For the second time flowers have been transported by ship to Helsinki. The coaster of Containerships sailed from Rotterdam to the Finnish capital. A test with sea transport to Istanbul is being prepared. For the trip to Helsinki, this time a reefer container has been used, developed by Unit 45, with similar internal dimensions as a trailer. The Unit 45 reefer has previously been used in experiments with transports of plants and flowers by rail. The test to Helsinki was part of the project Cocos (Container Satie and Conditioning in floriculture).

In the container, the temperature was kept at four degrees Celsius, which could be monitored from a distance, made possible through tracking and tracing.

Early Tuesday morning, the load was delivered by truck at the importer. According to the importer the merchandise arrived in excellent condition, not affected by moisture or condensation, which is often a problem in such projects.

As part of the research project Cocos a last shortsea pilot with commercial indoor and test plants to Istanbul is being prepared. The pioneering trip will take no less than ten days and is scheduled to be loaded on 6 September. For the voyage to Istanbul, a standard 45ft high cube container.

Source : Shortsea.nl