Cold Chain News

A new exhibition area on the subject of "Reefer Shipping - Transport of Perishable Goods" is attracting visitors to the International Maritime Museum Hamburg (IMMH). Starting October 19, 2021, this new part of the exhibition on deck 6 will present everything on the subject of reefer shipping, using the Hamburg Süd as an example. From the beginning of reefer shipping in 1877 to the present day, the entire spectrum of development is presented to visitors to the IMMH using ships…

The lucrative prospect of transporting COVID-19 vaccines by sea has intensified the spotlight on the maritime industry’s cold supply chain and its ability to carry high-value pharmaceuticals.At present, speed to market is critical to stemming the spread of the pandemic, so the vaccines are being shipped by air to international destinations. Delivering them by sea is a longer-term strategy; certainly, the present urgency would have to calm considerably before enough confidence could be built to support delivery times in weeks…

The lucrative prospect of transporting COVID-19 vaccines by sea has intensified the spotlight on the maritime industry’s cold supply chain and its ability to carry high-value pharmaceuticals.At present, speed to market is critical to stemming the spread of the pandemic, so the vaccines are being shipped by air to international destinations. Delivering them by sea is a longer-term strategy; certainly, the present urgency would have to calm considerably before enough confidence could be built to support delivery times in weeks…

Captain Andrew Kinsey, Senior Marine Risk Consultant, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, recently discussed some of the trends that will shape 2021 for the maritime, ports and logistics world.MR TV: As we come to the end of 2020, talk now turns not simply to COVID-19 and a potential vaccine, but to the supply chain logistics and challenges that come with distributing those vaccines. How does the picture look from where you sit?Andrew Kinsey:  The picture looks complicated. It's a global demand. It's a global logistics problem.

Brian E. Clark will take over as Executive Director of the North Carolina State Ports Authority following the retirement of Paul J. Cozza at the end of this year.Clark will continue to serve as North Carolina Ports' Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Executive Director, and Cozza as Executive Director, through December 31.Prior to joining NC Ports in June 2017, Clark served in various senior level positions throughout the maritime industry, including a role as Managing Director for APM Terminals at Port Elizabeth, N.J.

The global container company A.P. Moller – Maersk has started end-to-end cold chain logistics solution for its customers exporting grapes from Nashik and Sangli in India to North Europe.With this new offering, Maersk is enabling the exporters from the region to supply high quality Indian grapes to global market and helping fetch higher returns for the farmer community in and around the Nashik district. Leveraging its variety of services throughout the supply chain, Maersk is improving the overall turnaround time to North Europe by 4 days.Gearing up for the peak grape season and helping exporters based in Nashik, ‘The Grape Capital of India’…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced that it has awarded more than $280 million in discretionary grant funding through the new Port Infrastructure Development Program. This funding is designed to improve port facilities at or near coastal seaports.The Port Infrastructure Development Program supports efforts by ports and industry stakeholders to improve facility and freight infrastructure to ensure our nation’s freight transportation needs, present and future, are met.

The German company Hapag-Lloyd announced the adoption of a new real-time remote monitoring system for its reefer containers -  Hapag-Lloyd LIVE.The tool increases the transparency of the cold chain by offering customers a number of data sets about the condition and location of their reefer containers.The product will initially be launched to a selected group of customers and will gradually be made available as the reefer fleet of some 100,000 containers is being outfitted with the monitoring devices.“At the core of our Strategy 2023 is an enhanced differentiation by offering unrivaled levels of reliability and service quality. To be number one for quality is the ultimate promise to our customers and a strong differentiator from our competitors”…

Lineage Logistics Holdings, the world’s largest provider of temperature-controlled logistics solutions, announced it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Emergent Cold, the global cold chain services provider.This acquisition strengthens the Company’s leading port presence in the United States and signifies its entry into the Australian, New Zealand, and Sri Lankan temperature-controlled logistics markets, building on Lineage’s existing presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.“Food producers, manufacturers and retailers are looking for cold chain partners who can offer a dynamic and truly end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics solution…

