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Drifting Bath Toys Expected To Hit New England

Posted by timothy on from the good-for-ebay dept.

gsx1400 writes " Auntie Beeb is reporting on the 11 year, 5,000+ mile journey by a container load of rubber ducks, The article doesn't go into specifics, but a more detailed analysis of this and other long-distance flotsam is here. This has nasty connotations for the Cargo of the SS Mulheim, which ran aground earlier this year in Cornwall, and has been left to break up. It's estimated that up to 10,000 containers are washed off ships each year, and many of them do not sink, but drift around our oceans, causing pollution and shipping hazards."

14 of 61 comments (clear)

  1. 50,000 Nike shoes... by while(true) · · Score: 5, Informative

    A similar thing happened in 1999-2001. When, among other things, 50,000 Nike shoes drifted around the globe. This National Geographic's article discusses this incident and goes into more detail on the whole phenomena of drifting cargo.

    1. Re:50,000 Nike shoes... by mlush · · Score: 3, Funny
      When, among other things, 50,000 Nike shoes drifted around the globe.

      There was a radio program about beachcombers a while ago and they mentioned that all the right shoes came ashore at one spot and all the left shoes came ashore about 3 miles up the coast. Presumably the sea had sorted them based on their chirality

  2. Ah, but.... by ApharmdB · · Score: 4, Funny

    The most evil kind of evil is the cute kind of evil. Beware the little duckies.

    1. Re:Ah, but.... by shadowbearer · · Score: 3, Funny

      Rubber ducky, you're the one...

      Rubber ducky, so much fu

      Ahhhhhh!!!! No! No! Not tha *no carrier*

      --
      It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
  3. Rubber ducks seem nice and friendly... by BrokenHalo · · Score: 5, Informative
    But I happen to be one of (probably) a number of people who have had the misfortune of being in charge of a yacht on a trans-atlantic voyage which very nearly came seriously unstuck as a result of hitting a submerged container.

    In our case, the impact was a glancing blow, and although it did make a hole in the hull, we were able to patch it sufficiently to keep us afloat. If we had hit the thing squarely, though, the boat would definitely have sunk. Nasty.

    It's always bothered me, ever since, every time I look at those container ships in harbour; there is nothing more than gravity holding those damn containers down.

    1. Re:Rubber ducks seem nice and friendly... by Black+Rabbit · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You would probably find that the stacked blocks are joined together with large pins, just as they would be on a flatbed truck or rail car, just a few (!) boxes higher than what they would be on either. As stable as container ships are, things still have to be secured, as something as heavy as a container would shift so easily on even a gentle roll, potentially capsizing the ship.

      Now, I haven't seen this for myself, but i just cannot fathom the idea of so many large unsecured objects stacked up so high on any sort of vessel.

    2. Re:Rubber ducks seem nice and friendly... by gsx1400 · · Score: 5, Informative

      They are indeed pinned together, however the mounting points on the corners of the container are not strong and are easily damaged - probably a design flaw. I used to live opposite a container terminal, and every so often the mounting / lifting points fail and they drop the container - very noisy!

  4. Cruel trick on carnivores by GuyMannDude · · Score: 4, Funny

    I pity the poor ocean-dwelling carnivores which must have gotten a rude shock when they tried to dine on the group of slow-moving, brightly-colored objects thinking them the chance of a lifetime:

    Killer whale observes slowly drifting flock of ducks and can't believe his luck.

    "Sweet manna from heaven! Bonzai!"

    Rises up out of water below them with his huge mouth filled to capacity with the little toys. Seconds later...

    "Ptew!" ..spits them out... "What kind of cruel fuckin' joke is this? Goddamn humans!"

    GMD

    --
    watch this
  5. Just toys? by I+Like+Swords!!! · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now when hundreds of thousands bundles of unmarked cash in nice vacuum-packed plastic wrap start washing on shore... lemme know, k?

    --
    .unsigged
  6. Tonight's Catch of the Day by Demodian · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now appearing at your local Red Lobster... Rubber Duck Chowder... Fillet of Rubber Duck... Rubber Duck Scampi... all under $10

  7. It's happened by spineboy · · Score: 4, Interesting
    My Grandparents were in Florida about 15 years ago taking a walk on the beach, when they saw a crowd of people gathered. Some smuggling boat had broken up and it's contents had washed up on shore.

    The contents were 1) Plastic wrapped bags of money, and 2) Large plastic wrapped bales of pot.

    Unfortunately, the US Customs agents had also heard of it too and were preventing people from taking "souvenirs".

    --
    ..........FULL STOP.
  8. Re:Causing pollution? by SEWilco · · Score: 4, Funny
    If it falls off a ship and sinks, it's not pollution. It is litter on the ocean floor.

    If it falls off a ship and the entire sealed container floats, it is not pollution. It is an oddly shaped rock of low density with a high iron content on its surface. It is a hazard to navigation.

    If it breaks open, whether on the ocean floor, or due to impact, rust, or people breaking it open on a beach, then the "pollution" inside is released. If it's something that sinks then that becomes litter wherever it lands. If it is something that contaminates water then it becomes pollution, although that depends upon your definition of "contamination".

    If it's a container full of gold and people have broken it open on a beach -- it will be cleaned up pretty quickly.

  9. Re:Use GPS by SEWilco · · Score: 3, Informative
    Why don't they put GPS devices on the ducks so they can track their paths the whole way?

    • If they caught all the ducks so they could instrument them...they should, and would, keep them and remove that debris.
    • Scientists already have floating instruments (some drift under the surface) which are measuring currents. The identifiable debris is just an accidental addition to such information.
    • You keep changing the batteries on those things.
    • Don't forget a transmitter on each duck. More power needed. Or else you have to find them so you can find out where they went, and that is difficult if you don't know where they are.
  10. Ten thousand containers a year fall off ships?! by treat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ten thousand! With no responsibility for leaving behind a hazard. The cost of insurance seems to be cheaper than actually tying these things down.

    I wonder if money can be made by salvaging abandoned containers. Is this legal, or once it's rescued will you just have the contents taken from you?