Weeks, Not Hours
Reefer Container Sea Freight
A refrigerated container is a working machine that has to run continuously for the length of a voyage, and the risky moments are the ones where it is not plugged in - on the quay, during loading, waiting for clearance. Booking a reefer is easy; managing the gaps is the service. This is the sea equivalent of our refrigerated road transport, and the two are often booked together.
What Ships in a Reefer
Cargo With a Range
If the product specification names a temperature, the container has to be set against it.
- Chilled and frozen foodstuffs
- Fresh produce and perishables
- Pharmaceuticals and medical products
- Cosmetics and personal care goods
- Chemicals with a storage range
- Goods needing controlled humidity
Shipping Temperature-Sensitive Cargo?
Tell us the range, the ports and the volume
Get a Reefer Quote Call +971 4 239 7107Where a Reefer Shipment Fails
Reefer failures rarely happen at sea, where the box is monitored. They happen at the ends.
Pre-cooling
A container cooled with the cargo already inside takes far longer to reach temperature, and the cargo spends that time out of range. Pre-cooling is specified at booking.
Stuffing time
Doors open while the box is loaded. How long that takes, and whether it happens in a chilled space, is part of the plan rather than an accident.
The gap at the port
Between the gate and the ship, a container may be unplugged. Minimising that window is largely about how early the paperwork was filed.
Clearance delays on arrival
A held reefer is a running clock in a way a dry box is not. Filing the entry before arrival matters more here than anywhere.
Both Ends of the Voyage
What We Manage
The controlled chain has to extend past the quay in both directions.
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Refrigerated road legs
Collection and delivery on our own reefer vehicles - see temperature-controlled transport.
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Cold storage between legs
Goods that must wait, waiting at temperature rather than on a trailer in a yard.
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Thermal packing where useful
Insulated packing to bridge the unplugged moments - see temperature-sensitive packing.
Why Cannata
We Own the Legs Either Side
A forwarder who books the box and nothing else has no visibility of the two periods where reefer cargo is actually at risk.
Booked and monitored
Set points agreed against the product specification rather than assumed from the cargo type.
Our own reefer trucks
The road legs at the UAE end are ours, so the chain does not break at a handover.
Cleared fast
Our own customs team files ahead of arrival, because a held reefer costs more than a held dry box.
Rate Request
Get a price for this shipment
Give us the route and the cargo and we will come back with a rate, usually within one working day.
Our FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What shippers ask about reefer containers.
