Issue No. 7, September 2007 - J. Lauritzen

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10 For more than a century, J. Lauritzen reefer ships have served worldwide markets. Seen here, the Knud Lauritzen off New Zealand with a full load of containers. The end of an era reefer business A history of more than 100 years has come to an end with J. Lauritzen’s sale of its 50% share of NYKLauritzenCool to NYK Reefers Limited, JL’s professional and dedicated partner during the last four years. As a consequence of the transaction, NYK will take full control of the company, which has been renamed NYKCool AB. Pioneer of the reefer trades JL was a pioneer in the development of the reefer trades, carrying citrus from Spain to England as early as 1905. During the 1920’s, JL installed electrical ventilation systems in the cargo holds of its vessels in order to improve the still rather primitive carrying conditions for perishable cargoes. Regular services were established from Italian ports to the UK, from Sicily and Spain to Gdyniain in Poland, and between the Canary Islands and Antwerp in the Netherlands. In 1925 JL opened its first overseas office in Valencia, Spain. During the 1930’s, JL expanded its reefer activities considerably. In 1931, JL performed its first shipment of bananas from West Africa to France. This was a major achievement, since there was no experience in transportation of bananas over such long distances. Also in 1932, JL negotiated a long-term contract concerning transportation of bananas from the West Indies to Europe, and JL subsequently became instrumental in the development of the trans- atlantic banana trades. JL consequently played a leading role in the expansion of the reefer business during the 1930’s, and JL’s reefer activities were also extended to include Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, and South Africa. On the vessel side, the first of a series of three general cargo vessels were reconstructed at Elsinore Shipyard in Denmark, part of the J. Lauritzen Group, in the beginning of the 1930’s. These converted refrigerated vessels played an important role in the early phase of the development of the reefer trades. A new milestone was reached in 1935, when JL took delivery of its first purpose-built reefer vessel, equipped with specialised cooling machinery, also from the shipyard in Elsinore. The YRSA, later renamed African Reefer, was JL’s first vessel to carry the “Reefer” name and traded for JL until 1963. During the second half of the 1930’s, JL further expanded its fleet of dedicated reefer vessels and the African Reefer was followed by a series of sister vessels.
“J. Lauritzen has enjoyed a strong partnership with NYK Reefers and a very good cooperation with our Swedish colleagues. As a part of Lauritzen’s overall strategy we decided to sell our reefer fleet in 2006, and it is therefore only natural that NYK takes over our 50% shareholding of the joint marketing company. Torben Janholt, President & CEO, J. Lauritzen : JL exits the Modern reefer vessels In 1953 a new series of modern reefer vessels was ordered at the Lauritzen Group’s shipyards in Elsinore and Aalborg, Denmark. Major innovations included replacing inflammable cork with glass wool as insulation material and replacing traditional wooden gratings with aluminium gratings. Diesel engines from Burmeister & Wain gave the vessels a service speed of 18 knots. The African Reefer, delivered in 1935, was J. Lauritzen’s first purpose-built reefer vessel equipped with specialised cooling machinery. In the second half of the 1950s more new vessels were ordered, and the vessels’ carrying capacity was increased to almost 250,000 cbft. A noticeable change was made in their appearance as these vessels, instead of being white, were painted the same JL-red as the company’s polar vessels. Between 1968 and 1974, six sister vessels were built at Aalborg Shipyard. These were the so-called Italian reefer class, with a cargo carrying capacity of 422,000 cbft. and able to make a laden speed of 22 knots. The pool concept Around 1970, a pool concept was adopted by J. Lauritzen in order to secure economies of scale through the control of a larger number of vessels from other owners. Thus a jointventure with Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Ltd. (P&O) was established in 1971 under the name of Lauritzen-Peninsular Reefers (LPR). The company was owned on a fifty-fifty basis between JL and P&O, but vessels belonging to other reefer owners were also operated by LPR. By 1975, LPR controlled a combined fleet of some 25 reefer vessels. During this period, JL’s fleet of reefer vessels gradually expanded with bigger ships, and in the late 1970’s four sister vessels – the Asian Reefer, Balkan Reefer, Canadian Reefer, and Ecuadorian Reefer – were delivered, each with a hold capacity of 588,000 cbft. and a speed of 22 knots. The partnership existed until 1983, when P&O decided to withdraw. Consequently, JL became the sole owner of LPR and the company name was changed to Lauritzen Reefers. After 1983, the Lauritzen Reefers’ pool was gradually developed, including JL’s reefer vessels as well as vessels belonging to other reefer owners. JL contributed the majority of the vessels employed in the pool, which in the beginning of the 1990’s comprised about 65 specialised reefer vessels. JL/LR became a market leader with regards to trade development as well as technological innovation. An example of trend-setting technological innovation was the development of the Family 11
Page 1 and 2: OCEANS OF KNOW-HOW September 2007 A
Page 3 and 4: Dear Reader, The ability to handle
Page 5 and 6: the coming years, five of them owne
Page 7 and 8: e ing alert are fully confident wit
Page 9: The average amount of money awarded
Page 13 and 14: A Capesize milestone Lauritzen Bulk
Page 15 and 16: While allotment gardens in the past
Page 17 and 18: ing and discharge ports and determi
Page 19 and 20: An immediate success The 2006-2007

Issue No. 7, September 2007 - J. Lauritzen

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