The last European ship of the 2015 kiwifruit season is due to set sail for Belgium from the Port of Tauranga in the next 24 hours.

The Lady Racisce will be the final Zespri vessel to leave for the European markets this year when she heads out to open waters at 4.15am tomorrow morning.

The last Europe-bound Zespri kiwifruit of the season are loaded onto the Lady Racisce at the Port of Tauranga. Photos: Supplied.

Seatrade has carried more than 115,000 pallets in 21 sailings to the Northern European port of Zeebrugge in Belgium this season, accounting for a significant proportion of Zespri's crop to the continent.

To mark the end of the European season, shipping company Seatrade invited Zespri staff from supply chain and planning aboard the Lady Racisce on Tuesday night.

Zespri's shipping manager Mike Knowles says: 'As the season begins to wind up, it was great to celebrate our last charter vessel to Europe with Seatrade, who have been our valued shipping partners for the past 15 years, and relax after a record season.”

The European market has performed well this season, with Zespri expecting to reach sales of around 48 million trays – up from 39 million trays last year.

Seatrade manager Tim Evans says Lady Racisce will reach Zeebrugge, via the Panama Canal, in just 27 days.

'This is the fastest shipping service from New Zealand to Europe,” explains Tim, 'and for Zespri it has the advantage of no stops in other ports.”

The Lady Racisce is a specialised reefer (refrigerated) vessel with a crew experienced in handling perishable cargo such as kiwifruit.

The Lady Racisce will take just 27 days to carry kiwifruit from the Port of Tauranga to Northern Europe.

'There is a lot of monitoring of the kiwifruit during the voyage,” says Tim.

'Zespri demands very high standards to ensure its fruit arrives in first class condition, and this is among the reasons why Zespri is a world leader in kiwifruit.”

Tim says significant advances have been made in monitoring and handling kiwifruit in the 15-plus years Seatrade have been carrying fruit for Zespri, all aimed at ensuring the best possible quality fruit reaches the markets.

Lady Racisce will be returning to New Zealand this year – instead she is likely to carry fresh produce to Chile.

However, during the kiwifruit season, Seatrade has a programme of vessels scheduled around a liner service under which vessels carry kiwifruit directly up to Zeebrugge and return back to New Zealand via French Polynesia.