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{{Short description|Refrigerated cargo ship}}
{{Redirect|Refrigerated shipping| the most commonly used modern form of refrigerated shipping|Refrigerated container}}
[[File:Salica Frigo cropped.jpg|thumb|300px|Reefer ''Salica Frigo'']]
[[File:Lombok Strait.jpg|thumb|300px|Reefer ''Lombok Strait'' of SeaTrade]]
A '''refrigerated [[cargo ship]]''', also known as a '''reefer ship''', is a refrigerated [[cargo ship]] typically used to transport perishable cargo, which require [[air conditioning|temperature-controlled]] handling, such as fruits, meat, vegetables, dairy products, and similar items.

== Description ==
''Types of reefers:'' Reefer ships may be categorised into three types:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://crosstree.info/Documents/reefer%20vessels.pdf |last=Kohli |first=Pawanexh |date=July 2000 |title=Reefer Vessels – An Introduction |publisher=CrossTree Techno-visors |access-date=2009-03-22 |archive-date=2009-03-26 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090326013334/http://crosstree.info/Documents/reefer%20vessels.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
# '''Side-door vessels''' have water-tight ports on the ship's hull, which open into a cargo hold. Elevators or ramps leading from the [[quay]] serve as loading and discharging access for the [[forklift]]s or [[conveyor]]s. Inside these access ports or side doors, pallet lifts or another series of [[conveyor]]s bring the cargo to the respective decks. This special design makes the vessels particularly well suited for inclement weather operations as the tops of the cargo holds are always closed against rain and sun.
# '''Conventional vessels''' have a traditional cargo operation with top opening hatches and [[crane (machine)|crane]]s/[[derrick (lifting device)|derrick]]s. On such ships, when facing wet weather, the hatches need to be closed to prevent heavy rain from flooding the holds. Both above ship types are well suited for the handling of palletized and loose cargo.
# '''Refrigerated [[container ship]]s''' are specifically designed to carry containerised unit loads where each container has its individual refrigerated unit. These containers are nearly always twenty-foot equivalent units (often called TEU) that are the size of "standard" cargo containers that are loaded and unloaded at container terminals and aboard [[container ship]]s. These ships differ from conventional container ships in their design, power generation, and electrical distribution equipment. They need provisions made for powering each container's cooling system. Because of their ease of loading and unloading cargo many container ships are now being built or redesigned to carry [[refrigerated container]]s.

[[File:Unloading frozen meat from 'Clan MacDougall'.jpg|thumb|Unloading frozen pork from the [[Clan Line]] ship ''Clan MacDougall'' in the mid-20th century]]
A major use of refrigerated cargo hold type ships was for the transportation of bananas and frozen meat, but most of these ships have been partly replaced by refrigerated containers that have a refrigeration system attached to the rear end of the container. While on a ship these containers are plugged into an electrical outlet (typically 440 [[Alternating current|VAC]]) that ties into the ship's power generation. Refrigerated container ships are not limited by the number of refrigeration containers they can carry, unlike other container ships which may be limited in their number of refrigeration outlets or have insufficient generator capacity. Each reefer container unit is typically designed with a stand-alone electrical circuit and has its own breaker switch that allows it to be connected and disconnected as required. In principle each individual unit could be repaired while the ship was still underway.

Refrigerated cargo is a key part of the income for some shipping companies. On multi-purpose ships, refrigerated containers are mostly carried above deck, as they have to be checked for proper operation. Also, a major part of the refrigeration system (such as a compressor) may fail, which would have to be replaced or unplugged quickly in the event of a fire. Modern container vessels stow the reefer containers in cellguides with adjacent inspection walkways that enable reefer containers to be carried in the holds as well as on the deck. Modern refrigerated container vessels are designed to incorporate a water-cooling system for containers stowed under deck. This does not replace the refrigeration system but facilitates cooling down of the external machinery. Containers stowed on the exposed upper deck are air-cooled, while those under deck are water-cooled. The water cooling design allows additional refrigerated containers under deck, as water can be used to dissipate the high amount of heat they generate. This system draws fresh water from the ship's water supply, which in turn transfers the heat through heat exchangers to the abundantly available sea water.

