CRB ~ Refrigerated Cargoes
One
area of
claims that occupies a great deal of our time is the reefer trade, as
our seas
become overfished and food scare the value of seafood increases year on
year,
that means the value of the commodity and loss to cargo interests and
their
underwriters increase and become more valuable.
Thus, it becomes ever more
crucial to
understand the nature of the product and how it can be affected by
carriage
temperatures.
It is also important to
understand the process from seabed to table.
Knowledge
and expertise
has progressed significantly since the early days of containerization,
both
with the ocean carrier and surveyors. A
great deal of information has been collected by CRB throughout this
period and
our considerable experience in the field is there for the benefit of
our
clients.
If we take the example of shrimps, these are caught at depths of over 500 metres. Perhaps not so prevalent these days, but there are occasions where if the catch is retrieved too quickly then the product can suffer from the “bends”. This results in discolouration and then if insufficient glaze is applied, dehydration. This can be misinterpreted as a problem with the reefer unit, although in fairness to surveyors shipping companies have for some time refused to release temperature records.
The
majority of
frozen shrimp carried in reefer units is at a temperature
of -25°c, although
in the early days this was perhaps as high as -18°c.
The major shipping lines now
provide guide
lines on the way frozen cargo is vanned into a reefer container.
There have also been developments in temperature records. Initially, the only way to mechanically monitor temperatures was through a Partlow chart. To some extent these have become outmoded and shipping lines have now moved onto Datalogger charts that give a far more precise indication of the carrying temperatures. Here again we see and study such temperature records on a daily basis and can often determine the source of the deterioration. Often carriers will maintain that there has been no rise in the carrying temperature and yet we have found that the insulation has been compromised through defects in the container that is manifested, not necessarily by the return air temperature, but the supply temperature and the rate of defrost.
The above is a brief summary of the subject and entire chapters can be devoted on how various commodities fall under frozen or chilled conditions on the various outside influences they face.