Port Manatee is now receiving imports of Central American fruit via the newest energy-efficient refrigerated container ships of longtime port tenant Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. Fresh Del Monte Produce, which has been importing fruit into Port Manatee since 1989, is transitioning to deployment of the eco-friendly container ships in place on non-containerized vessels to bring burgeoning volumes of bananas, pineapples and avocados to its Southeast distribution center at Manatee County’s container hub. The Del Monte Spirit, like five sibling vessels, has a full cargo capacity of 1,276 twenty-foot-equivalent container units, or TEUs, with 634 plugs for 40-foot-long high-cube refrigerated containers, or reefers.

The new ships help fulfill a company commitment to dramatically reduce vessel fuel consumption and emissions, according to Helmuth Lutty, senior vice president of shipping operations at Coral Gables-based Fresh Del Monte Produce. The vessels feature fuel-efficient hull design, emissions-reducing scrubber systems, connections to operate on shore power when at berth, and the latest in preventive maintenance technologies.