Seatrade, the world's largest reefer ship operator, goes containers

Seatrade has expanded its use of container vessels on its Fast Direct Dedicated (FDD) service between Europe and New Zealand, adding another nail to the coffin of its aging conventional reefer fleet.

The Meridian service launched on 9 January on a Rotterdam-Dunkirk-Radicatel-Papeete-Noumea-Nelson-Napier-Tauranga-Callao-Paita-Philadelphia-Zeebrugge-Tilbury-Rotterdam rotation.

Cutting out transhipment ports, the origin-to-destination service will run on a 10-day frequency, with Peru and the US east coast added to the northbound New Zealand to Europe service.

Seatrade said transit times of 23 days from Europe to Tahiti; ...