NEWS Publication Sponsor
We want to float a new idea As suppliers come under increasing pressure to reduce the environmental impact of banana shipping, we believe our proposal for a new breed of reefer ship offers the category a far more sustainable solution.
OLE SCHACK PETERSEN Reefer Intel Owner & Chief Executive
BIRGER LINDBERG SKOV Reefer Intel Owner & Chairman ABOVE—A mockup of the proposed Reefer RoRo vessel, showing containers on deck
A
new type of reefer vessel could cut time
The vessels use ammoniac or
Central America to Northern Europe
spent loading and unloading bananas
methanol-fuelled main engines,
run. Against conventional reefers,
in ports, and reduce the industry’s
and e-biofuels to power cooling and
the saving is US$1.8 per box. All at 8
environmental impact. We believe
container equipment. All these fuels
per cent ROIC.
one such solution is the Reefer RoRo
are renewable, and some could even
This saving is absolutely essential
vessel, our company Reefer Intel’s patented design. It’s
be generated from plant residues
to ensure the sustainability of the
a standard ro-ro, but the space below deck is insulated
derived from banana and pineapple
future banana trades. Today, they
and sealed to create ten individual, gas-tight temperature
production. They can also take a
are even further hampered by
zones, all with controlled atmosphere. Cargo is loaded
large volume of back-haul freight
higher freight rates, so the difference
into these areas using specially designed Maffi-Cassettes.
from the Northern Hemisphere – like
a Reefer RoRo can make is even
cars, trucks and other rolling cargo.
greater. The UN FAO says “fast
With space for reefer containers to be placed on the deck above, using the ship’s own equipment, the vessel
population growth in producing
is capable of carrying about 13,000 tonnes of bananas (or
NUMBERS STACK UP
pineapples) per voyage, with a maximum port discharge
The likely investment in one vessel is
import demand” has led to a rapid
time of 18 hours. By comparison, competing vessels
US$60m, with an estimated lifetime
increase in banana production and
require longer: a minimum of 48 hours for container
of 28 years. So the total outlay for a
exports. Producers in Central and
vessels, and 72 hours for conventional reefer vessels.
fleet of 24-30 vessels is US$1.44bn-
South America, West Africa, and the
There are other advantages. The Reefer RoRo is able
US$1.80bn. At present, bananas and
Philippines depend on the trade,
to berth at the quayside and close to adjacent facilities.
pineapples are about 30 per cent of
so an environmentally sustainable
This saves long journeys inland by truck or barge, for
all seaborne refrigerated volumes,
transport solution is vital to meet
example from Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte II container
or about 120 of our vessels. We see
demand for ‘green’ products.
terminal to cold-storage and ripening facilities in
the potential global market share at
The Reefer RoRo has a higher
Antwerp. At the supply end, large, multinational- and
20-25 per cent, and the vessels would
capacity utilisation, spends less time
family-controlled production centres are increasing in
be built over a period of 5-6 years.
in ports, and gets closer to key links
size, and they all need a zero-carbon propulsion solution. Being able to call directly at fruit storage and ripening
It’s a much-needed change. The
countries as well as expanding global
in the chain. So it can run slower at
market for bananas and pineapples
sea, uses less fuel itself, and requires
facilities makes it easier to transport the fruit more
carried by sea is about 25m tonnes a
less additional onward
cleanly, something which is vital to the economic stability
year, with CAGR of 3-4 per cent over
transportation. We see it as an
of the countries concerned. It also reduces the end-to-
the last two decades. Compared with
unmatched, greener, and more
end CO2 footprint by 35-40 per cent compared with the
containers, the vessel’s potential rate
economically sound solution for the
container vessel mode.
would be US$1 per box lower on a
future of fruit transport. _
fresh focus banana 2021
p.40-41 (S8-9).indd 9
09
18/05/2021 11:20
