Jul 21, 2011 10:17 AM

Center left: Fusayuki Nambu, chairman, Soma-Futaba Fisheries Cooperative Association; center right: Kazunori Endo, general manager of the association.

Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd (MOL) has donated six 20-foot reefer containers to the Soma-Futaba Fisheries Cooperative Association in Japan as part of its support activities for disaster-stricken areas.

The freezing and refrigeration facilities at the fishing port were destroyed by a tsunami after the Great East Japan Earthquake earlier in 2011. The reefer containers MOL donated will serve as a temporary refrigerated warehouse for chilled and frozen seafood awaiting transport.

The reefer containers were delivered July 15 to the association in Obama, Soma-shi, Fukushima Prefecture.

Fusayuki Nambu, association chairman, said, “After the destruction of facilities by the tsunami, it was impossible to operate at all, but when MOL set up reefer containers on the pier at the harbor, Soma fishermen gained a great deal of courage and hope. The container became the symbol of our efforts to restore our livelihoods. We truly appreciate that gift of courage and hope.”

MOL continues its effort to assist reconstruction of the quake- and tsunami-stricken areas, drawing upon the entire MOL Group network.

Operating 861 vessels and employing more than 9,200 workers worldwide, MOL operates one of the world’s largest and most diverse networks of liner and logistics services, including weekly Transpacific, Transatlantic, Americas, and Asia-Europe services.

Visit www.MOLpower.com for more information.