[[File:Dole Honduras in San Diego.jpg|thumbnail|The reefer ship ''Dole Honduras'' unloading bananas in the [[Port of San Diego]]]]
There are also refrigeration systems that have two compressors for very precise and low-temperature operations, such as transporting a container of blood to a war zone. Cargoes of shrimp, asparagus, caviar and blood are considered among the most expensive refrigerated items. Bananas, fruit and meat have historically been the main cargo of refrigerated ships.

== History of ship refrigeration ==
In 1869, reefers were shipping beef carcasses frozen in a salt-ice mixture from [[Indianola, Texas]], to [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], to be served in hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. In 1874, shipping of frozen beef from America to [[London]] had already begun, which developed into an annual tonnage of around {{convert|10,000|ST|LT t}}. The insulated cargo space was cooled by ice, which was loaded on departure. The success of this method was limited by insulation, loading techniques, ice block size, distance and climate.

The first attempt to ship refrigerated meat across the Pacific was made when the ''Northam'' sailed from [[Australia]] to the UK in 1876. The [[refrigeration]] machinery broke down en route and the cargo was lost. In 1877, the French steamer ''Paraguay'' equipped with a Carré compression machine completed the first successful travel with its shipment of 5500 frozen muttons from [[Argentina]] arriving to [[France]] in excellent condition despite a collision that delayed the delivery for several months, thus proving the concept of refrigerated ships, if not the economics. In 1879, ''Strathleven'', equipped with compression refrigeration, sailed successfully from [[Sydney]] to the UK with 40 tons of frozen beef and [[mutton]] as a small part of her cargo.

[[File:SS Dunedin by Frederick Tudgay.JPG|thumb|right|{{ship||Dunedin|ship|2}}, first refrigerated [[clipper]] ship to complete a successful shipment of refrigerated meat]]
The [[clipper]] sailing ship {{ship||Dunedin|ship|2}}, owned by the New Zealand and Australian Land Company (NZALC), was refitted in 1881 with a Bell-Coleman compression refrigeration machine. This freezer unit worked by compressing air, then releasing it into the hold of the ship. The expanding air absorbed heat as it expanded, cooling the cargo in the hold. Burning three tons of coal a day in the steam engine that ran the compressor, it could lower the temperature of the hold by {{convert|40|F-change|C-change}} compared to the surrounding air temperature, which froze the cargo in the temperate climate of southern [[New Zealand]] and then maintained it below freezing ({{convert|32|F|C|disp=comma}}) through the tropics. ''Dunedin''{{'}}s most visible sign of being an unusual ship was the funnel for the refrigeration plant placed between her fore and main masts (sometimes leading her to be mistaken for a [[steamship]] which had been common since the 1840s). In February 1882, ''Dunedin'' sailed from [[Port Chalmers]], New Zealand, with 4,331 mutton, 598 lamb and 22 pig carcasses, 246 kegs of butter, and hare, pheasant, turkey, chicken and 2,226 sheep tongues. It arrived in London after sailing 98 days with its cargo still frozen. After meeting all costs, the NZALC company made a £4,700 profit from the voyage.

Soon after ''Dunedin''{{'}}s successful voyage, an extensive frozen meat trade from New Zealand and Australia to the UK was developed with over 16 different refrigerated and passenger refrigerated ships built or refitted by 1900 in [[Scotland]] and Northern England shipyards for this trade.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.newzealandshipping.co.nz/History/Vessels/index.htm |last=Shaw |first=Jeffrey |title=New Zealand Shipping Co & Federal Steam Navigating Co |work=New Zealand Shipping Vessels |access-date=12 February 2012}}</ref> Within 5 years, 172 shipments of frozen meat were sent from New Zealand to the United Kingdom. Refrigerated shipping also led to a broader meat and dairy boom in Australia, New Zealand and [[Argentina]]. Frozen meat and dairy exports continue to form the backbone of New Zealand's economy.

