A new order of 2,500 Star Cool Integrated containers from Maersk Container Industry (MCI) will be deployed in Chiquita Brands International’s shipping services. Of the order, 1,000 integrated containers are equipped with MCI’s Star Cool CA (Controlled Atmosphere) system, which effectively preserves freshness of bananas during transit.
By controlling the ripening, Star Cool CA ensures an extended transportation window of up to 45 days and the arrival of the produce in good condition for a prolonged shelf life.
Transporting bananas over long distances used to be a challenge. If there is oxygen to consume, the produce will continue to ripen, and it becomes a race against time. With its air-tight integrated container design, Star Cool CA precisely balances the atmosphere inside the container and allows shippers to carefully monitor and control the amount of carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen.
Chiquita is both a leading producer of bananas and an operator of its own substantial shipping fleet through the premier ocean carrier, Great White Fleet Ltd.
The Star Cool CA concept ensures safe operation and fast oxygen pulldown. This reduces ripening speed to a minimum, allowing for extended travel distances, optimal freshness and longer shelf life without using supplementary third-party solutions.
Since adding Star Cool Integrated to its fleet, Chiquita has gained first-hand operational knowledge of the low-energy consumption and durable low-weight container design. In the new order, the banana producer will also be able to take advantage of MCI’s StarConomy software, which is proven to cut energy use in half without compromising cargo quality.
The seamlessly combined design of the Star Cool Integrated container ensures low weight and durability, which in return, translates into tangible operational value throughout the container’s 15-year lifetime.
These new 40-foot-high-cube Star Cool Integrated containers are delivered directly from MCI’s manufacturing facility in Qingdao, China to be transported to Moin, Costa Rica for first loads of fresh bananas destined for the United States and Europe. Containers are supplied to Chiquita under a long-term lease managed by Sun Intermodal Ltd.
For more information, see www.mcicontainers.com.
