Yusen Logistics said today it has launched a service that enables the double-stacking of products inside ocean containers through the installation of specialized decks.

The service has been rolled out across all of Yusen's global lanes, according to the Japanese freight forwarder and third-party logistics (3PL) provider. The specialized decks are designed to hang from the roof of the container and will divide the container's interior into upper and lower sections. The configuration will improve loading efficiency and space utilization, while reducing carbon emissions, Yusen said. The containers can be customized to meet individual customer requirements, it added.

Container dividers, which are commonplace in the trucking industry in the form of "load bars," are rare in the ocean-shipping segment. Charles W. Clowdis, Jr., managing director, global trade and transportation, for IHS Economics, a division of consultancy IHS, said he's never seen this type of configuration in the ocean business.