Container ships, Familiarity with reefer containers

Those who have to rely on transport of temperature-controlled goods in reefer containers need to be assured that their consignments will arrive in the required condition. The container vessel may form part of the cold chain. During carriage by sea, cargo officers must be able to properly care for the reefer cargo whilst it is on board their vessel. To be able to monitor effectively and to maintain the condition of the cargo, ship’s officers must have knowledge of the various reefer types and must understand how they work.

This e-learning module provides deck officers with information required to recognize the different container types and some of the main features found on them.  The module also provides a simple but well-illustrated explanation of how reefers control temperature in both chilled and frozen mode and may be particularly useful to officers new to container ships.  The knowledge gained is a prerequisite before officers can be considered competent to monitor and control the temperature and atmosphere in reefer containers.

Learning objectives:

• Outline the construction and arrangements of Reefer Containers
• Outline how reefer containers maintain required cargo condition
• Recognize various types of reefer container