Carriage of refrigerated cargo


The international transport of temperature controlled raw materials and final products is an essential link in many industries between producers and consumers. Most cargoes have properties that will determine practical storage lives (PSLs), which are a key factor if they can be carried by sea.


● Shippers that correctly stuff containers with properly prepared cargoes to meet their customers’ purchase specifications.


Claims and incidents


The vast majority of cargoes outturn well and claims represent a fraction of one percent of the containers carried. Temperature controlled container carriage is developing and there are many things that can, and very occasionally do go wrong. The UK Club’s video If you think any fool can stuff a container – think again, provides a graphic demonstration of how not to get cargo to its destination in good condition.


A container operator observes evolving patterns of trade. Examples are:


● More countries exporting by sea – especially fruit, fish, and flower bulbs;


● Some shorter life products spending more than half their PSL in transit;


● Demands from supermarkets for all-year-round supplies reducing seasonality;


● Lower stock holding with demands for just in time deliveries and inventory control;


● Some moves from airfreight – particularly cargoes needing due diligence records such as pharmaceuticals;


● Use of intermodal movements depending on local requirements and facilities.


A prudent carrier has to apply a systematic approach to ensure that the equipment and service provided is ‘fit for the purpose intended’.


To achieve the requirements needs:


● Containers of appropriate design that are maintained correctly;


● A process (temperature controlled chain) that is capable of remaining in control;


● A set of detailed procedures; ● A reliable information system; ● Trained staff;


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Experience is a great teacher and even the best- designed systems can be found wanting with ‘Murphy’s law’ and human error ever present. An individual temperature controlled container may suddenly appear to have attracted multiple errors and faults while the many others carried in the same transit having perfect outturns. Cambridge Refrigeration Technology (CRT) runs a training course that uses a real claim as a short case study. Six individual separate faults, and errors, occurred. The cargo had a value of US$750,000 and unbelievably it was not a total write off!


The following list is not exhaustive but covers a typical list of ten critical areas of occurrence reported to a typical cargo claims or cargo care, department that may result in a confirmed claim:


● Containers off power and therefore off refrigeration for extended times


● Wrong settings caused by incorrect information


● Failure to monitor properly and correct faults or wrong settings


● Poorly pre-cooled or overcooled cargo ● Cargoes with insufficient PSL ● Badly stowed containers impeding air flow – many with low quality packaging


● Excess fresh air ventilation for live cargoes thereby causing evaporators to ice up


● Incorrect defrost interval where this has to be set manually


● Incorrectly booked cargo leading to operational and commercial problems


● Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures interchanged or wrongly converted


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