Reefer Ship

A reefer ship, or refrigerated cargo ship, is a cargo vessel built with insulated, temperature-controlled holds for carrying perishable goods such as fruit, meat, dairy and fish over long ocean voyages without spoiling. Purpose-built refrigerated vessels developed from the late nineteenth century onward, most famously enabling long-distance trades such as the shipment of New Zealand and Argentine meat and Caribbean and Central American bananas to distant markets, and though many perishable goods now move in refrigerated shipping containers aboard ordinary container ships, dedicated reefer vessels still carry cargo that container shipping does not serve as efficiently.