[[File:Loading "Clan McDougall" with frozen meat for England.jpg|thumb|Loading ''Clan McDougall'' with frozen meat for England (Archives New Zealand)]]

The Nelson brothers, butchers in [[County Meath]], [[Ireland]], started shipping extensive live beef shipments to [[Liverpool]], England. They successfully expanded their beef business until their imports from Ireland were insufficient to supply their rapidly growing business and Nelson decided to investigate the possibility of importing meat from [[Argentina]]. The first refrigerated ship they bought was ''Spindrift'' which they renamed in 1890 SS ''Highland Scot''. A vessel of 3,060 gross tons bought by James Nelson and Sons in 1889 and fitted with a somewhat primitive refrigerating plant operating on the cold air system became one of the pioneer vessels in the trade of refrigerated meat and other perishable commodities. They hauled beef carcasses from Argentina to Britain. Their regularly scheduled shipments and ships developed into the Nelson Line that was formed in 1880 for the meat trade from Argentina to UK.  Refrigeration made it possible to import meat from the United States, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia.

===Timeline===
*In 1876, French engineer [[Charles Tellier]] bought the ex-Elder-Dempster 690 tons cargo ship ''Eboe'' and fitted a Methyl-ether refrigerating plant of his design. The ship was renamed ''Le Frigorifique'' and successfully imported a cargo of refrigerated meat from Argentina. However the machinery could be improved and in 1877 another refrigerated ship called ''Paraguay'' with a refrigerating plant improved by [[Ferdinand Carré]] was put into service on the South American run.
*In 1879, Henry Bell (1848–1931) and John Bell (1850–1929) of Scotland and [[Joseph James Coleman]] [[FRSE]] (1838–1888) of Scotland completed the Bell–Coleman dense-air machine on the Anchor liner ''Circassia'', which successfully brought a cargo of chilled beef from the US to London.
*In 1880, ''Strathleven'', equipped with a Bell–Coleman air machine and loaded with successfully shipped beef, mutton, butter and kegs, sailed from [[Melbourne]], Australia, to London—a nine-week voyage of about {{convert|15000|mi}}.
*In 1881, Alfred Seale Haslam (1844–1927) of England equipped the liner ''Orient'' with Haslam refrigeration compressors. He bought the Bell–Coleman dense-air patents in 1878 and eventually equipped four hundred plants and ships with Bell-Coleman machines.
*By 1899, refrigerated fruit ship traffic to the US reached 90,000 tons per year.
*By 1890, after acquiring the patent rights of Franz Windhausen's CO<sub>2</sub>-compression refrigeration system, the [[J & E Hall]] company installed the first marine CO<sub>2</sub> refrigerator system on the Nelson Line ship ''Highland Chief''.
*In 1900, a worldwide survey found 356 refrigerated ships, 37% of which had air machines, 37% ammonia compressors and 25% CO<sub>2</sub> compressors.
*In 1900, Great Britain {{verify source|reason=Great Britain or UK? The former excludes Ireland, all of which was part of the UK in 1900|date=February 2019}} imported over 360,000 metric tons of refrigerated meat: 220,000 tons from Argentina, 95,000 tons from New Zealand and 45,000 tons from Australia. There were weekly sailings on refrigerated "banana boats" from the UK to Central America by [[Fyffes Line|Elders and Fyffes Ltd]], which had been importing bananas since 1888 to the UK in their own ships. Round trips took 28 days.
*In 1901, the first refrigerated banana ship, ''Port Morant'', was equipped with a CO<sub>2</sub> machine and carried 23,000 stems of bananas at a controlled temperature from [[Jamaica]] to the UK.
*In 1902, [[Lloyd's Register]] recorded 460 ships with refrigerating plants.
*By 1902, the [[United Fruit Company]] started having refrigerated banana boats built in the UK to add to their fleet which hauled passengers and bananas between ports in the United States and [[Central America]].
*By 1910, UK refrigerated meat imports rose to 760,000 tons per year.
*By 1910, the British company J & E Hall had installed 1800 CO<sub>2</sub> refrigeration machines in ships.
*By 1913, the UK fleet included 230 refrigerated ships with a total cargo capacity of 440,000 tons.
*By 1935, refrigerated imports into Britain totaled {{convert|1000000|t|sp=us}} of meat, 500,000 tons of butter, 130,000 tons of cheese, 430,000 tons of apples and pears, and 20 million stems of bananas.

