Del Monte Fresh Produce places order for six new container vessels

Del Monte Fresh Produce has entered into a definitive agreement for six container ships to be built to service the company’s ocean transportation lanes between Central/South American and US ports.

This ship building program initially will replace Del Monte’s entire US East Coast fleet of vessels. Delivery of the first ship is anticipated in late 2019, and the fleet eventually will be expanded to call other ports as new vessels come into service.

“Del Monte was one of the first large-scale banana producers to receive the SCS Carbon Neutral Certification for our banana operations in Costa Rica,” said Dennis Christou, vice president–marketing for the company. “These new ships are an extension of our sustainability commitment on the high seas.

“The six state-of-the-art container vessels will not only increase our tonnage capacity and speed to market, but will also significantly reduce air pollution and energy consumption,” he said. “The new energy-efficient vessels are designed to meet the most stringent IMO (International Maritime Organization) emission control regulations coming into effect in 2020.”

Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute has designed the six vessels, which will be built at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company shipyard. Each vessel will have a capacity of 634 forty-foot high cube container capacity. They are 192 meters long overall with a width of 30 meters and design draft of 9.3 meters.

For more information, see www.freshdelmonte.com.