The international container terminal operating company headquartered in The Hague, APM Terminals said that its terminal at Aarhus, Denmark has broken records for reefer volumes, despite murmurings of global downturns. The company attributes it’s growing reefer business to its flexible approach.The latest figures for the terminal, August year-to-date (YTD), show an increase of more than 4% in reefer volumes compared to the same period in 2018. Helle Almind, Head of Commercial for APM Terminals sees signs of the trend continuing, with an extremely strong start to September, and higher volumes forecast until the end of the year.This month the terminal also beat its existing record for the number of reefers loaded onto one service.

The Port of Oakland’s refrigerated exports have jumped 20% in past year. The Port said it handled 119,756 20-foot containers of refrigerated exports from August 2018 through July 2019. That was up from 99,740 in the same period a year ago."The figures reinforce Oakland’s position as the largest exporter of refrigerated cargo in containers among U.S. ports," said a press release from the container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay.“Our business partners are investing to meet increased overseas demand for U.S. farm goods,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “When you couple their expertise with our infrastructure…

Danish international container shipping company A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S (Maersk) has launched the construction of its new cold store facility in St. Petersburg to address the needs of a high-demand Russian market.The 3-chamber warehouse will offer specialised solutions extending the life cycle of perishable goods, said a press release from the business conglomerate with activities in the transport, logistics and energy sectors.On June 5th, 2019, the ground-breaking ceremony for the new warehouse took place in St. Petersburg, Russia in the presence of Maersk CEO Søren Skou, Fyffes CEO David McCann and representatives of regional and federal Russian administration.Constructed by the Russian industrial developer PNK Group, the facility will be located within the PNK Park Sofiyskaya KAD in St.

German-based cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG is introducing its new real-time container monitoring program “Hapag-Lloyd LIVE”, that will monitor its reefer containers and provide information such as real-time location, temperature and power-off alerts.In an initial step, the company is equipping its entire reefer fleet of some 100,000 containers to offer real-time GPS location, temperature information and power-off alerts.As the program is designed to fit customers’ needs, Hapag-Lloyd intends to develop commercial products in close cooperation with its customers in order to adapt the solution even further.The product features of “Hapag-Lloyd LIVE” will be gradually released for use as the entire reefer fleet is being outfitted.

The global ports operator Cosco Shipping Ports signed investment agreement of Cosco Shipping Ports Supply Chain Project with Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technology Development Zone Commercial Bureau.The Cosco Group company said that it plans to develop phase I of terminal extended business in the land near Nansha Stevedoring Corporation Limited of Port of Guangzhou and Guangzhou South China Oceangate Container Terminal Company Limited, in order to develop port supply chain platform, develop high-end warehousing business and extend the upstream and downstream industries.Leveraging on Nansha Free Trade Zone’s policy and favourable geographical position…

Florida-based Crowley Logistics has added 400 new refrigerated (reefer) cargo containers to its industry-leading equipment fleet just in time for the peak perishables shipping season beginning in Central America.The additional units, all 40-foot-long, high cubes built to Crowley’s exacting standards, further demonstrates the company’s focus on offering customers the most reliable and efficient equipment in the market. These units have wireless asset monitoring technology, which will provide continuous monitoring of the equipment as it transits from origin to destination, both at sea and over land, to ensure the cold chain is maintained the entire time goods are in transit…

Lineage Logistics  and Dreisbach Enterprises announced the official opening of Lineage Cool Port Oakland, the world’s latest next-generation cold storage and logistics facility.Set on 25 acres at the Port of Oakland’s waterfront, Cool Port will serve as the newest hub for temperature-controlled cargo transitioning through Northern California.Cool Port is a collaboration between warehousing and logistics industry leaders Lineage and Dreisbach, with additional funding and support from the Port of Oakland and the State of California. This combination brings together world-class cold-chain logistics expertise and steadfast commitment to innovation and community growth.“We are excited to expand Lineage’s dynamic…

