Mediterranean Shipping Company, one of the world’s largest ocean container carriers, will lease 2,000 containers chilled by Carrier Transicold’s innovative, natural refrigerant-based NaturaLINE refrigeration system.

NaturaLINE solves the problem of how to use refrigerants effectively and efficiently—to transport valuable items such as perishable food and pharmaceuticals—while helping to protect the environment. The system utilizes repurposed carbon dioxide (CO2), the refrigerant with the lowest global warming potential (GWP) among all container refrigerants currently in use. MSC’s new refrigerated containers—all 40-foot high-cube models—are being leased from SeaCube Containers LLC.

SeaCube Containers LLC of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, owns and manages dry and refrigerated shipping containers and generator sets used to power refrigerated containers. The company leases equipment primarily under long-term contracts to the world’s largest shipping lines globally.

“The NaturaLINE unit’s innovative use of CO2 is the first of its kind available on the reefer market,” said Giuseppe Prudente, chief logistics officer, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. “By providing higher level of performance in the minus 40 degrees Celsius deep-frozen range, we can add new capabilities for our growing customer base, particularly for seafood and other high-value frozen commodities. Shipping is already one of the most environmentally sustainable forms of cargo transportation, and we are pleased to continue to improve our environmental performance by equipping our fleet with the latest green technologies.”

The ability to achieve minus 40 Celsius was previously only attainable in container systems using a refrigerant with a GWP nearly 4,000 times higher. The NaturaLINE unit has managed this, along with high efficiency, a quiet operation and tight temperature control.

“The NaturaLINE unit, with CO2 refrigerant, takes users directly to an end state by guarding against regulations, environmental taxes and phase outs that other refrigerants will be subject to during their operational lifespan,” said David Appel, president, Carrier Transicold & Refrigeration Systems. “In addition, CO2 is non-ozone depleting, widely available, relatively inexpensive and nonflammable.”

Carrier Transicold recognized the need for refrigeration technology that would neutralize concerns over GWP—in much the same way that it led the industry away from ozone-depleting refrigerants ahead of Montreal Protocol deadlines 25 years ago.

“In taking leadership to provide a natural-refrigerant solution, Carrier Transicold created what is perhaps the most sound investment a leasing company and shipping line can make—a refrigerated container that will not become obsolete in its lifetime due to pressures from environmental legislation,” said Robert Sappio, CEO, SeaCube. “By fulfilling the NaturaLINE unit’s first order of this magnitude, SeaCube is pleased to be part of this important development for the shipping industry.”

MSC will begin taking delivery of its new containers from SeaCube later in the year. The NaturaLINE units will be supported by Carrier Transicold’s global service network.