W news NOVEMBER 2011 Rogue refrigerant identified
Methyl chloride (R40) has been identified as the rogue refrigerant that has caused a series of reefer container compressor explosions resulting in three fatalities this year. As exclusively reported in
WorldCargo News Online on 26 October, hundreds of reefers have been quarantined in various loca- tions around the world after four separate incidents of compressor ruptures were reported in Viet- nam, Brazil and China. The alarm was
raised by
Maersk Line on 18 October when it informed the World Shipping Council that it had experienced three cases in which refrigeration units had exploded for no appar- ent reason - two at the APM-Sai- gon Shipping yard in Cat Lai, Vi- etnam, and one at APM Termi- nals’ Brasmar depot in Itajai, Bra- zil. A fourth explosion was subse- quently reported to have occurred during a PTI at
the Qingdao
Great Asia depot in China. Though the cause of the ex-
plosions was not known at the time, Maersk said it had ascer- tained that all the reefers con- cerned had received gas repairs in Vietnam between late March and
aluminium (TMA), which is liq- uid at room temperature and ig- nites on contact with air. Japanese reefer machinery
manufacturer Daikin confirmed the finding after it analysed the contents of the gas extracted from a compressor charged at the Cat Lai depot and also detected the presence of methyl chloride. Confirmed explosions to date
have concerned three Carrier ThinLINE and one MCI/Star Cool unit, all designed to run on R134a, but observers say that all reefer machinery brands are po- tentially at risk. Pending the development of
A Carrier ThinLINE unit suffered an explosion at the Brasmar depot in Brazil
late April 2011 and suspected that contaminated or otherwise un- suitable refrigerant had been introduced into the units. Laboratory analysis of mate-
rial recovered from one of the ex- ploded units and other “at risk” machinery has now identified the presence of methyl chloride (chloromethane), which was widely used as a refrigerant be- fore the introduction of chloro- fluorocarbons
(CFCs) but was
discontinued on grounds of tox- icity and flammability. It is still widely available, however, its main use today being as a chemical in- termediate in the production of silicon polymers. A report by UK-based Cam-
bridge Refrigeration Technology (CRT) said that though methyl chloride works as a refrigerant, it would appear to have reacted with aluminium components in reefer compressors to form trimethyl
a testing device to detect the pres- ence of methyl chloride in con- taminated reefer systems and a safe method of dealing with units affected, all four major reefer ma- chinery manufacturers - Carrier, Thermo King, Daikin and Star Cool - have advised their service centres not to carry out work on any reefer container until
the
owner or lessee provides service records that verify that the reefer did not have any refrigeration system service work completed in Vietnam during 2011.
MCI to build reefer plant in Chile
Maersk Container Industry (MCI) has announced that it will build a new reefer container manufactur- ing facility in San Antonio, Chile, “to alleviate Latin America’s peak season bottlenecks.”
Scheduled to open at the end
of 2013, the new plant will have an annual capacity of 40,000 x 40ft high cube reefers as well as a similar number of Star Cool reefer machines. It will also be able to build 8ft 6in high units to cater for the requirements of the banana trade. Total investment in
the project is put at US$170M. According to MCI, the new
factory will help correct a reefer trade imbalance that disfavours exporters of fresh produce, fish and meat
from western South
America. Each year, tens of thou- sands of reefers are shipped in empty from Asia and elsewhere to meet local demand. “After 2013 this shortage will be less acute as MCI starts its lo- cal supply of the most durable and energy-efficient reefers on the market,” MCI said in a statement.
“Our investment is positioned on the basis of future world trade flows and we do so with solid support and cooperation from customers and local authorities,” said MCI CEO Peter Nymand. “The new factory will produce Maersk’s high-tech reefers in a part of the world where export- ers have problems gaining access to reefers.”
This will be the first reefer
manufacturing facility in some time to be located outside of China and the first in Latin
America. Since MCI closed its reefer manufacturing facility in Tinglev, Denmark, at the end of 2006, all volume reefer manufac- turing capacity has been located in China where CIMC operates two factories and MCI and Singamas one each. Available ca- pacity is currently at a premium. MCI said its reefer expansion
in Chile is a strategic complement to its existing reefer production in Qingdao, which is currently pro- ducing at full capacity in China’s busiest reefer region.
