Refrigerated Containers News

Almost A$9 million ($6 million) worth of cocaine hidden inside a refrigerated shipping container (reefer) has been seized after Australian authorities intercepted the cargo on its arrival into Port Botany in New South Wales.Australian Border Force officers identified the consignment and conducted an x-ray examination which identified anomalies in the rear of the container.Further examination located 22 individually wrapped plastic blocks, with an estimated total weight of 27kg. Presumptive testing of the consignment returned a positive reading for cocaine.

Crowley’s latest Avance Class ship, Torogoz, began its inaugural commercial service on Tuesday, departing from Port Everglades, Florida, to serve Central America. The vessel’s commencement is a capstone on the company’s initiation of the four-vessel, Avance Class containership fleet.With a capacity of 1,400 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), including 300 refrigerated containers, the ship is specifically designed and equipped to quickly and frequently deliver cargo, including apparel…

Today, the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) welcomed the maiden voyage of Quetzal, Crowley’s newest LNG-powered containership. With capacity for up to 1,400 20-foot container equivalent units (TEUs), Quetzal provides more cargo capacity than the company’s vessels previously used in the Central American and Caribbean trade with the U.S. and is fueled by lower-emission LNG.Quetzal is the first of Crowley’s new Avance Class of ships—which consists of four new vessels suited to transport perishable goods like food and pharmaceuticals…

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), has delivered the ultra-large 23,876 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship CMA CGM Seine.The vessel is the world's first ultra-large dual-fuel container ship, and it can hold 18,600 cubic metres of LNG in a Mark III membrane tank which enables it to sail nearly 20,000 nautical miles.The vessel is 399 meters long and 61.3 meters wide. It can accommodate up to 2,200 standard refrigerated containers.Seine is the first of four such vessels ordered by CMA CGM.

Crowley, the longest-serving U.S. logistics provider in Puerto Rico, is enhancing the resiliency of its Isla Grande logistics terminal in San Juan with the installation of a microgrid fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).The innovative energy system will provide a reliable power supply tailored to support the terminal’s daily operations, such as powering its terminal equipment, refrigerated containers, and administrative and maintenance facilities.The microgrid will produce power that is more reliable…

Pacific International Lines (PIL) has named its first two 14,000 TEU container vessels in a ceremony at Jiangnan Shipyard in China. They are the largest vessels in PIL’s fleet as well as the first to fully run on LNG.The vessels have been named Kota Eagle and Kota Emerald, conveying PIL’s aim to be a sustainable shipping line which co-exists harmoniously with nature and the environment.The vessels will sail from the Far East to Latin America on PIL’s West Coast Central and South…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded nearly $12 million in grants to eight marine highway projects across the nation under the United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP). The funding will improve the movement of goods along our navigable waterways and expand existing waterborne freight services in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, which will strengthen supply chains and ultimately cut costs for consumers.“Our country has always relied on American waterways to get vital goods where they need to go,” said U.S.

Crowley announced it will launch an end-to-end, integrated ocean and rail service between Mexico and the U.S. Midwest region and into Canada. Featuring Crowley’s new Mexico-U.S. ocean route in the Gulf, the service will leverage the inland rail network of Canadian National Railway Company and its U.S. rail subsidiaries (CN). The companies’ combined network provides broad reach across the Midwest and into Canada to increase solutions for global customers in North American market…

Global shipping container suppliers China International Marine Containers and Maersk Container Industry in a joint statement on Thursday said they have abandoned a merger plan, citing significant regulatory challenges.China International Marine Containers (CIMC) in September had agreed to buy the Danish shipping company AP Moeller - Maersk's refrigerated containers maker for $987.3 million.The U.S.

Matson's new flat-deck container barge was christened and launched during a ceremony at the Greenbrier Gunderson Marine shipyard in Portland, Ore. on Saturday, April 23, 2022.The new barge, christened Haleakala, will be deployed in Matson’s Neighbor Island service in Hawaii starting this summer, connecting cargo to and from the U.S. West Coast through its hub terminal in Honolulu.With a carrying capacity of 620 TEU and room for 72 refrigerated containers, the new Haleakala is…

The Alabama Port Authority said calendar year 2021 containerized cargo volumes climbed to a record 502,623 TEUs up nearly 19% from 2020 volumes. To date, the terminal has handled over 3.6 million TEUs since containerized operations began in 2008. Since, 2015, the Port of Mobile’s volume has grown by 120% making the gateway one of the fastest growing container ports in the United States. “Mobile continues to perform, attracting new customers seeking out terminal efficiency, services and inland connectivity to key U.S. markets,” said John C.

Key stakeholders behind the efforts to launch innovative container-on-vessel (COV) service to the Midwest on Firday announced that Hawtex Development Corporation is signing on as the lead developer for a new COV port facility in Jefferson County, Mo. to be developed in collaboration with Fred Weber/Riverview Commerce Park LLC and integrating a 300+ acre adjacent parcel owned by The Doe Run Company. The new port will be a critical link on the new, all-water, north-south trade lane connecting the Midwest and the St. Louis region to the lower Mississippi River and on to worldwide destinations.

