DAVAO Integrated Port Services & Stevedoring Corp (DIPSSCOR) recently doubled capacity of its reefer storage facility to further improve the transport and storage of banana and other fruit cargo at the Sasa Wharf in Davao, Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
DIPSSCOR doubled Sasa Wharf’s reefer capacity to 288 reefers with the extension of the existing facility. Three racks were constructed and installed with 48 plugs of 440 volts each complete with power supply stations.
Reefers may be stacked up to four tiers, with each rack having six rows and two sides.
The racks also have back-up 1.5 MVA power generators and 1.5 MVA step-down transformers.
Two 45 ton-capacity reach stackers were purchased to complement increasing reefer container handling activities in the terminal.
Reefer facility operations are automated using digital technology.
Banana trade
“The Philippines remains one of the leading exporters of bananas. It is the third largest banana exporter in the world, and the leader in Asia. DIPSSCOR’s container market share in the Port of Davao is at 70%, and this is attributed to the expanding global banana trade,” said Julien Domingo, general manager of DIPSSCOR, a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
“Banana exports from the Philippines are mostly produced in Mindanao with Sasa Wharf as the key port handling the delicate commodity. Traders have been shifting the shipping of bananas from reefer ships to reefer containers, a more cost-efficient and safer way of transporting the fruit,” Domingo added.
Last year, the Philippine Ports Authority turned over the operations of the reefer facility in the terminal to DIPSSCOR.
Three rubber-tired gantries were commissioned in the container yard to improve handling of containers, including reefers.
