Reefer operators are increasingly seeking to charter containerships with high reefer capacity because a growing number of ports cannot handle specialised reefer tonnage.

So believes Yntze Buitenwerf, chief executive of reefer operating giant Seatrade, which has this month redeployed containerships onto a service that previously used specialised reefer vessels.

StreamLines, the container shipping arm of Seatrade, has teamed up with Hapag-Lloyd to reintroduce a fruit-oriented containerised service between North Europe and Central America.