I work with Ocean Air, a marine refrigeration and air-conditioning contractor in Mamaroneck.

As marine refrigeration was still in its infancy, this particular venture seems to have been something of a hit-and-miss affair, with some fruit shipments arriving in Britain in good condition and others not.

For example, the advent of marine refrigeration allowed such firms as the American firm, United Fruit, in bananas from Central America, and the British meat firm, Union International, in Argentina, to build powerful integrated systems.

"The discovery that the tunnels needed air-conditioning was made purely by the contractors checking some of the aerodynamics of the tunnel," said Robert Vance, director of the industrial and marine refrigeration group for the British subsidiary of the York International Corporation.