The company has earmarked 150x 40ft new reefer containers for the trade, in a delivery also highlighting the sophistication of the multimodal operator’s inland barge connections, after Sliedrecht-based Danser Group transferred the boxes from Rotterdam Maasvlakte to the Rotterdam Shortsea Terminals.

The new containers will be loaded in Rotterdam bound for Reykjavik, for introduction into Samskip service rotations connecting Iceland and the Faroe Islands to the UK and North Continental Europe.

The new investment follows hard on the heels of delivery of 51x 45ft reefer containers into the European multimodal service network in mid-May. Samskip also invested in new reefer container capacity last year and introduced web-based track and trace for temperature-controlled cargoes. This emphasises Samskip’s commitment to increasing its temperature controlled transport activities.

“It is fair to say that growth in refrigerated transport continues to be a focus for Samskip, but each investment must stand on its own merits,” said Diederick Blom, Samskip Chief Operating Officer. “This latest commitment to new 40ft reefer capacity demonstrates our willingness to support the business opportunities we have identified with hardware investments in reefer capacity.”

Constructed by Chinese box-builder CIMC Taicang, 96 of the new containers were delivered into the Rotterdam Shortsea Terminals in a single barge move on board the Danser Benelux barge Vectura. The remainder are due to arrive in Rotterdam before June 5.

“For Danser, this was an opportunity to showcase the inland barge services we offer throughout the Benelux, Germany and Switzerland, highlighting the short transit times barge services achieve, their sustainability, and our prowess in the reefer sector,” said Michel Bot, Danser Group.

Each of the new Samskip units includes a high performance Thermo King Magnum Plus generator set, designed specifically for the long-distance transportation of deep frozen, frozen, chilled or heated cargoes, within temperatures ranging between -30 degrees and +30 degrees Celsius.