What is the difference between frozen and chilled settings?

Frozen cargo is normally held at a fixed low temperature with no tolerance, on the logic of “freeze through and hold”; chilled cargo is held in the range above zero, and some fruit and vegetables also need the fresh-air vent open. The logic differs, so the parameters must be set per shipment to the cargo requirement — habitual values will not do.

Why is pre-cooling essential?

A reefer unit is designed to maintain temperature, not to pull it down. Cargo entering the box carrying field heat or residual process heat leaves the unit chasing temperature for the whole voyage, and if it cannot catch up, the cargo is damaged. Pre-cooling brings the cargo and its packaging close to the set temperature before loading, so the unit only has to maintain.

What is the fresh-air vent for?

Respiring fruit and vegetables keep producing carbon dioxide and heat in transit, which needs a small amount of outside air exchange to carry away. Opening the vent costs some cooling efficiency, so the opening is set by cargo and voyage. Chilled meat, poultry and seafood are normally carried with the vent closed. If unsure, follow the cargo technical requirement.

If the power goes off, is the cargo certainly ruined?

Not necessarily — it depends on how long the outage lasts, the ambient temperature and the cargo type. But the response must assume the worst: demand repair immediately, pull the temperature record to assess the impact, and arrange lift-off as soon as possible. The faster it is handled, the more contained the loss and the more complete the evidence of responsibility.

How is the destination wait compressed?

By moving the clearance actions forward: documents ready before arrival, declaration filed the moment the vessel is in, payment arranged immediately once the duty notice issues, and the truck and cold store booked in advance. Yard time for temperature-controlled cargo should be managed by the hour, not by the day.

Can reefer cargo be consolidated (LCL)?

In principle it is not advised. Consolidation involves waiting for other cargo and de-stuffing for onward sorting, which makes the temperature chain hard to control end to end, and different cargoes may have conflicting temperature and odour requirements. Reefer cargo goes FCL, where temperature, ventilation and handover are all under your own control, with a far smaller exposure.

Where do we get the temperature record?

Most reefer units log temperature, and the record can be pulled by container number through the carrier or the destination agent. Pull and file it once before and once after arrival. That curve is the direct evidence for judging whether the sea leg had a temperature anomaly and for dividing responsibility.

On arrival we find a temperature anomaly. What is the first step?

Secure the evidence before moving the cargo: pull the temperature record, photograph the condition of the goods, notify the carrier and the insurer, and arrange a joint survey if needed. Once the cargo is hauled away the on-site conditions change and establishing responsibility becomes sharply harder. Lifting and disposal come after the evidence is secured.

Shipping Reefer Cargo to Indonesia: Temperature, Pre-Cooling and Power Risk

Key figures (free to quote)

Item	Reference figure
Jakarta (Tanjung Priok) standard clearance	2-4 working days (complete documents, no inspection).
Jakarta inspection (yellow line)	3 working days standard + 7 working days inspection.
Jakarta red line	3 working days standard + 10 working days red-line handling.
Inspection profile (empirical)	Yellow line about 10-20%, red line about 3-5% (not official; varies by year and category).
PPN (VAT)	Statutory 12%; computed on an 11/12 base, so about 11% effective for non-luxury goods.
PPh 22 (with API)	2.5% of the import value.
PPh 22 (without API)	7.5%; a further 100% surcharge applies where no NPWP tax number is held.
Import duty (BM)	Commonly 0-15% depending on the HS code; FORM E / ACFTA brings most lines to 0%.

Reference values for standard cases (complete documents, no inspection, outside the red-line season). Actual figures follow current carrier and customs notices. Last reviewed 2026-09-27.

In short

Reefer cost and reefer risk are both counted in hours. A temperature set one degree wrong, a pre-cooling step skipped, or a power outage found a day late — any one of them can cost more than the whole freight bill.
All three links of the cold chain have to be managed: before loading (pre-cooling and parameter setting), in transit (power and monitoring) and on arrival (fast lift-off). If one link fails, everything done before it is wasted.
Indonesia’s climate magnifies every temperature problem: in hot, humid conditions condensation and defrosting are worse than on temperate lanes, so ventilation and dehumidification settings cannot be trimmed.

1. Temperature, ventilation and humidity: how the parameters are set

Parameters are provided by the cargo owner according to the nature of the goods, and the unit is set and re-checked by a qualified operator; unit capability varies, so the equipment’s technical condition at the time governs.

