Another link in the chain ( Part 2 )

By the late 1860s , beef carcases were being shipped between the local American ports in a salt-ice mixture , with limited success . The first attempt to ship refrigerated meat came in 1877 . Unfortunately , the refrigeration equipment broke down and the entire shipment was lost .

However , the first economically viable shipment of product was the sailing of the clipper Dunedin , from New Zealand to the

By Patrick Burke of RPM Engineering

Now that the shipment of export-quality oranges is well on their way to the United Kingdom , let ’ s go back further in time , when the very first attempts to transport perishables were introduced .

United Kingdom , where 4 300 mutton , 600 lamb and 22 pig carcases , 250 kegs of butter , some hares , pheasant , chickens , turkeys , and 2 000 sheep tongues were offloaded , making the shipping company a reasonable profit for the journey .

By the way , the Dunedin ’ s refrigeration plant was a Bell-Coleman compression machine . Steam powered , it compressed air , releasing the air onto the hold of the ship . As it expanded , the air became

colder , cooling the cargo . This process had the ability to chill the hold to 22 ° C below the surrounding air temperature , which meant it could freeze the product when sailing through the temperate seas of Southern New Zealand .

It would then simply maintain the hold below freezing for the remainder of the voyage through the tropics .

Following this successful venture , from 1900 , the refrigerated shipping industry

1 2

expanded rapidly and soon shipments of frozen beef and mutton between Australia , New Zealand and Argentina , the United Kingdom and Europe , became a common occurrence .

Around the late 1800s , the shipping of fruit commenced , mainly bananas at first . Now all types of perishable products are transported throughout the world , by a fleet of over 30 000 registered merchant ships .

Let us go back on-board a Castle or a Union ship . The year is 1890 and both companies are struggling to find suitable return cargo . Gold and diamond bullion make up the bulk of goods shipped back to the United Kingdom . High in value but of small volume , the ships are returning in ballast , apart from a few returning

Wikipedia

Henry Aitken

1 . Clipper Dunedin , the first successful refrigerant ship ( 1882 ).

2 . A 1960s reefer leaving Cape Town harbour .

Continued on page 31

COLD LINK AFRICA • July / August 2018 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za

Cold Link Africa July/August 2018 | Page 29

Another link in the chain ( Part 2 )

By the late 1860s , beef carcases were being shipped between the local American ports in a salt-ice mixture , with limited success . The first attempt to ship refrigerated meat came in 1877 . Unfortunately , the refrigeration equipment broke down and the entire shipment was lost .

Now that the shipment of export-quality oranges is well on their way to the United Kingdom , let ’ s go back further in time , when the very first attempts to transport perishables were introduced .

29