==United Fruit Company reefer ships==
The [[United Fruit Company]] has used some type of reefers, often combined with cruise ship passenger accommodations, since about 1889. Because of their cargo was mostly [[banana]]s, they were nicknamed the "Banana Fleet". Since bananas are relatively light and the normal shipping route was to Central America and then back to various US ports, these ships were often built as combination cargo ships and what are now called [[cruise ship]]s to pay for more of their operating expenses. After about 1910, they called these combination cruise and cargo ships the "Great White Fleet" based on their heat-reducing white paint. To avoid US shipping regulations and taxes they are registered in about six other countries, with very few now maintaining US registry. European associates with their own ships were often employed to ship fruit to Europe.  United Brands was taken over by [[Chiquita Brands]] International in the 1980s and owns the largest fleet of banana boats in the world, but none of them now sails under the US flag.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/ufruit.htm |last1=Swiggum |first1=S |last2=Kohli |first2=M |title=United Fruit Company |work=The Fleets |date=23 November 2006 |access-date=12 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102151629/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/ufruit.htm |archive-date=2 January 2012 }}</ref> SS ''Pastores'' and SS ''Calamares'' were built in Ireland in 1912 and 1913 for the United Fruit Company as a combination [[cruise ship]] and refrigerated cargo ship. The United Fruit Company's fleet of about 85 ships was one of the largest civilian fleets in the world. These ships normally carried up to 95 cruise ship passengers and a crew to ports in [[Central America]] and then would return to the United States with passengers and a cargo of refrigerated bananas and miscellaneous cargo.

The renamed {{USS|Pastores|AF-16|6}} and {{USS|Calamares|AF-18|6}} were taken over by the [[United States Navy]] in World War I and used to take troops and refrigerated supplies to and from Europe. After hostilities ceased they were returned to United Fruit Company in 1919. They were requisitioned again on 2 June 1941 from United Fruit for use in [[World War II]]. After hostilities ceased they were then returned again to United Fruit Company in 1946.<ref>{{cite web |title=USS ''Pastores'' (AF-16) and USS ''Calamares'' (AF-18) |url= https://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/AF/AF16.html |access-date=12 February 2012}}</ref>

==Reefers in US Navy service==

===World War I===
In [[World War I]], the US Navy contracted for 18 refrigerated ships for hauling provisions to the troops in Europe. They were launched 1918 and 1919 as the war was ending and were nearly all scrapped by 1933 in the [[Great Depression]] as an economy move. Most were built in [[Baltimore Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Corporation|Baltimore Dry Dock]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], [[Moore Dry Dock Company]] in [[Oakland, California]], and Standard SB Co. in [[Shooters Island]], New York.<ref name=ShipbuildingHistory>{{cite web |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/merchantships/wwii/rtypeships.htm |title=R-Type Refrigerated Cargo Ships |work=Merchant Ship Construction in U.S. Shipyards |publisher=Shipbuilding History |date=12 February 2008 |access-date=12 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509213500/http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/merchantships/wwii/rtypeships.htm |archive-date=9 May 2012 }}</ref>

===World War II===
[[File:USS Mizar (AF-12) departing Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), 8 February 1946.jpg|thumb|250px|{{USS|Mizar|AF-12|6}}, formerly the [[United Fruit Company|United Fruit Co]]'s SS ''Quirigua'']]
The {{sclass|Mizar|stores ship}}s were six United Fruit passenger and refrigerated cargo liners built in 1931–1933 that the [[United States Maritime Commission]] requisitioned in 1941–1942. They were [[SS Antigua|USS ''Antigua'']], {{USS|Ariel|AF-22|6}}, {{USS|Merak|AF-21|6}}, {{USS|Mizar|AF-12|6}}, {{USS|Talamanca|AF-15|6}} and {{USS|Tarazed|AF-13|6}}. ''Antigua'', although requisitioned, was never commissioned into the Navy. United States Maritime Commission [[Type R ship]] were Reefer ships.

