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First five ships unloaded again

South African citrus ships back at Rotterdam Fruit Wharf

The reefer shipping companies, Baltic Shipping and Seatrade, united in the Reefer Alliance, have decided together with the South African exporters to allow the conventional reefer service to be taken care of by Rotterdam Fruit Wharf (RWF) again. 5 ships with citrus have already been unloaded - stored and delivered by RFW - and 1 ship per week is planned over the coming weeks. The number of ships and the total amount of pallets of citrus is still unknown. RFW is counting on 24 ships until the season ends in mid October.



RFW has taken care of this weekly service in recent years. "It isn't just the favourable location of our cooling warehouses on our own docks, our own cranes, but also the customer satisfaction in recent years that seals the deal," explains Peter van de Laar of RFW. Conventional ships with "ships-convenience" containers being handled on deck is an RFW speciality. "The shipping companies want a quick turnaround of the ships, the recipients want to control their shipment as soon as possible, as well has have it checked and released. RFW is completely set up for this," according to Van de Laar.

APM hack
The supply of regular containers was seriously disrupted in recent weeks due to the virus problem at APMT. Van de Laar: "Just after the APMT hack we had slightly less Maersk containers, so the problems for RFW and its customers were relatively small. Of course it's very annoying for all parties and we really feel for APMT and Maersk. We are now two weeks further on and the problems still haven't been solved. Difficult communication on status, PIN numbers that aren't right and trucks driving to terminals for nothing. Our customers are becoming impatient and want to know what's going on. Not just for perishables, a disrupted supply influences the market conditions and price formation as well. It demands a lot from our customer service and their improvisation. Thankfully we're good at this."

For more information:
Rotterdam Fruit Wharf
Peter van de Laar
[email protected] 
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