Hong Kong Port handles record reefer boxes on Hapag-Lloyd‘s Cherry Express

Hapag-Lloyd’s Manzanillo Express arrived in Hong Kong Port from Valparaiso, in Chile with a record number of 1,222 reefer containers onboard, which were discharged in Hong Kong.

It was the highest number of Chilean cherry containers ever discharged in Hong Kong from a single vessel call.

 The Manzanillo Express is part of Hapag Lloyd’s Cherry Express Service running from November to February from Chile to China.

“We call Hong Kong with our Cherry Express service because we know we can trust the reliable and efficient service at the terminals in Hong Kong. Our customers appreciate the hot box arrangement in Hong Kong, which allows our customers to pick up the container immediately after it has been offloaded from the vessel. This service enables the cherry containers to be transported across the boundary and into consumer markets all over South China in only a few hours after landing in Hong Kong”, said Axel von Bloh, General Manager of Hapag-Lloyd’s Hong Kong office.

With the hot box arrangement, containers discharged from Manzanillo Express could exit the gates of Modern Terminals, a member of the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance, only 20 minutes after being offloaded from the vessel.

“Hong Kong is a Free Port, enabling the fast dispatch of containers from the terminals. This makes Hong Kong the preferred gateway for many perishable high-value products. It looks like it will be another amazing season for the Chilean cherries in China,” said Horace Lo, Group Managing Director of Modern Terminals Ltd.

The high-quality cherries from Chile is a popular gift in Mainland China in the lead up to Chinese New Year.

Hong Kong offers 8,000 reefer plugs available across the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance, the highest number of reefer plugs at any port in South China.