May 20, 2010 10:16 AM

A Maersk Line container vessel transporting several containers of bananas from Davao, Philippines, arrived in Rotterdam, Netherlands recently. While imported bananas are not unusual in Europe, arriving from a destination as remote as the Philippines is remarkable, said Maersk Line.

A trial shipment, this cargo consisted of bananas that spent 34 total days in a container. The fruit was as fresh when it arrived as when it was loaded. The quality of the bananas didn’t suffer from the long transit time, the color was green as it should be, and the bananas were firm with no chilling injuries and no deterioration of the fruit, said Maersk Line.

To address transit time, Maersk Line used its StarCare reefer equipment. This Maersk Line technology in selected refrigerated containers is designed to transport bananas on routes with transit times of more than 30 days. The company first performed successful trials with bananas from Ecuador before the Philippines trial.

Kim Aksel Kristensen, director with Maersk Line’s Reefer department, said, “This means that we can offer growers, buyers, and other entities involved in the banana trades a whole new dimension to their trading patterns. Maersk Line can now offer access to almost any market place globally through the use of StarCare, in affordable shipment sizes down to 20 pallets.”