
Hapag-Lloyd has stated that it has placed a record order for 13, 420 new refrigerated containers known as “reefers”.
Production of 970 20-foot containers and 12,450 40-foot
containers is already scheduled to commence as early as July. Delivery of the
refrigerated containers, which have traditionally been white as opposed to
Hapag-Lloyd’s orange standard containers, is set for November 2019 – or right
in time for reefer season, as that is when harvest season begins in countries
in the southern hemisphere. It will primarily be fruits and vegetables – such
as blueberries, cherries and avocados from Chile, Peru and elsewhere – but also
fish and meat that will be making their way to consumers in these containers.
Hapag-Lloyd reefers are also used worldwide to transport goods that are
sensitive to high temperatures, such as pharmaceuticals and blood plasma.
“With this new order, we will be expanding our transport capacities for our
customers. They will now have at their disposal over 100,000 state-of-the-art
refrigerated containers with a total capacity of 210,000 TEU, some of which
will be equipped with the latest Controlled Atmosphere technology, which slows
the ripening process during transport, thereby extending the shelf life of
fruit and vegetables”, explains Niklas Ohling, Senior Director Container
Steering at Hapag-Lloyd. The production of the reefer containers will also be
the starting signal for the fleet-wide equipping of reefers with the latest IoT
monitoring technology. The resulting customer products will be marketed under
the name Hapag-Lloyd LIVE. The product features of Hapag-Lloyd LIVE will be
gradually made available to customers as the installation of the equipment
proceeds and will offer real-time GPS positioning, information on the
temperature inside the container, and systems for notifications and alarm
management, among other features.
“In recent years, we have continuously invested in the expansion and
modernisation of the reefer fleet. We have consolidated our leading position in
this market segment and can offer our customers outstanding quality in the
transport of temperature-sensitive goods on all trades routes,” Ohling adds.
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