Dole’s deployment of the Dole Pacific on regular service between California and Latin America is the latest sign of how refrigerated ship operators are turning increasingly to container ships from traditional break bulk vessels.

The $56 million Dole Pacific, and its sister ships, the Dole Atlantic and Dole Caribbean, have capacities of 770 forty-foot-equivalent units, while their two 40-ton, on-deck gantry cranes enable the ships to call a variety of ports and a potential throughput of up to 50 containers per hour. Dole will take delivery of the Atlantic and Caribbean from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in February and May, respectively.

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