German container carrier, Hapag Lloyd has invested in a 12.000 teu reefer container fleet. The order is the largest in the company’s history.
The Geman carrier today is already leading shipping companies in respect of reefer container transports and they focus on a further increase of volumes on the East –West trades beside the North-South and Latin American trade lanes.
Rolf Habben Jansen, Chief Executive Officer of Hapag-Lloyd stated “We operate a state-of-the-art reefer fleet that is the fourth-largest in the world. With the new reefers, we are expanding our leading position even further in this specialized business with its specific demands and will thus benefit from the growing reefer market”
“With our enhanced reefer fleet, we are ideally positioned for the Latin American trade, which is an important part of the reefer business – right on time for the opening of the expanded Panama Canal next year.”
Earlier this year, Hapag Lloyd also placed an order for five new 10.500 teu vessels with an increased number of reefer slots. These newly built can each carry upto 2.100 reefer units. The vessels will primarily be used on the South American trades, as the demand for reefer capacity is the highest in this region.
Hapag-Lloyd uses reefers to transport temperature-sensitive cargo such as fruits, vegetables and pharmaceutical products as well as meat and fish. Around 1,000 of the newly ordered containers will be fitted with controlled-atmosphere technology, which prolongs the life of certain fruits and vegetables, while maintaining the same quality. The state-of-the-art containers will also have cooling units with the highest level of efficiency. Thanks to optimized power control, they will consume significantly less energy, without any change to performance and temperature precision.
