Bananas at EuroFruitPorts unloaded with new automatic lift system

On March 16, the Costa Rican Star was unloaded at EuroFruitPorts. The ship was recently partially renovated, and in the middle it has room for 48 containers. On top of the hatches, an automatic lift system (SLS) was constructed, with which the bananas are taken from the hold eight pallets at a time, and automatically lifted up. The pallets of bananas are put onto the baseplate of the lift in the hold. Each hold has its own baseplate, and the lift is 'clicked' onto this plate. Only for the front hatch of the ship, bananas are still unloaded conventionally.

Peter Tops, General Manager at EuroFruitPorts, says that the new lift system mainly has advantages for their African shipping agents. "They don't have the same materials we do, so it's more convenient for the loading ports there. This system ensures that the bananas are loaded and unloaded in a safer way, with the pallets and products having a smaller risk of getting damaged." He notes that for unloading, they also don't have to use a quay crane. "You do need it with the conventional system, with which four pallets are first suspended from a crane by straps, and taken down. Afterwards, pallet cages of 4 are used in these hatches, and subsequently cages for 8 pallets. A disadvantage is that the productivity for the SLS system is slightly lower than with the conventional system."

The Costa Rican Star

Expansion activities
Peter says that, since January of this year, they haven't just been responsible for loading in the cold store, but also for unloading and loading the ships. The Costa Rican Star carries around 4,000 tonnes of bananas. The ship is unloaded by the group of dockworkers, who are hired on a day-by-day basis. Unloading the ship takes about 16-24 hours. Then the goods are delivered in various European countries. EuroFruitPorts is also responsible for the export. On the way back, the ship mostly carries cars and packaging materials. Other products that are shipped to Africa, are potatoes and onions."

For the added hatch of the ship, the containers are still unloaded and loaded in the conventional way. These hatches contain 24 containers of about 30 tonnes per hatch. The bananas are kept in the hold under a controlled atmosphere, so that they won't ripen along the way, arriving green in the port of discharge. The amount of oxygen is reduced from +/- 20% to about 3%, and is checked several times during the journey. 24 hours before unloading, both the holds and the containers to be stripped are aired, and extra oxygen is added to the bananas in the holds and containers.

3500 pallets bananas a week
Early 2013, logistics service provider EuroFruitPorts was founded in Antwerp, as a joint venture between Euroports and Compagnie Fruitière. Compagnie Fruitière is the biggest importer of bananas from West Africa. EuroFruitPorts unloads around 80% bananas, originating from various African countries. Other products are pineapple, mangoes, tomatoes, melons and coconuts. Each year, the company unloads around 200,000 tonnes of fruit from the ship, and 50,000 tonnes from containers. That's an average of 3,500 pallets of bananas and 1,000 pallets of other fruits weekly. EuroFruitPorts utilizes an automated inventory system. "Everything can be found very easily in the warehouse through coordinates. We regularly introduce improvements here, also when it comes to saving energy, and safety."

EuroFruitPorts has recently also been given an organic certification, and is thus also able to store organic products. "The amount of organic products is small, about 2,500 tonnes a year, but an increase is expected. For the conventional bananas, we expect stable supplies."

For more information:
Peter Tops
Eurofruitports NV
Land van Waaslaan 5
Haven 1207 - 9130
Kallo - Belgium
T +32 3 570 35 39
M +32 497 52 96 39
www.eurofruitports.com
www.fruitiere.fr