Fresher, Faster, Smater. How Maersk Is Protecting Seafood Quality and Expand Globally

Delivering premium salmon from Norway to China with speed, compliance, and uncompromising standards.

The Customer

A premium seafood exporter in Norway, renowned for high-grade salmon supply to global retailers, needed a logistics solution that could guarantee freshness, speed, and reliability across continents.

China as one of the core markets of the brand require products with a long shelf life, flawless quality, and strict adherence to cold-chain regulations.

Their flagship product, fresh salmon, requires continuous temperature control and seamless handling, as even minor exposure to delays or fluctuating storage conditions can impact texture, color, and taste.

As a brand positioned on premium freshness, the customer could not risk product rejection or a tarnished reputation in international markets.

But they were facing growing pressure: rising rejection rates from buyers, inconsistent cold-chain handling by third-party providers, and customs delays that impacted freshness on arrival.

A Valuable Shipment at Risk

Seafood exports, especially salmon, operate under unforgiving timelines. Any deviation in temperature, delay at customs, or handling lapse can lead to spoilage and revenue loss.

The customer’s key challenges included:

To protect product quality, ensure brand reputation, and avoid lost sales, the customer needed a single, accountable partner that could take control from end to end.

The Maersk Solution: Fresh Corridors with Air Freight Precision

Maersk Air Freight designed a temperature-controlled, point-to-point salmon logistics solution leveraging its own-operated flight network, integrated cold chain, and rapid customs processing.

Here's how we delivered:

• Dedicated Fresh Corridors: Beyond our Norway-China air routes for salmon, we offer a broader network to meet all your perishable shipping needs. As of May 15, we have expanded China-US air corridor to include Latin America, providing seafood exporters /importers with even faster access to key markets. No matter your perishable cargo—salmon, seafood, or other temperature-sensitive goods—we have the global air solutions to ensure freshness and speed.
• Temperature-Controlled Aircraft: Specialized cargo holds maintain precise temperatures throughout the journey, mitigating the risk of thermal fluctuations that could compromise product quality and ensure optimal freshness.
• Maersk-Controlled Flight Operations: Priority handling at strategic airports ensured seamless transfers and minimized ground time, reducing exposure to temperature variations and potential delays that could affect product integrity.
• Rapid Customs Clearance: With the strong network with local authority, salmon shipments cleared customs in as little as two hours, compared to the industry average of 6–12 hours.
• End-to-End Cold Chain Management: Continuous monitoring from pickup to final delivery ensured unbroken temperature control throughout the supply chain, guaranteeing product quality at every stage.

With this level of capability behind them, the customer now views Maersk not just as a carrier but as a strategic partner safeguarding their brand reputation and growth through reliable, end-to-end cold-chain logistics.

Take the Next Step with Maersk

When your business depends on delivering time-sensitive, temperature-controlled products to global markets, Maersk Air Freight provides the specialized expertise and dedicated infrastructure you need to succeed.

Find out more about our Air Freight services here.