On Monday 18 February, the first new container ship with a cargo of Chiquita bananas moored at Kloosterboer in North Sea Port. Kloosterboer thus remains the European partner for the import of Chiquita bananas, the company said in its release.
The new logistics service will be operated by five container ships transporting bananas from Central America to Vlissingen, part of North Sea Port. This cements Kloosterboer position as the prime location for Chiquita to serve all Northern European destinations.
The Vlissingen-based logistics provider for temperature cooled products is doubling the supply of bananas from 400,000 to 720,000 tonnes per year. The bananas are shipped in special refrigerated containers to keep them in the best possible condition. They are then transported onwards in refrigerated containers by the shipping company Samskip to destinations including Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. The doubling of banana traffic will mean 150 additional ship movements in North Sea Port annually and some twenty additional jobs at the fruit handling company.
Kloosterboer is hiring an extra piece of land from North Sea Port to store the refrigerated containers on. Along with Chiquita, the firm is increasing its presence in North Sea Port, enabling the latter to further develop its position as a ‘food port’. The doubling of banana traffic is in line with North Sea Port's objective of growing its fruit handling activities, in particular through special container transport.