Norwegian shipping company Green Reefers has announced that six of its vessels are to join the reefer shipping pool operated by Belgium-based chartering firm Seatrade.
The vessels, which belong to Green Reefers' country class specialised reefer fleet, will be included and deployed in Seatrade's service schedule.
The following vessels are included in the move: Green Costa Rica, Green Chile, Green Guatemala, Green Honduras, Green Brazil and Green Italia.
The size and configuration of the six vessels are thought to fit well with the existing vessels used within the Seatrade pool, offering good flexibility both in terms of speed and capacity.
Toril Eidesvik, managing director of Green Reefers, said he saw the benefit of optimising the employment and scheduling of his company's ships as well as improving the efficiency of their operation, something which in the end will also benefit clients.
'These ships belong to a system like the Seatrade pool employing a vast number of similar types of ships,' he commented.
Yntze Buitenwerf, general manager of Seatrade Reefer Chartering, said he was pleased with the partnership deal, which he felt reflected recent developments in the reefer shipping market in terms of the spread of different vessel sizes.
'The vessels are well suited in size for our liner services,' he said.
Despite ongoing concern surrounding the profitability of specialised reefer operators, both companies said they expected a more balanced future for modern specialised reefer vessels.
