Shipping fish by freight transport, using an individual temperature regime

Fish, fish products, and seafood are an important part of human nutrition. Interest in fish as a healthy and tasty product is constantly growing worldwide. Fish is not only caught in oceans, seas, and rivers but is also specially farmed. Almost half of the fish that ends up on people's tables is specifically grown through aquaculture, and only 53% of the fish sold is caught by fishermen. The average fish consumption per person per year exceeds 20 kg. Annually, over 170 million tons of food fish are consumed worldwide, and this figure does not include fish caught for the production of fish oil and other technical purposes. Fish consumption is growing at a rate that exceeds the growth rate of the planet's population by 2 times. Accordingly, freight transportation of this product is also increasing.

Features of transporting fish as cargo

Fish is an expensive and perishable product. Fish is supplied to trade and transported in the following forms: live fish, chilled fish, frozen fish, and fish products. Fish products can be ready to eat or may require further preparation.

The most valuable, from a nutritional standpoint, is live fish. Keeping it in this state is not easy, and the delivery time for such fish is short. Therefore, valuable fish species are often transported by air.

Chilled fish is fish transported without water. The cooling of this fish does not reach the freezing stage, which allows most of its nutritional properties and taste qualities to be preserved. Chilling of fish can be done using cold air or by covering the carcasses with finely crushed ice. The second option is the most popular, and both rail and air transport as well as refrigerated truck transport are used for shipping.

Different species of fish in chilled and frozen states are better transported in different ways. Some fish are transported whole, while others are headless and gutted. The choice of technology for preparing fish for transport lies entirely with the shipper and the customer.

Frozen fish, when kept at the appropriate temperature, does not spoil for a long time, allowing for extended transportation and storage. From a logistics perspective, this method of preparing fish cargo is optimal, as it allows for a relaxed pace and the selection of inexpensive transportation methods. Most seafood, such as crustaceans, shellfish, sea urchins, squids, octopuses, etc., is also transported in a frozen state. Seaweed is also frozen. The modern method of shock freezing fish minimizes the deterioration of the original product's quality. Fish freezes so quickly that large ice crystals do not have time to form in its tissues, which would otherwise rupture them.

Salted, dried, smoked, and otherwise prepared fish is also transported in large quantities by freight transport. When transporting it, not only is it necessary to ensure the required temperature regime, but also to create conditions for ventilation. Packages with such products are placed in rows or in a checkerboard pattern in the transport.

Rules for the freight transportation of fish and fish products

Freight transportation of fish is carried out according to the following rules:

• The shipper must provide all documents necessary for transportation, including a veterinary certificate for the batch of fish.
• Live fish is mostly transported in water. To keep the fish alive during transport, its activity must be reduced. The container for holding water with fish is cooled for this purpose. Cooling is achieved by a refrigeration unit or the presence of a special compartment for water. The water with fish must be artificially saturated with oxygen, so there are aeration systems in the transport for live fish transportation.
• There is a method for transporting live fish without water in an atmosphere saturated with water vapor. For this, fish are placed in boxes with ventilation holes on a layer of wet fabric. The fabric must be periodically moistened. The delivery time for live fish using this method is short, and air transport is often used for such shipments.
• For each type of fish and fish products, there is the most suitable packaging: boxes made of cardboard, wood, or plastic of various configurations, barrels, bales, etc. The choice of packaging and ensuring it for the batch of fish products lies entirely with the shipper.
• The cargo compartment for transporting fish must be washed, disinfected, and dried before loading.
• The temperature regime and humidity inside the cargo compartment must meet the requirements for transporting the specific batch of fish products.
• The cargo of fish products must be secured in the cargo compartment so that it does not shift during transport.
• The carrier company must have an FRC certificate for transporting this type of cargo.

Transporting fish and fish products by different types of transport

Aviation, road, rail, and water transport—all types of modern freight transport can be used for transporting fish.

For transporting live fish by road, special fish transport tankers based on chassis, trailers, or semi-trailers are usually used. Fish tankers are equipped with water cooling and aeration systems. Live fish can also be transported in barrels or special containers. Barrels and containers with fish can be transported by various types of open or covered road transport. For transporting chilled and frozen fish, as well as fish products, isothermal or refrigerated vans, trailers, and semi-trailers are used. Frozen fish can also be transported on a truck platform in a refrigerated container.

For transporting fish by rail, refrigerated cars are used in refrigerated trains marked "Fish." Container transportation of fish in refrigerated containers on rail platforms is also possible.

There are special fish transport barges for transporting live fish. However, most fish is transported by sea in a frozen state on low-temperature or universal refrigerated vessels. Additionally, fish can be transported on container ships in refrigerated containers.

Aviation can transport fish and fish products in any packaging, including containers, and in any state. Since aviation is the fastest mode of transport, it is often used for transporting live and chilled fish of valuable species.

Submit a request for the transportation of fish or fish products in the "Add Cargo" section, find a carrier, and find out the cost of transportation.