Antwerp-based reefer shipping company Seatrade has revealed that two of its four newbuilds that are scheduled to be constructed at Japan's Kitanihon shipyard have been chartered out to Russian group Joint Fruit Company (JFC).
The first of these vessels, mv Baltic Klipper, will be delivered at the end of August 2010 and will enter into JFC's service after a maiden voyage via New Zealand. This will be followed by the introduction of its sister vessel, the Atlantic Klipper, at the end of November.
JFC's Alexey Lyapin noted that the modern and cost efficient specialised reefer vessels would be the best solution to satisfy the needs of a large banana trade such as JFC, thanks to its ice class and large number of reefer plugs on deck.
Seatrade Reefer Chartering's general manager Yntze Buitenwerf said that he was pleased with the fixture, strengthening ties with JFC after the group had been chartering three ice-class Santa-type sister vessels.
'It shows that the major players in the fruit trades prefer to ship their cargos onboard specialised reefer vessels,' Mr Buitenwerf explained.
The fixture comes within weeks of the charter renewal of two strait-class vessels to Del Monte for a period of three years, Seatrade said, as well as the signing of an 'evergreen' contract with Zespri, which benefit both companies; Zespri being guaranteed space for their Europe-bound cargos on the New Zealand-Europe direct liner service, and Seatrade having a considerable volume during a major part of the year.
