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10,000 Shipping Containers Lost At Sea Each Year

Posted by timothy on from the shades-of-spook-country dept.

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."

6 of 163 comments (clear)

  1. "Lost" by Warbane · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I wonder how many of those 10,000 are really lost and how many are "lost."

    1. Re:"Lost" by e9th · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If I were the captain of this ship, I'd just dump the whole lot overboard and blame pirates.

    2. Re:"Lost" by Nikker · · Score: 4, Interesting

      As someone who has worked unloading containers from overseas I have to say cooking books is fun. I've unloaded quite a few containers that came from Asia (China) that were not on skids but seemed to have made it the entire trip with boxes up to the top on both side but somehow empty in the middle, interesting to say the least.

      --
      A loop, by its nature, continues. If that didn't make sense, start reading this sentence again.
    3. Re:"Lost" by EsbenMoseHansen · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It is probably for that reason that valuables are loaded under deck.

      --
      Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.
  2. They aren't lost one at a time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They overload container vessels on purpose, raising the center of gravity of the ship. If there is smooth sailing, you make millions extra a year. If you hit rough seas, you cut loose your entire top layer of containers, lower your COG, and still come out ahead in the grand scheme of it all.

    1 an hour...as an average. Reality would be more like every 100 hours 100 containers get cut loose.

    1. Re:They aren't lost one at a time... by TheTurtlesMoves · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I have been told you can get quite cheap rates for the top layers. Also some have shear pins even, so that once the roll is at a particular level, they pop off automatic like (so i am told).

      Also you should never, ever, ever ship something without insurance if you can't afford the loss.

      --
      The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!