In 2017, the Terminal Marítima de Zaragoza (tmZ) increased its handled volume by 20 percent, to around 350,000 TEUs by rail and truck. Over the past five years, the terminal has seen volumes increase by more than 250%. Miguel Duro, Managing Director of the company, points to   the depot’s, “flexible service offering”. Following the addition of a railway siding in 2007 a private company was established  ̶  tmZ Depot Services  ̶  to operate the  terminal under a 35-year concession. APM Terminals Spain is a co-founder and holds a 45% stake in the company. The depot is a multimodal inland terminal exclusively focused on the maritime container trade.

In the past one year, Maersk Line, the global containerized division of the Maersk Group has enabled movement of multiple consignments of complex cargo out of India successfully, said a press release. Due to its global presence and network, the exporter network of India has been able to successfully reach out to newer geographies. Commenting on the achievement, recently appointed Managing Director for Maersk Line (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan), Steve Felder said, ”In the past 18 months or so, we have expanded our horizon in various new commodity categories. India is at an exciting growth path and with our focus on adding value to the customer’s end to end cold chain, the commitment to support the growth of the trade is very strong and visible.

Maersk Line has ordered the first 100 of a total of 200 refrigerated containers to be chilled by Carrier Transicold’s NaturaLINE natural refrigerant based system. Carrier Transicold is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX). Carrier Transicold’s highly efficient NaturaLINE is the first container refrigeration system to use the natural refrigerant carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a safe and nonozone depleting gas with a global warming potential (GWP) of one.

Maersk Container Industry is introducing an energy meter with its Star Cool refrigerated containers. Star Cool refrigerated containers are now fitted with a new embedded digital feature that offers visibility and precise knowledge of actual energy consumption. To provide transparency into actual energy consumption throughout the transportation window, over land and sea, Maersk Container Industry (MCI) is introducing an energy meter feature integrated into all new Star Cool refrigerated containers. Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company and part of Maersk’s Transport & Logistics division, became the first of MCI’s customers to take delivery of the new Star Cool reefers at the start of the year.

A new Georgia-based company called PortFresh Logistics has announced plans to build a 100,000 square-foot cold treatment facility dedicated to perishable cargoes imported through the Port of Savannah. The facility, slated to open in late summer 2016, will strengthen Savannah in its role as a new entry point for South American produce. "We are proud to welcome PortFresh Logistics to the community of service providers supporting customers at the Port of Savannah," said Georgia Ports Authority Incoming Executive Director Griff Lynch. Brian Kastick, CEO of PortFresh Logistics, said the company has been working for more than two years to meet the need for additional chilled cargo infrastructure in Savannah. "Currently, more than 90 percent of imported fruits and vegetables entering the U.S.

TOTE Maritime Alaska has announced that the installation of ORBCOMM’s telematics devices across a broad equipment platform will be complete in the coming months. ORBCOMM was selected to provide a broad portfolio of telematics solutions to monitor and control its refrigerated, dry and flatbed equipment. TOTE Maritime Alaska is a leading Jones Act carrier serving the Alaska market, connecting greater Alaska to the Continental United States and beyond. This is the second deployment for TOTE Maritime…

Qatar Navigation (Milaha) is planning to expand operations and capabilities in Qatar and overseas as part of its long term plan to improve efficiency and profitability. During the General Assembly meeting, Sheikh Ali bin Jassim bin Mohammad Al Thani, Chairman of Milaha’s Board of Directors presented an overview of the company’s activities and financial results for 2017 along with highlights of business plans for the year 2018. "The Chairman underlined the impact of industry-wide and geopolitical challenges on the company’s financial performance, adding that “signs of recovery are visible, and we are hopeful this will continue in 2018,” Al Thani added.