Reefer ships and refrigerated containers (reefers) are used to transport perishable goods like fruit, meat, and vegetables by sea. Reefer ships exclusively carry refrigerated containers and provide power to cool each container. They are smaller than conventional container ships to accommodate the cooling systems. While reefer ships were previously dominant, refrigerated containers increasingly dominate maritime shipping, making up 72% of refrigerated transport capacity in 2013 versus 33% in 1980. Specialized reefer ships are declining as container ships install more plugs for refrigerated containers. New reefer ship designs aim to improve efficiency of transporting perishables like bananas. Proper monitoring of parameters during transport is important to ensure quality of delicate

1. Reefer shipping
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2.  The term 'reefer' is used in shipping to refer to refrigerated ships
and refrigerated shipping containers that transport perishable
commodities by sea.
 Temperature-controlled transportation is used for perishables such
as fruit, meat, fish, vegetables, and dairy products.
 A reefer ship is a containership that exclusively carries refrigerated
containers. However, reefer ships were the predominant mode of
transporting goods in controlled conditions before the advent of
reefer containers.
 Reefer ships differ from conventional container ships in their size,
design, power generation and electrical distribution equipment.
 The key difference is that they are smaller and require provisions
made for powering each container's cooling system

3. Industry Developments
1960s: First refrigerated marine containers came into use
based upon converted truck units
1975: Maersk Line received the first reefers with integrated
cooling units
2013: 72% of the refrigerated transport capacity in maritime
shipping was containerized, growth from 33% in 1980.
2014: The share of the conventional or specialist reefer
segment fell from 60% in 2000 to an estimated 26% in 2014.
This reflects the core trend of the last few years: the
refrigerated box taking over from conventional reefer ship.

4. This has resulted in more than half of all conventional reefer
vessels scrapped since 2000.
2015: Seaborne transport of fresh produce in conventional
reefer ships and in refrigerated boxes is estimated to have
reached more than 95.7 million tones. However, the maritime
transport of fresh produce only accounts for 2.7% of the
world seaborne trade of dry cargoes of all kinds.
2017: Future growth for the seaborne perishable trade
expanded by 4% to 5% annually until 2020.

6. Reefer ships are generally side-door vessels
which have water-tight ports on the ship's hull that
open into a cargo hold.
This special design makes the vessels particularly
well suited for inclement weather operations as the
tops of the cargo holds are always closed against
rain and sun.

10. Container carriers are increasingly opting to bet
on the reefer business by installing plugs on the
vessels, whereas the specialized reefer fleet is
shrinking. This development will continue ahead
of 2018

11. Rolling Bananas Ship

12. Rolling Bananas Ship
The concept revolves around the use of special 12.3m
long by 2.05m wide low height 20 pallet cassettes on
which the banana pallets would be loaded. A total of 365
cassettes can be loaded or discharged from the
projected vessel within 12 hours, less than one third of
the time required on a conventional vessel. The
cassettes are block stowed on four decks via fixed
ramps and a stern quarter ramp. A total of 10
compartments would have their own individual
ventilation and cooling systems.
The key to the implementation of the innovative project
will be determined by interest from the major banana
shippers

16. Storing and transporting modern reefer containers is a
complex task. Containers loaded with delicate cargo
ranging from fresh fruit, chilled meat and frozen shellfish
to X-ray films and blood plasma requires careful
monitoring of all parameters to ensure a safe and
reliable journey from producer to consumer.
The remarkable growth in container transportation, the
increasing demand for cost-efficient operations, and
requirements from customers, operators and authorities
for improved quality have led container operators to
focus on automated remote container monitoring.
The global reefer fleet reached 2.6 million TEUs in 2016