ZIM moves (Part 2)

 ZIM has moved its operations to the PSA Fairview Cove terminal after fifty plus years at the South End Container Terminal (SECT) (now operating as PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway). The common management of the two terminals has allowed this rationalization to take place for a variety of reasons, as covered in yesterday's post. Today (August 5) saw ZIM ships at Fairview Cove for the first time.

Contship Leo on ZIM's CFX feeder service is at the east berth (left in photo) and ZIM Vancouver on the ZCA service is working at the west berth. There were more cranes at the SECT, but both ships will be ready to sail with a little overtime this evening. Cargo could be transferred from one ship to the other without spending a lot of time on the ground

Back in the day when the SECT operated as Halterm, ZIM's boxes were everywhere - particularly their reefers an important part pf ZIM's business. I was not expecting to see any ZIM boxes at the SECT today, but there were still a few empties in storage. 

ZIM has a sophisticated monitoring and tracking system that ensures that climate control is maintained during delivery. Called ZIM Monitor, it is described by ZIM as "a real-time monitoring system that provides customers with 24/7 alerts on route deviations, temperature and humidity deviation on their valuable cargo."

In the pre-container era local grocers eagerly anticipated the first fresh produce from Israel each year. Refrigerated cargo arrived on specially built high speed reefer ships owned by Maritime Fruit Carriers Ltd (MFC) - a company owned by the State of Israel .

Bananacore was typical of the MFC ships. Built in 1965 by Bergens MV it was a 8242 gt, 8400 dwt ship, capable of cruising at 20 knots. It was managed by the Swedish reefer operator Salén Reefer AB.

There are few reefer ships left in the world today as most temperature controlled cargo is containerized. With systems such as ZIM Monitor, the cargo can be transported quickly and efficiently.

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