In a bid to help reduce costly compensation claims and minimise the potential loss from damage to chilled and frozen foodstuffs, BMT De Beer, has published a complete set of guidelines for the reefer sector.
Reefers often contain high-value and easily perishable food such as shellfish so the value of a typical 40ft container can reach a staggering €400,000 ($567,252).
Although the ‘Consolidated Manual on Storage and Transport of Chilled and Frozen Foodstuffs’ covers the whole transport chain, reefer containers often need to be stored at ports for a period of time, at which point it will usually become the stevedores’ responsibility to provide a reliable power supply.
The author Harm de Haan says that the information within the manual should be of especial interest to stevedores as "they often don’t realise the significant value of the goods inside".
