APM Terminals part of Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk group installed large numbers of reefer stacks when it built the new terminal because Zeebrugge is an important import and export point for fruit and perishable goods. The stacks are meant to help general container shipping lines to win more of that traffic from operators of specialist refrigerated or reefer ships, which typically carry the cargo in large, refrigerated holds below decks.
The battle is the latest between container lines and owners of specialist ships designed to carry goods not sealed in metal boxes. In many other sectors, container lines’ low cost and the ease of transporting a container to and from the port have forced the specialist lines out of business.