
10,000 Shipping Containers Lost At Sea Each Year… Here’s a Look At One - ph0rque
http://singularityhub.com/2011/04/05/10000-shipping-containers-lost-at-sea-each-year-heres-a-look-at-one-2/
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slapshot
Some of this aricle reads as if the author is a little naiive as to how
container ports work, and just assumes that the cargo industry hasn't thought
about these problems. There's plenty of room for innovation in cargo, but
don't pretend that the people involved have never thought of the problem of
losing containers at sea.

For example, I'm a little surprised by their recommendation that RFID chips be
added to containers to prevent mis-loading, as if the current practice is to
just randomly grab containers from stacks waiting by the shore.

There is already very sophisticated software (MACS3, or more specifically
SEALASH that calculates the force added by an extra container on top of the
stack) that does this stuff. There are also programs that read the numbers on
containers as they go on and off the vessels, so that they are loaded onto the
right trucks at the destination at the right time. If heavy containers end up
on top, it's because they need to be removed first or were delivered last---
that's a problem that can be solved, but it's a more complex problem than just
adding an RFID tag to everything.

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wmoser
I'm an engineer on a ship and while I don't work on a container ship, I took a
cargo class in college. There are other considerations too, the software
frequently accounts for things such as not putting chemicals that react poorly
with each other near each other or things that may be hard to put out if they
catch on fire near the top of stacks on the outside so they can be jettisoned
in an emergency. Also, while no one weighs each container, its part of the
process for people doing the shipping to say what is in it and how much it
weighs. They can probably fudge the weight a little but the software takes
into account the reported weight to make sure the ship has safe stability.
Containers stored inside are dryer and less likely to be lost overboard which
normally is a premium price for shipping too. Plus as you mentioned the
logistics problem of not putting all the new stuff on top of stuff that gets
taken off at an earlier port.

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pbhjpbhj
I wonder if it's possible to choose a route, time of year and container
position that would almost guarantee container loss? Some people would be
prepared to ship something a few times to have it lost at the bottom of the
ocean I'm sure.

Perhaps easier to just bribe the captain?

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wmoser
Well I suppose it depends on your intention? I mean scientists are dropping
buoys and AUVs and what not in the water all the time, you might be able to
convince one of them to toss it overboard for free. Also, there is a fairly
big sub-industry of weather routing which have very sophisticated
meteorological models and what not to help shipping companies route their
ships around crappy weather to avoid losses to cargo and damage to ships. Some
of the new ships though are so large that for the most part they're able to
weather even the larger storms a bit better so they're just going through
instead of around. Save some fuel, lose a container, probably an environmental
tie.

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ABrandt
My immediate thought was to assemble a crew of displaced fishermen to hunt and
retrieve these shipping containers to sell at a discount. I suppose water
damage would be too great for any products of value (electronics) though.

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roc
The artificial-reef situation should be fairly well understood and expected,
right? I mean, New York City was dumping old subway cars in the Atlantic for
this express purpose for years and years.

Though the idea that an eventual 'trail' of such items might link habitats to
dire consequence is an interesting thought.

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jdietrich
At any given time there are between five and six million containers in
transit. There are around 200 million container-journeys per year[1]. That we
lose just 10,000 a year is a minor miracle.

[1]Levinson (2006), The Box.

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ph0rque
So that comes out to a 50ppm loss, or a 99.995% containers _not_ lost... most
industries are _very_ happy with a 4.5-nines yield!

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secretasiandan
Would you mind if I gave you 5-nines yield as I walked my plutonium through
your vegetable garden?

~~~
brianpan
That is a pretty strange analogy, but I suppose if the world economy depended
on you trampling my imaginary vegetables, I suppose I would be pretty happy
with 5-nines.

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secretasiandan
Strange because the ocean is not a source of food?

Or because containers are not potential sources of concentrated toxins?

Who ever said I was trampling your vegetables? I'm merely making transit
through your garden.

The effects of my analogy are likely more extreme than what is actually
occurring. But like all analogies, its purpose is to emphasize a particular
characteristic.

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joelburget
The article asserts that heavy containers placed on top are more likely to be
flung into the sea. Is that really true? What if it was actually better to
load heavy containers on top? Or heavy containers around the edges with
lighter ones in the middle. More valuable cargo in the middle? What is the
optimal shipping container arrangement?

Do shippers have software that tells them where to place the containers or is
it more or less random?

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ck2
Fascinating.

I wonder what kind of toxic chemicals are filling the ocean floor fresh from
China, etc.

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dmd
The intern had also discovered a vague little article from the late Sixties
saying that Basco had put some "junk machinery" on the floor of the Harbor,
giving the usual feeble excuse.

"They claim that this junk was going to become a habitat for marine life. You
don't buy that?"

Bless her, she did know how to blow my lid. "Rebecca, goddamnit, since the
beginning of time, every corporation that has ever thrown any of its shit into
the ocean has claimed that it was going to become a habitat for marine life.
It’s the goddamn ocean, Rebecca. That's where all the marine life is. Of
course it's going to become a habitat for marine life."

\- Neal Stephenson, Zodiac

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LostInTheWoods2
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Does make one awe struck that so much
human output/wealth can end up at the bottom of the sea, and still be
considered just the cost of doing business.

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markstansbury
I had no idea. Very cool. I think that if I were a sea creature I might like a
new home. But this won't be so funny when shipping-container sized crabs
ascend onto L.A.

