Freight News, Logistics, Sea


Ship delays put thermal packaging through its paces

[ October 14, 2025   //   ]

Packaging specialist Cold Chain Technologies (CCT) says it has played a pivotal role in demonstrating the viability of ocean freight for high value temperature sensitive pharmaceutical shipments through a project with Kuehne + Nagel and Teva Pharmaceuticals.

It validated the transportation of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals on one of the world’s most demanding sea routes – from Germany to Australia – and has shown that sea freight can offer a viable, cost-effective and more sustainable alternative to air cargo.

Despite facing a series of extreme setbacks en route, the shipment arrived in perfect condition, thanks in part to Enshield, CCT’s high-performance, reusable PCM thermal blanket.

Qualifying the route meant meeting the challenge of maintaining quality and compliance over long distances. All partners agreed that the approach had to be approved on a live test, rather than digital simulation.

Kuehne + Nagel and Teva established a rigorous testing process, using the long route to put the shipment through its paces. The estimated voyage was about 60 days but the shipment arrived ten days late, but there was no impact on the target temperature range of 2-8° C.

Project manager logistics integrity at Teva Logistics, Fabian Reitmeier, said: “Pretty much everything that could go wrong did so, in terms of putting pressure on the integrity of the cargo.”

The first challenge came with the closure of the Suez Canal so the ship was rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, extending the journey by a week.

Secondly – although this was not discovered until later due to being out of GPS range – there was a power outage in the Indian Ocean.

Finally, due to the previous delay, when the ship arrived in Sydney Harbour during Australia Day, when the port was operating only a skeleton crew which further delayed unloading. The cargo remained in Sydney Harbour for a further four days, in ambient temperatures approaching 40 degrees C.

However, thanks to Enshield, the temperature remained stable over the 10 weeks the cargo was in transit. Temperature loggers recorded two minor spikes (during the power outage and upon arrival in Australia) but this was well within the acceptable parameters and there was no risk to patients.

“This was the most challenging run we did, but the one that performed best – and it’s clear that Enshield was crucial to this success,” confirmed Judineth Miranda.

Senior director for key account management Healthcare at Kuehne + Nagel, Judineth Miranda, explained: “This is a long journey with significant seasonal and temperature variations, which meant that a successful test would allow us to qualify many lanes in a single study.”

Kuehne + Nagel and Teva initially relied only on traditional thermal covers to complement the active containers being used, but identified the need for additional protection against an increasing number of power outages occurring at sea in recent years. To enhance temperature stability during transit, they tested the Enshield passive thermal blanket, which demonstrated significant advantages over other available options.

CCT senior director of sales – EMEA and APAC at Cold Chain Technologies, Kristian Williams, added: “Traditional blankets are flawed – because once hot air gets inside, it can get trapped. Enshield is designed to keep products within 2 and 8°C – if the temperature rises above or falls below that, the phase-change material slows down the thermal exchange to keep things balanced and consistent.”

Enshield uses leakproof Koolit Advanced gel, a form-stable PCM that never turns to liquid. It is also highly flexible, which means Enshield can be wrapped around the pallet for a snug fit and enhanced protection.

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