What is a reefer container?
In shipping, a reefer is a refrigerated container used to transport goods that need to be kept at a constant temperature. Refrigerated containers have a refrigeration unit which connects to the power supply on board a ship. Reefer containers come in two of the same sizes as standard shipping containers: 20’ standard and 40’ HC (high cube).
What is a Refrigerated Container used for?
Reefer containers can provide a constant temperature set between -30°C and +30°C. As you can imagine this covers a wide range of products which require temperature controlled shipping. At the bottom end of the scale, -30°C, you may find frozen foods being shipped across the globe. In the middle of the spectrum, you could find perishable food stuffs that require standard refrigeration.
But what about the upper end of the temperatures? What could need temperature controlled shipping over +5°C? Products such as candles, paint, beauty products or even chemicals could require a reefer container for transportation. Not only do refrigerated containers keep goods inside the shipping container below the temperature outside, they can also be utilised to keep the goods inside at a higher temperature than the outside temperature.
What does a Reefer Container look like inside?
From the outside, a reefer container looks almost identical to a regular “dry” shipping container (apart from the unit which provides refrigeration and ventilation on one end of the container). Inside, a refrigerated container has a special t-shaped decked floor, which allows airflow around the goods.
How do I arrange Reefer Shipping?
First you should think about appointing a freight forwarder to handle your reefer shipping. Mercator regularly handles refrigerated container shipping, our import team regularly handle temperature controlled shipping from China of paintballs. Our customer in the UK purchases the paintballs on a EXW Incoterm. This means that they are responsible for the entire shipping process from door in China to their door in the UK.
Thanks to our founding membership of the global freight network MarcoPoloLine, we have a trusted and long-standing relationship with a freight forwarding office based in China who handles the pick up, export customs procedures and loading onto vessel for refrigerated sea freight shipping to the UK. Once the shipment from China has arrived in the UK, our import team arrange the customs clearance, payments to HMRC for any import taxes and duties, and delivery to door.
Using a freight forwarder to handle your refrigerated shipping will pass all the work over to them. Not only will that free up your time to focus on what you do best (running your own business), the experts will be handling everything, leading to fewer hiccups in the process of shipping.
So if you have a shipment which is suitable for shipping using a refrigerated container, contact our team for a quote. We can ship to and from most countries worldwide. Our team can be contacted by calling (+44) 02392 756 575, emailing sales@mercatorcargo.co.uk, or by completing the form below.
