This activity stopped with the outbreak of the Second World War and it would be more than 20 years before another attempt was made at the reefer trade. This never evolved into a regular liner service, but in 1937 GUDRUN MÆRSK and ROBERT MÆRSK joined the reefer fleet with specially ventilated cargo holds. In 1934, a few steam ships had fans and ventilators installed to improve conditions for the cargoes of oranges and grapefruits. To tackle the winter weather impact on the smaller tramp vessels, attempts were made to deploy them in the Mediterranean from early November to mid-April. Unfortunate timing meant that FRANCINE was only used once in the trade and attempts to use the vessel in other fruit trades proved to be unprofitable. Law360 (August 25, 2022, 3:03 PM EDT) - A.P. Two initiatives were taken to add to the tramp, tanker, and liner activities:Ī 5-year charter party was signed for the transportation of bananas from Cameroun to France, and in 1936 the first reefer vessel joined the Maersk fleet. Møller wanted to expand his shipping business with specialised reefer vessels. The first time Maersk ventured into the reefer trade was in the mid-1930s, when A.P. A Maersk shipping container sits on a rail car at the Port of Los Angeles on Februin San Pedro, California.

Refrigerated container maersk