Some of the biggest and fastest reefer vessels operating out of West Africa are about to arrive at Portsmouth International Port bearing fruit.
Africa Express Line (AEL) has just signed a new contract with MMD, the fruit-handling firm based at the port. At 185 metres in length, the AEL reefer vessels are the biggest ever to unload at Portsmouth.
The first AEL ship to arrive will be ‘MV Cote D’Ivoirian Star’, which is due to sail into Portsmouth Harbour on February 14, laden with a cargo consisting of approximately 2,500 tonnes of bananas and pineapples.
Each week, one of four AEL vessels will bring a similar amount of the same fruits, with an additional 1000 tonnes of other produce such as sweetcorn, tomatoes and vegetables.
All the produce being handled by MMD is destined for UK supermarkets and is loaded at ports along the West African coast, the ships call at Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal along the route to Portsmouth.
It takes a month from leaving the first port in Africa before reaching the south coast of England. The vessels then move on to Antwerp in Belgium where produce heading for the European market is unloaded.
Martin Putman, Portsmouth International Port manager, believes investment in a bespoke track and trace computer system and new climate-controlled warehouses are just two reasons AEL chose MMD to handle such large amounts of fresh produce each week.
He added: “This is an important new contract for MMD, underlining how continued investment in new facilities helps to attract world class operators like AEL.”
