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Issue 5 2019 - FBJNA Steamship lines eye cold chain By Peter Buxbaum


In May, Dole Food Company announced it was installing Internet-of-Things devices on reefer containers and deploying a platform to promote efficiencies and greater visibility across its global supply chain. The move is emblematic of the trend in the maritime perishables market to implement automation and


important to shipping lines because they provide high- margin business in an era of doubtful profitability. The share of containerized refrigerated capacity—as opposed to transportation on specialized reefer vessels—will have grown from 33 percent in 1980 to a projected 85 percent by 2021, according to Drewry.


Dole’s newly implemented


technology “allows remote monitoring of our products throughout


the supply


chain,” said Ana Anchia, Dole’s equipment manager. “It also opens the doors to the world of big data in terms of perishables’ transportation and with-it data prediction and automation.” The world’s largest


container carrier Maesrk Line recently added to


container management (RCM) control software that monitors the reefers and the condition of their cargo—including location, temperature, humidity, and concentrations of oxygen and CO2—using satellite and mobile radio technology. Hamburg Süd, now


part of the Maersk group, recently revealed that all of its reefer containers have been outfitted with RCM. The carrier and its customers are currently testing the technology, which is scheduled to become available to all shippers by the third quarter of 2019. Shippers using RCM


access an online platform or mobile app to obtain cargo conditions


at any time.


“Customers can use this data to monitor their supply chains better and also make them more efficient secure,”


///PERISHABLES


“Customers can use this data


to monitor their supply chains better and also make them more efficient and secure.” -- Frank Smet, Hamburg Süd.


Global demand for fresh and said Frank Smet,


chief commercial officer (CCO) of Hamburg Süd. “This offers shippers great potential for cost savings.” Mediterranean Shipping


Dole Food Company recently announced it was installing Internet-of-Things devices on its reefer containers. (Wikimedia Commons photo)


digitization technologies. Advances in cold-chain


technologies enable products to stay fresh while moving across long distances. Pharmaceuticals and life science companies, the fastest-growing segment of cold-chain users, ship drugs across the globe and receive blood and tissue over long distances. Farmers are seizing on opportunities to meet the growing global demand for fresh food. Perishables were once the


province of air cargo carriers, but shippers are increasingly choosing the less-expensive ocean option. The shift from air to ocean for perishables has been estimated to total around 100,000 TEU, or 5.4 million tons, of cargo per year.


Important carrier business


Moving perishables has become increasingly


Carriers are implementing new technologies to manage these cargoes more efficiently and to monitor their status to prevent problems.


its reefer fleets, acquiring over 40,000 new reefers in the last two years. Sister company Maersk Container Industry (MCI) designed the built-in remote


Company is growing its reefer container fleet, investing in new technologies to meet growing global demand for fresh fruit. Its recent order for 2,000 containers chilled by an environmentally friendly refrigeration system was the carrier’s largest ever.


fruit “is growing, particularly in China,” said Vincenzo Tomassetti, MSC’s reefer manager “MSC is responding to these trends by providing advanced reefer technology to ensure the product reaches on time to its destination in perfect condition.” CMA CGM is among the


other major carriers making major investments in refrigerated infrastructure. In 2017, CMA CGM teamed up with the specialized reefer operator Seatrade to provide a 13-vessel reefer container service with weekly sailings between Europe and Asia- Pacific.


Maersk Line has acquired over 40,000 new reefer containers in the last two years. (Photo by Peter Buxbaum)


CMA CGM’s goal is to


“make sure goods receive the best care all along their journey,” said Alexis Michel, a CMA CGM Group senior vice president. With over 385,000 TEUs, the carrier owns the world’s second largest reefer fleet. Last year, Crowley


Logistics opened a second CrowleyFresh cold storage facility in Florida. The newly renovated facility includes temperature-controlled coolers to handle perishables and provides value-added services, such export processing. features


The facility high-tech cooling


and monitoring equipment in two separate chambers, which can be adjusted to meet varying temperature requirements. “Our cold-chain experts,”


said Frank Larkin, Crowley’s general manager for logistics and commercial services, “develop solutions utilizing this new facility for shippers who have full loads of perishables or for those who want to combine smaller loads to create economies of scale.”


Demand for fresh foods


and global pharmaceutical sales are expected to show healthy growth for years to come. Given those facts, it is also likely that carriers will continue to deploy innovative technologies to process and protect these critical shipments.


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