Germany's Federal Cartel Office is taking a closer look into the planned sale of Maersk's refrigerated containers maker to China International Marine Containers, a spokesman for the office said on Thursday.The office has opened an investigation into the effects the takeover of Maersk Container Industry by CIMC could have on the affected markets, it said.The Danish shipping company signed an agreement to divest its container manufacturer to CIMC in September for $987.3 million.However, regulatory authorities still need to approve the plans.

Containerized cargo volumes through Alabama's Port of Mobile continue to climb in 2021 as shippers seek uncongested gateways servicing key North American markets. In August, container volumes increased 34% over August 2020 volume, while year-to-date volume posted 27% over the same period last year, the port said Thursday, attributing part of that success to a 37% increase in refrigerated containers due to nearly $74 million in refrigerated facilities investment at the port to support cold cargo supply chains.

Global Ship Lease announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to purchase four 5,470 TEU Panamax containerships with an average age of approximately 11 years for an aggregate purchase price of $148 million.The ships are scheduled for delivery during the third quarter of 2021. The Company expects to fund the purchase price with cash on hand and senior secured debt.On delivery, the ships will be chartered to a liner operator for a firm period of three years each, with a charterer’s option for a period of an additional three years.

Tanker owner and operator Ardmore Shipping Corporation said it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Element 1 Corp. (E1) and Maritime Partners, LLC (MP) to establish a joint venture for delivering E1's methanol-to-hydrogen technology to the marine sector.Ardmore, E1 and MP will establish "e1 Marine," each owning 33.3% of the joint venture. e1 Marine will have a worldwide mandate for the marketing, development, licensing and sale of E1's unique hydrogen generation systems for application to the marine industry, including shipping, refrigerated containers, offshore energy, renewable energy, passenger and leisure, and certain port infrastructure…

Russia's Nevsky Shipyard has launched the second and final cargo-passenger vessel as part of the PV22 project.The newbuild Pavel Leonov, launched on August 6, is the second vessel in the series of two dry cargo-passenger vessel carriers ordered by Sakhalinlizingflot in August 2018. The series' lead vessel, Admiral Nevelskoy, was launched in May.The 75-meter-long vessels are each designed to transport 146 passengers, general cargo, containers (including refrigerated) and cars between…

Chinese port workers have made progress to move a logjam of refrigerated containers that has disrupted supplies of fresh and frozen food and pushed up freight rates outside China amid the coronavirus outbreakFrench container carrier CMA CGM told customers on Friday that the reefer plug utilization has improved in Chinese ports, and almost all reefers diverted to other ports are in the process to be loaded back to their final destination.CMA CGM said it would cancel the port congestion…

Severe congestion at Chinese ports is easing, say officials and industry participants, although a logjam of refrigerated containers has disrupted supplies of fresh and frozen food and pushed up freight rates outside China.Thousands of refrigerated containers carrying meat, seafood and fruit from around the world to China have been stuck for weeks at the country's ports after Beijing extended its Lunar New Year holiday and cities around the nation restricted free movement to curb…

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 economic impact of China's coronavirus lockdown is being felt across the globe, with exporters, miners and manufacturers of everything from coal and timber to meat and fruit facing delays and potential shipment cancellations.As the most populous nation and factory floor for most of the world's manufactured goods, China is normally the largest and most voracious consumer of a slew of global raw materials, fuels and foods.But the combination of an extended Lunar New Year holiday…

French container line CMA CGM announced that its ship APL Singapura has inaugurated the cold ironing facilities of the Terminal des Flandres in the Port of Dunkirk.By plugging into an onshore electricity supply (also known as "cold ironing"), container ships calling at port can shut down their auxiliary engines while still getting the power they need, particularly in order to maintain controlled temperatures in refrigerated containers (Reefers).This innovative technology has significant environmental benefits, including: Zero emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides and fine particles while ships are at berth, and significantly reduced noise pollution.The cold ironing system installed at the Terminal des Flandres will become fully operational during the first half of 2020.

The 23,656 teu MSC Isabella became the largest containership to call the Port of Singapore when it berthed on 10 November 2019.The MSC’s Gülsün-Class of container vessels is currently the world’s largest series of container ships.To date, MSC Isabella is the biggest container ship to call at Singapore, the world’s top transshipment hub. Measuring around 400 meters long and 61 meters wide, the ship can carry up to 24 rows of containers, with a height of 13 tiers on deck. Its total capacity is 23,656 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units). Its length exceeds that of the Eiffel Tower and it can transport the equivalent of about 384 million pairs of shoes.Singapore is the ship’s first port-of-call in Asia after sailing back from Europe. The ship was delivered to MSC in August 2019.