Fresh Del Monte Produce has announced that it has added six new energy-efficient reefer container vessels to its fleet in a bid to meet its sustainability goals.
Each vessel has been designed to meet stringent emission control regulations.
The features include, among others, the latest hull design and vertical bow to achieve a speed of up to 22 knots with very efficient fuel consumption.
The vessels are also fitted with the latest hybrid scrubber system to reduce pollution and control the emission of noxious substances.
'Global Energy Use'
Chief sustainability officer of Fresh Del Monte Produce, Hans Sauter, said, "Today, shipping accounts for the largest portion of our global energy use. In 2018 we committed to lead by example and reduce our vessel emission by 10%.
"With the addition of these six new container vessels, we are well on our way, estimating a savings of nearly 19 thousand metric tons of fuel each year."
The New Vessels
The six new vessels go by the name Del Monte Gold, Del Monte Rose, Del Monte Harvester, Del Monte Spirit, Del Monte Valiant and Del Monte Pride.
Presently, Del Monte Gold is travelling from Hong Kong to the Panama Canal.
It has a full cargo capacity of 1,276 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) with 634 plugs for forty-foot high cube reefer containers.
The air-cooled containers will maintain the cargo at specified temperatures, traveling in reefer mode with multiple temperature variants from -25C to 40C, the company added.
'A Very High Bar'
Senior vice president of shipping operations for Fresh Del Monte Produce, Helmuth Lutty, said, “We have been working towards this goal since 2017 and could not be more excited to see it come to fruition. As one of the world’s leading producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables, we have set a very high bar for all the reefer containers and ships in our fleet.
“These six new vessels set the bar even higher, and allow us to deliver the high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables we are known for while meeting our sustainability goals.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