Canada-based equipment sup- plier Raildecks Intermodal is hav- ing success with a new 53ft col- lapsible flatrack design. The company’s CEO, Rick
Jocson, said Raildeck is a flatrack that can fit seamlessly into the existing North
Amer ican
intermodal network, enabling trucking companies to integrate new and existing flatbed com- modities with intermodal rail. Collapsible support posts en-
able the Raildeck to be lifted like a conventional 53ft “domcon” and loaded into a well car in the top or bottom position, either with another Raildeck or a standard container. When collapsed, the flatracks can be stacked up to 8- high; a stack of four is the same height as a 9ft 6in high cube con- tainer for loading into a 53ft well. Version 5.1 of Raildeck was put
through extensive testing at the AAR’s test facility Pueblo, Colo- rado, and then started operational trials in the US with Boyd Broth- ers and BNSF last year. The first 60 loads were documented from con- signor to destination and over 230 loads have now been moved with BNSF. Additional loads have been moved with Union Pacific, Nor- folk Southern and CSX. From the information gath-
DESTINATION FUTURE
UNIT45 / INTERMODAL INNOVATORS
The 45ft concept is the intermodal transport system of the future / 45ft means transporting more with fewer movements, all handled with the same infrastructure as used for 40ft containers. That represents effi ciency in terms of costs, environment and infrastructure. UNIT45 is the only company in the world that concentrates exclusively on the development, construction, fi nancing and delivery of containers within the 45ft concept. UNIT45 offers European shortsea/intermodal transport operators a range of 45ft containers, such as the standard dry unit, but also various types of reefers; the diesel-electric and all electric with different options such as double-stack, track & trace and the latest design with tail-lift (pictured). Also offered are the curtain-sided, open top, garment, bulk (also 20/30ft) and wing unit. So let the future begin today and visit us at
www.unit45.com
Villapark 7-8 3051 BP Rotterdam
info@unit45.com The Netherlands
phone + 31 10 211 02 22 fax + 31 10 218 32 84
www.unit45.com
ered from the 5.1 field trials, Raildecks has produced version, 6.1, which is lighter and simpler, with an aluminium deck surface mounted to a steel sub frame, and has fewer moving parts and no removable main parts.
Each Raildeck is equipped with 15 sliding winches, 26 chain
Raildeck helps integrate flatbed traffic with intermodal rail
tie-down points, 10 lateral pipe stakes and a hydraulic power sys- tem for the support arms that can be powered from a 12v battery and controlled remotely. Raildecks has developed driver
certification programmes to train drivers on the operational, safety and load security requirements of the equipment. Following the US field trial
programme, Raildecks is now making its debut in the Canadian market where it will be offered by Ontario-based Contrans, which has an exclusive agreement with Canadian Pacific. At 11,800 lbs, the tare weight of the Canadian unit is heavier than the 10,750 lbs of the US version. This is to pro- vide for Canada’s higher truck limit (104,000 lbs compared to 80,000 lbs in the US).
Although the flatrack can ac- commodate bulky, awkward cargo, the intermodal format means the load must still be within standard container dimensions with regard to overall height and width. Jocson says even with this limitation there is still a significant market includ- ing construction steel, machinery, steel coils, vehicles and pipes and industrial components for Cana- da’s oil and gas industry. A number of trucking com- panies specialise in industrial flatbed transport and Raildeck gives them the chance to offer customers an intermodal option, which can be cheaper over long distances and reduces GHGE.
NEWS
Bolipuertos’ big spend HPH in Ajman deal Truck of the future
IN THIS ISSUE 2
6 13
Sea-Land Tianjin go ahead 7 More 45fts for Stobart 18 Daikin launches Zestia 10
INTERMODAL Oz rail freight held back 23 Swiss ports ride the storm 25 US intermodal growing 28 Rebalancing Europe New Polzug hub
29 31
PORT DEVELOPMENT Xiamen spends for growth 33 Nansha’s hub ambitions 34
orldCargo
Your partner in rental solutions
www.RentalWorld-AG.com
Intermodal flatrack moves into Canada
CARGO HANDLING Safe shipboard cranes 35 ZPMC looks ahead New crane lighting Tractors go electric
36 38 39
CONTAINER INDUSTRY Box building up and down 41 All change in US chassis 46
REEFER INDUSTRY Reefer output on a high 48
FLEXITANKS No sign of flagging
50
INSURANCE IUMI focuses on cargo 54
Visit us at the
Intermodal Europe 2011, stand F66 29 Nov - 1 Dec, 2011 Hamburg Messe, Germany
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