Tropical adjusts reefer handling procedures
Tropical Shipping said Monday it will change its refrigerated cargo handling practices effective November 13 in an effort to deter the growing number of temperature-related discrepancies for refrigerated containers.
Tropical will require all shippers or their intermediaries to submit paperwork that contains required temperature settings, the Tropical Shipping booking/job number, the container number, and the security seal number.
Drivers will verify the information again the refrigerated unit's set temperature and the attached seal. If there is a discrepancy, Tropical will attempt to rectify the problem at the loading facility.
If the set temperature should require adjustment for any reason after leaving the loading facility, Tropical said it would require written authorization for the new requested temperature from the shipper of record. Any discovered discrepancies associated with the seals will result in a Tropical representative calling the booking contact to validate the integrity of the container and receive written instructions on how to proceed.
Tropical stressed that drivers are not allowed to set or alter the temperature of a container. In addition, drivers are not allowed to take a container from the loading facility until they have accurate documentation showing the required temperature is the same as the unit set temperature.
