International shipping company Maersk Line has taken notice of market demand and has invested heavily in a large number of 20ft refrigerated containers.
International shipping company Maersk Line has taken notice of market demand and has invested heavily in a large number of 20ft refrigerated container units.
8,500 units, mainly built at Maersk Line’s own manufacturing plant in Qingdao, have been added to the shipping lines global 20ft refrigerated container stock. When you consider that 20ft reefer containers make up just 10 percent of its global container traffic it is comforting to know that Maersk has recognised the uniqueness of the New Zealand market and is prepared to commit itself to helping Kiwi exporters be more efficient.
“The decision to invest in these state of the art containers and reefer plug capacity was a sound one,” says Maersk New Zealand’s chief executive, Gerard Morrison. “There have been a number of challenges with the 40ft containers. Not the least being the fact that whilst our state highways can cope with the heavy loads and lengths of the bigger boxes many regional and secondary roads are not so well equipped.” The smaller containers are also more suited towards higher cost products such as chilled meat and seafood and despite the global trend towards 40ft containers, New Zealand shippers still see value in the use of 20’ equipment,” says Mr Morrison.
A big plus for the 20ft containers is that energy consumption is reduced and CO2 emission minimised thanks to the lower tare weight and the use of patented insulation. Maintaining a consistent temperature throughout has also been enhanced with addition of a remote monitoring capability. This allows shore based technicians to monitor and control temperatures while landside, on board and when a vessel is within two to three days off the coast, anywhere in the world.
Joshua Thompson from Maersk Line’s technical sales team says demand for reefer capacity is growing and construction of the reefers is designed to meet both current and future demand. All indicators point to the fact that with Maersk Line New Zealand adopting the newer 20ft refrigerator containers exports are only going to increase.
For further information contact Maersk New Zealand, Freephone: 0800 623 775
