Congestion, in his view, remains very much a fact of life in the UK. Further, while delays are a headache in themselves, they generate a series of subsidiary headaches not the least of which is the paperwork resulting from the changes that stem from re-routing of a shipment.

And furthermore this can prove particularly tiresome as a result of shipping lines not being prompt in keeping their clients up-to-date with the location and status of a cargo. Some online tracking systems, suggest Mr Lellow, are very good but conversely others, he said, are very bad.

Fruit products are of course by their very nature sensitive products, and as such an importer concerned with this type of product is one that is more dependent than most on efficiency in the transport chain. Add on to the congestion factor the new realities of slow steaming and rising fuel costs then getting products to market at the right time and at the right price becomes even more challenging, a reality that many importers are facing today.

Are any solutions in sight? The CooLogistics Conference clearly identified the need for more capacity in the UK port system and port systems generally, but clearly this is not an easy short-term solution. Beyond this, the prospect of a greater dependence on transhipment was raised with feedering solutions into secondary UK ports where it was felt there may be a greater degree of reliability available, ie less congestion.

And there was also the ground-breaking idea of direct deepsea UK services, where diversion would not be an option. As yet, however, this particular solution remains very much in the realms of theory rather than practice, requiring something of a sea change in culture to implement.