Thousands of refrigerated containers have remained in quarantine worldwide following a series of fatal explosions late last year. The incidents have been attributed to counterfeit refrigerant gases that seem to have contaminated the disposable gas bottle supply chain. Reefer shippers have since taken urgent action in consultation with concerned parties in order to resolve the crisis. The alert was raised in October 2011 when Maersk reported to the World Shipping Council three separate incidents of reefers exploding without apparent cause. Two explosions occurred in Vietnam and one in Brazil, with each incident causing the death of a reefer technician. In a fourth case, in Oakland, California, refrigerant gas spontaneously combusted on exposure to air. The common denominator, Maersk discovered, was that these boxes had undergone repairs in Vietnam between March and April 2011.
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