Parameter	Setting logic	Common mistake
Set temperature	Fixed to the cargo requirement; frozen and chilled run on completely different logic	One habitual setting for everything, without reading the cargo requirement
Temperature tolerance band	Set to the range the cargo allows	Opening the band so wide it amounts to no temperature control at all
Fresh-air vent	Respiring fruit and vegetables need the opening set to cargo and voyage	Opening the vent on chilled meat and losing cooling; or leaving closed a vent that should be open
Humidity	Some produce and dry cargoes carry a humidity requirement	Ignoring humidity, causing dehydration or mould
Dehumidification mode	Enabled according to unit capability for high-humidity cargo	Leaving it off, so condensate soaks the packaging

2. Pre-cooling: why it cannot be skipped

The test: at loading, the cargo temperature should already be close to the set temperature. If the cargo is visibly warmer than the setting when it goes in, the shipment is in debt from the first step — and every later link is paying it back.

The thing being pre-cooled is the cargo and its packaging, not just the box. Goods arrive carrying field heat or process heat; the unit has to strip that heat out, and it may spend the whole voyage chasing temperature.
A reefer unit maintains; it does not cool down. Unit capacity is designed to hold the set temperature. Expecting it to pull the cargo temperature down inside the box is the classic cold-chain misunderstanding.
Pre-cooling and loading have to be joined up: pre-cooled cargo should be loaded into a pre-cooled box as soon as possible; every minute exposed to ambient heat spends cold.
Keep the pre-cooling record: cargo temperature, box temperature and loading time are the base evidence for dividing responsibility when a quality dispute arises.

3. Power loss and monitoring: managing risk in transit

Three power-loss scenarios: the plug-in is interrupted in the load port yard, the unit fails at sea, and power is cut while waiting in the destination yard. The destination-yard wait is the most easily overlooked — and one of the most common.
Monitor throughout: most reefer boxes carry temperature logging and remote monitoring. Confirm at booking that monitoring is available and agree an exception-notification mechanism; ask for the temperature record before arrival.
Prepare for arrival in advance: temperature-controlled cargo should be lifted as fast as possible to reduce dependence on yard plug-in points. Have the clearance documents ready before arrival and the payment arranged in advance to compress yard time — see the clearance timeline page.
Power-failure response: on any outage or failure, demand repair and pull the temperature record immediately to assess the impact. Damage assessment should start early — the longer it drags, the harder causation becomes to establish.

4. Handling on arrival

Fast lift-off is the only strategy. Every extra hour reefer cargo spends in the yard is an open exposure. Line up “declare on arrival, lift on payment” as a flow of actions.
Check the temperature before you move the cargo: pull the full voyage temperature record and confirm the curve is normal. On any anomaly, secure the on-site evidence at once — do not haul the cargo away and argue afterwards.
Do not break the chain at the last mile: the road leg from the yard to the customer’s cold store needs a temperature-controlled vehicle, and time spent at ambient counts towards the quality-impact assessment.
Disputes: only the temperature record, the pre-cooling record at loading and the handover record at the last mile, taken together, establish responsibility. Miss any one and the claim stalls.

5. Common mistakes

Mistake	Consequence	The right way
Loading without pre-cooling	The unit chases temperature all voyage and can still arrive over the limit	Load only once cargo temperature is on target, and record it
Opening the vent on chilled cargo	Cold air escapes, temperature runs away	Set the vent by cargo type; ask if unsure
Watching the sea leg and ignoring the destination wait	Yard power loss or a long wait causes damage	Line up the lift-off actions before arrival and compress yard time
Not pulling or keeping the temperature record	No evidence when a dispute arises	Pull and file it once before and once after arrival
Using an ordinary truck for the last mile	The chain breaks on the final kilometre	Use a temperature-controlled vehicle and record the handover temperature
Mixing reefer LCL with general cargo	Temperature and odour cross-contamination	Reefer cargo goes FCL as a rule; do not consolidate it with general cargo

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This page summarizes field practice and publicly available Indonesian import rules for general business reference only—it is not legal, customs, or pricing advice. Customs provisions, tariff rates, and licensing requirements keep changing, so the rules in force at the time and the official processing result always prevail. Wuhan Freedom International Logistics Co., Ltd. · Licensed PPJK in Indonesia · Jakarta / Semarang / Wuhan.