Fruit juice tanker
A fruit juice tanker is a tanker for the transport of fruit juices and their concentrate . Since orange juice and orange juice concentrate are transported particularly frequently , such a ship is also referred to as an orange juice concentrate tanker or, for short, an orange juice tanker .
Transport of orange juice concentrate
The majority of orange juice that is drunk in Europe comes from Brazil and is transported as a concentrate by tanker.
In Brazil, most oranges are harvested in the world, around 25% of the global orange harvest takes place here. The majority (around 80%) of these fruits is processed into fruit juice and then concentrated. The water is separated from the fruit juice in an energy-saving and vitamin-friendly way at negative pressure, since the boiling point of the water is significantly reduced here. Then the 5- to 7-fold concentrated juice is cooled to temperatures of -8 to -12 ° C and can therefore be kept for a long time.
The concentrate was initially transported deep-frozen in barrels in this consistency. The barrels were stowed in the refrigerated holds of general cargo carriers , mostly liner carriers (less often refrigerated ships ), and were considered refrigerated cargo with low demands. With the development from the general cargo ship to the container ship , the transport container changed and instead of the refrigerated hold, the barrels were loaded into refrigerated containers . If the amount was sufficient, the concentrate was soon transported in refrigerated tank containers , with 20 to 25 t of orange juice concentrate being loaded or transported per unit. To Europe this transport took place primarily in refrigerated containers of Porthole technology.
The next development step from the orange juice concentrate tank container to the orange juice concentrate tanker was obvious and, like almost all innovations in the maritime industry, took place as a conversion. Older reefer ships with the existing refrigeration machines were used for this purpose. The intermediate decks were removed and high, vertical stainless steel tanks, which were uninsulated, were inserted into the refrigerated holds, which were insulated from the outside. In addition, up-to-date measurement and control technology, circulation pumps and cargo pumps were installed, as well as a nitrogen system to move a nitrogen gas cushion over the cargo in the full tanks.
The cargo is frozen and pumped from the shore-side tanks into the ship's cargo tanks . The temperature of the concentrate is maintained during transport by ship. This means that only the heat entering through the outer insulation of the cargo hold is dissipated by the cargo cooling system. For the ballast voyage, the empty tanks are completely filled with nitrogen in order to exclude bacteriological contamination.
Fewer than 20 ships are employed in this particular branch of refrigerated shipping worldwide, the main companies being Citrosuco Europe NV in Ghent and Atlanship in La Tour-de-Peilz (Switzerland). Citrosuco Europe NV operates its own transshipment facility in Ghent. The largest tankers of this type are the Carlos Fischer and the Premium do Brasil .
Citrosuco Europe NV
- Ouro do Brasil (1)
- The first Ouro do Brasil was delivered in September 1970 as a reefer of the type Core with the name Navelinacore under the construction number 638 from the Solheimsviken shipyard in Bergen, Norway. After being renamed Navelina , Pasadena , and Pasadena I , it became the fruit juice tanker Ouro do Brasil . The ship was 147.83 meters long and had a carrying capacity of 9,981 dwt. 1992, when the new Ouro do Brasil was put into service, it was renamed Citrus do Brasil . On May 28, 2003, she reached the scrapping yards near Alang for demolition.
- Ouro do Brasil (2), Premium do Brasil
- In the meantime, new buildings like the Ouro do Brasil (1993), Sol do Brasil or the Carlos Fischer (2003) and Premium do Brasil have been built and are in motion. They were built at the Kleven Florø shipyard in Norway and were delivered to the Brazilian Fischer Group. The ship management is carried out by Maritime Services Aleuropa GmbH in Hamburg.
- Ouro do Brasil
- With a length of 172 m, a width of 26 m and a draft of 9.5 m, the Ouro do Brasil is measured at 15,218 GT. It has a load capacity of 19,500 tdw. Around 12,300 cubic meters of orange juice concentrate or fresh orange juice can be transported in 16 cargo tanks. The propulsion power is 12,200 kW and gives the ship a speed of 20.5 knots. A shaft generator (1,580 kVA) and three auxiliary diesel generators (3 × 940 kVA) are available to generate electricity.
- Premium do Brasil
- With a length of 205 m, width of 32.2 m and a draft of 11.4 m, this orange juice concentrate tanker is measured at 33,005 GT and has a deadweight of 43,000 tdw. The propulsion power is 28,350 kW and gives the ship a speed of 20 knots. A shaft generator (2,500 kVA) and three auxiliary diesel generators (3 × 1,600 kVA) are available to generate electricity. Around 29,000 cubic meters of orange juice concentrate or fresh orange juice can be transported in 16 cargo tanks.
Atlanship
The company manages a total of six fruit juice tankers, including a. the Orange Blossom , the Orange Sky and the Orange Star .
The Orange Sky ( IMO No .: 9228370) was converted into a fruit juice tanker by the Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven in 2002 by the bulk carrier May Oldendorff (Saiki Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Saiki). The ship with a length of 171.60 m, width 27.00 m is measured with 22,063 GT and has a carrying capacity of 26,863 dwt. The owner is the Adriatic Reefer SA in La Tour-de-Peilz.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Carlos Fischer ( Memento of the original from December 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Carlos Fischer , Ship Technology.
- ↑ Premium do Brasil ( Memento of the original from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
