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10,000 Shipping Containers Lost At Sea Each Year

kkleiner writes "Right now, as you read this, there are five or six million shipping containers on enormous cargo ships sailing across the world's oceans. And about every hour, on average, one is falling overboard never to be seen again. It's estimated that 10,000 of these large containers are lost at sea each year. This month the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) sent a robotic sub to investigate a shipping container that was lost in the Monterrey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 2004. What's happened to the sunken shipment in the past seven years? It's become a warren for a variety of aquatic life on the ocean floor, providing a new habitat for species that might otherwise not be attracted to the area."

4 of 163 comments (clear)

  1. Sharks with fricken iphones by Leuf · · Score: 3, Funny

    You do not want to be the guy that has to explain to the shark that water damage isn't covered.

  2. Stop the whining. by MaroonMotor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Container sacrifice is the only thing prolonging Cthulhu's sleep.

  3. Re:One more thing by garyebickford · · Score: 5, Funny

    And that is why these guys recommend shipping insurance (there are many others in their business, I'm sure). They also maintain the Gallery of Transport Loss, with photos of the disasters that have occurred to various ships and freight airplanes, which for some reason I find terrifically amusing.

    It's also an example of terrible web design (on every page you have to scroll down a long way to get to the actual content). Nevertheless it's worth navigating in any case for a couple of hours of pictures of ships on the beach, ships sinking, ships struck by hurricanes, ships losing containers, etc.

    A couple of examples:

    towboat pulled under a bridge, rolled upside down, and comes up on the other side

    M/V APL China struck by hurricane, limps into port with containers hanging over the side.

    Last but not least, a day at the beach turns into four months. Truly amazing pictures of people walking up the beach next to a huge container carrier

    --
    It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
  4. Re:"Lost" by Threni · · Score: 4, Funny

    And another 47 series of Lost.