Africa Express Line (AEL) inaugurated a new vessel last month increasing its fleet to eight. The Lady Rose was welcomed into the AEL fleet at the Port of Antwerp and is the first of a series of four new-generation reefer vessels. AEL is a subsidiary of grower and exporter Compagnie Fruitiere - a major player in the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
The Lady Rose has an under deck controlled atmosphere system which allows for bananas from Compagnie Fruitiere’s major suppliers SCB, Bouba and Dole to be harvested green ready for careful ripening on their arrival in Europe. And in the case of SCB, Anadou pineapples these can be harvested at peak maturity without the need to pick fruit backward for ripening in transit.
Top speed on the Lady Rose is 20.5 knots making it faster than many other vessels of a similar size and specification meaning it can cut the journey time from western Africa to Europe down to 10 days.
AEL also points out that her engines, as well as the overall design, allow a significant fuel economy and therefore reduced carbon emissions.
The ship was built at Hachihone, Japan and completed in September last year and has a 6,600 pallet capacity. It loads at Douala, Abidjan and Dakar and discharges at Dover and Antwerp.
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