribbean – shipping and airfreight from all over the world, and especially with its diaspora in the UK. As well as procurement services, enabling local people to purchase products overseas and ship them to the Caribbean, Kestrel ships all cargo types from barrels to giant pieces of earth-moving equipment for construction, all vehicle types and basically anything that can be shipped inside shipping containers, including temperature-controlled cargo.
Andy has opened island offices in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), which grew rapidly from a 1-man operation in Marlon Gibson, to a busy and thriving office not only employing people in the main office but also expanding to the operation at Camden Park with all types of trucks, side loaders etc. Kestrel provided all the global logistics for the new port and the Sandals project, amongst many others, throughout the Grenadines.
Likewise, in Guyana and Trinidad, we have a similar success story. Whilst in Barbados and Jamaica, we operate through a local partnership and a portfolio of services, including Caribbean Auto Terminal in Jamaica, bringing vehicles in from around the world and storing and distributing them throughout the Caribbean.
Meanwhile Special Rates are given to those that need it most and Andy has supported a huge variety of local needs from the Sunshine School on Bequia supported hand in hand with HE Cenio Lewis to the SVG Junior Sailing School run by Jenny Trimble who are enjoying success on the International scene after a tiny local support and for which Andy provides a huge amount of support and shipping all their boats and equipment free of charge. These are just a couple of a very long list of supported causes throughout the entire Caribbean.
During the SVG volcano eruption of 2021, Andy spearheaded a huge aid relief program collecting aid at the UK warehouse and arranging donations and shipping, and donated approximately EC$400,000 himself. At the time of hurricane Beryl, Andy campaigned tirelessly for aid in the UK and ran 2 aid ships at his own expense from the UK to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines full of aid cargo (approximately EC$1.5 million of his own money). There are many other similar instances over the years, from Montserrat to Haiti, where Andy steps in with his knowledge and his own funds.
Additionally, Andy works tirelessly with government entities to champion the cause of the Commonwealth at large and the entire Caribbean, and to support British Exports, both helping and encouraging new companies to export as well as providing continual assistance in cost savings and innovative logistics solutions for long-standing clients.
Kestrel have brought new shipping lines to the region, such as the Baltic and European ships owned and run by Vertom / Europe Caribbean Line (ECL) to make regular calls to St Vincent, Barbados, Jamaica and Antigua and also operates the local Liner Agency services for the Höegh Autoliners RoRo ship in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Guyana, and Barbados. Through a global network and the excellence of the Caribbean services of Tropical Shipping, the islands benefit from worldwide imports.
Andy is a staunch supporter of the King’s Trust International, which provides youth opportunities throughout the Commonwealth, and continually works to do the best for the people in the region, providing opportunities, employment, and training. All island offices are powered through the employment of local people. He is well known and respected by business owners and leaders as well as local people throughout the Caribbean and UK Diaspora – all of whom he supports and helps, giving his own time and knowledge freely.
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