In April 1943, the Navy also requisitioned SS ''Ulua'' from the United Fruit Co.  After US navy officers boarded the ship and took possession as it approached the Golden Gate Bridge, the ship became the {{USS|Octans|AF-26|6}}. It was the last of the UFC 'reefer' ships to be taken over.<ref>{{cite book |title=Under the Southern Cross: A Petty Officer's Chronicle of the USS Octans |first=Kenneth G. |last=Oliver |year=1995 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/undersoutherncro0000oliv/page/20 20–21] |isbn=978-0899509990 |publisher=McFarland & Company |url=https://archive.org/details/undersoutherncro0000oliv/page/20 }}</ref>

Other reefers converted for US Navy use were the Danish ships {{USS|Pontiac|AF-20|6}}, {{USS|Roamer|AF-19|6}} and {{USS|Uranus|AF-14|6}}.

In addition, the US Maritime Commission ordered 41 new refrigerated ships for the Navy. Because of the difficulty of building refrigerated ships only two were delivered in 1944. 26 were delivered in 1945 and the remainder in 1946–1948.<ref name=ShipbuildingHistory/>

==Worldwide service==
[[File:BALTIC JASMINE.jpg|thumb|250px|Reefer ''Baltic Jasmine'' at Rotterdam]]
{{See also|List of merchant marine capacity by country}}
According to the CIA's ''[[The World Factbook]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2108rank.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613005224/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2108rank.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 13, 2007 |title=Country Comparison :: Merchant Marine |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=17 February 2012}}</ref> there were about 38,000 registered merchant ships in the world in 2010, of which about 920 were designed as refrigerated cargo ships. Because of the proliferation of self-contained refrigerated container systems on [[container ship]]s, there are many more ships than those designed for only refrigerated cargo that are also carrying some refrigerated cargo. As of 2010, the countries with the largest numbers of reefer ships in their registries are the world's two most prominent [[Flag of convenience|flags of convenience]]: [[Panama]] with 212 and [[Liberia]] with 109.

==See also==
{{Portal|Transport|Agriculture|Food}}
*[[Cold chain]]
* [[Refrigeration]]
*[[Refrigerator car]]
*[[Refrigerator truck]]
*{{slink|List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy#Provisions Store Ships (AF, T-AF)}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Weightman |first=Gavin |year=2001 |title=The Frozen Ice Trade |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] Publishers |isbn=978-0-00-710285-3 }}
*{{cite journal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xt0DAAAAMBAJ&q=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA12 |title=Floating Island Ship to Make Ice in the Tropics |journal=[[Popular Mechanics]] |date=January 1935}}
*{{cite journal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WCQDAAAAMBAJ&q=popular+science+1949+%22U.S.S.+Tusk&pg=PA158 |title=Ship Keeps Cool When Heat Is On |date=June 1949 |journal=[[Popular Science]]}}
* "Under the Southern Cross: A Petty Officer's Chronicle of the USS Octans"; Author: Kenneth G. Oliver; McFarland & Co.; {{ISBN|0-89950-999-1}}; (originally the SS Ulua)
* {{cite book|last1=Tolerton|first1=Nick|title=Reefer Ships: The Ocean Princesses|date=2008|publisher=Willsonscott Publishing|location=Christchurch, NZ|isbn=9781877427251}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary | reefer}}
{{Commons category|Reefer ships}}
*{{cite web |url= http://reefership.freehostia.com/ |last=Kohli |first=Pawanexh |title=Reefers |work=Reefer Ships – Maritime Information |publisher=Reefership Marine Services |year=2007}}
*[http://www.reefertrends.com/ ReeferTrends] – a news and information service for the global refrigerated shipping trade
*{{citation |chapter-url= https://www.shippingwondersoftheworld.com/refrigerated_ships.html |chapter= Refrigerated Ships |title= Shipping Wonders of the World |year=1937 |pages=553–556 |editor-first=Clarence |editor-last=Winchester }} illustrated description and survey of refrigerated ships.

{{ModernMerchantShipTypes}}
{{MARCOMships}}
{{WWII US ships}}
{{Alstede class stores ship}}
{{Adria class stores ship}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cargo ships by type]]
[[Category:Cooling technology]]
[[Category:Food preservation]]
[[Category:Port infrastructure]]
[[Category:Ship types]]
[[Category:Maritime transport]]
[[Category:Ice trade]]
[[Category:Refrigerators]]