Reefer Container Refrigeration
Container refrigeration units as a regulated class: the F-Gas inclusion, the 12 March 2027 date, charge sizes and the refrigerant transition.
A refrigerated container carries its own refrigeration unit, drawing power from the ship’s supply through a reefer socket. Commercially it is cargo; for refrigerant regulation it is equipment, and that distinction has become the sharpest F-Gas exposure in shipping.
Regulation (EU) 2024/573 Article 5(3)(b) names refrigeration units of intermodal containers, including reefers, in the list of mobile equipment subject to leak checking. Article 5(5) defers the leak-check and record-keeping obligations for that equipment until 12 March 2027, at which point the frequency table in Article 5(6) applies according to the charge expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
The article will cover unit construction and control, typical refrigerants and charge sizes and what those charges amount to in carbon dioxide equivalent terms, monitoring and pre-trip inspection, the allocation of operator responsibility between the container owner, the lessee and the carrier, and the transition to lower global warming potential refrigerants across the global container fleet.