SYRACUSE, N.Y. - When Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner services group takes delivery of 355 new 40-foot high-cube refrigerated containers later this year, it will mark an important milestone for the company in achieving its environmental stewardship goals: conversion of nearly a quarter of its refrigerated fleet to Carrier Transicold PrimeLINE® units, one of the industry’s most energy-efficient container refrigeration units.

“The PrimeLINE unit offers improved efficiencies and reduced power consumption, which reduces our emissions and impact on the environment,” said John Azzo, Crowley’s director of strategic procurement. “We’ve placed considerable focus on implementing environmentally sound technologies as part of our overall initiatives to provide customers with the highest quality equipment and ocean cargo transportation services between the United States, Central America and the Caribbean.”

The latest 40-foot high-cube refrigerated containers are also Crowley’s first to use sustainable polyurethane technology foam, a highly efficient insulator with substantially lower global warming potential than conventional insulation.

“As a result of the way the container is designed and insulated, combined with the PrimeLINE unit from Carrier, we anticipate long-term efficiencies, even as the units age,” Azzo added.

A leading ocean cargo carrier within its service region, Crowley dedicates most of its refrigerated containers to perishable produce trade, although Azzo said the PrimeLINE unit’s high performance at the lowest temperatures will also serve in the delivery of frozen foods such as ice cream. With the recent order for 355 PrimeLINE units, Crowley will have a total of 755 of the digital scroll units in its growing fleet of 3,250 refrigerated containers.

“We are pleased to help Crowley achieve another milestone in the transition of its refrigerated fleet to more environmentally sustainable equipment,” said Chiou Fun Sin, Carrier vice president, Global Container Refrigeration. “The PrimeLINE unit was designed especially for shipping lines such as Crowley that care deeply about the impact their operations have on the world.”

The PrimeLINE unit uses digital scroll compressor technology and was developed to help shipping lines conserve fuel and reduce emissions related to shipboard power generation. Crowley acquired its first PrimeLINE units in 2009 following extensive field testing in 2008.

For more information, visit www.carrier.com.

Publication date:11/15/2010