Containers Overboard By Vero Marine

Containers overboard

Do shipping containers sink?


Here are a series of three photos from our archives, showing containers falling from a containership in a storm: 

The question of whether shipping containers sink or float is often debated in maritime circles. Another question is often posed - is this happening more or less frequently today? WHAT are the chances of a ship hitting a container lost on the high seas? Despite widespread fears about the danger to both small and large vessels from lost boxes, the answer appears to be: negligible. The number of containers lost overboard is said to be a tiny percentage of those transported, and of those that do go adrift, most inevitably sink within a short time. So say experts at the Through Transport Club, who insure 15 of the top 20 container lines for their container losses, in addition to many other carriers. At any given time, between 5 million and 6 million boxes are in transit. The TT Club calculates that the total number lost over the side is probably less than 2,000 per year. This means that less than 0.005% of the containers shipped each year end afloat in the ocean. Most dry cargo containers are steel boxes weighing between two tonnes and four tonnes, and are constructed to be weather-proof, rather than watertight. If empty they sink as a result of water ingress. If full, they may float for a while: air trapped in the cargo may hold a box on the surface until the cargo becomes waterlogged. Sink or Swim? This question was posed some time ago in another TT Club claims publication, and various correspondents replied with their theories.  The deadweight of conventional ships used to be calculated as the number of tons (of 2240lb) a vessel can transport of cargo, stores and bunker fuel. It is the difference between the number of tons of water a vessel displaces ‘light’ and the number of tons of water a vessel displaces when submerged to her waterline. A similar calculation can be done for a shipping container. One correspondent provided an answer as follows. By multiplying the container length by its breadth and depth, and dividing by 80, the deadweight of the box would be established. Thus a 20’ box would have to exceed 16 tons before it sank, and a 40’ box would have to exceed 32 tons. If containers are watertight (which in our experience is rarely true!) then most 40’ containers would float.

In metric terms, a 20’ box has a volume of just over 38 cubic metres, and a 40’ box a volume of 77 cubic metres. The density of seawater is 1.025 which increases the volumes (or displacement values) to just over 39 and 79 cubic metres respectively. The forces required to push the box under the water, or to sink it, must therefore exceed the volume of water to be displaced. A 20’ box is allowed a maximum gross weight of 24,000 kg and a 40’ box a maximum of 30,480 kilos. It therefore seems that if either size of container is watertight and not overloaded (another brave assumption!) then it will float. Containers are rarely watertight. Most have small openings and distortions. However, if 11 kg of seawater per hour entered a 20’ container, it would take some 57 days it to sink; and some 183 days for a 40’ container! These times may be considerably shortened by the in-water deterioration of seals, but this does indicate that floating containers can remain a hazard to shipping for some time. Our information is that most containers do in fact sink. This may be due to the effects of poor maintenance, the fact that a container is a fragile object not intended to fend off a boarding sea, the initial distortions as the container breaks free, the subsequent impact with the ocean and the battering of loose cargo. Nevertheless, on this last point, one of NZ’s largest imports by volume is empty containers to bear away our primary exports. In rough weather, boxes may be smashed up by the waves. With up to 20 tonnes of cargo moving inside, the containers soon tend to lose their structural integrity. Refrigerated boxes and tank containers create the greatest threat, because of their inherent buoyancy, but because of their high value, from $25,000 to $70,000 each it makes it worthwhile for companies to build in tracking devices. Such containers may in any case be easier to spot with the naked eye or by radar. The Through Transport Club suspects that the humble container is being unfairly blamed for many accidents. There are many hazards floating around in the oceans, from fallen trees to other material carried to the sea by rivers, and even sleeping whales, as mariners have testified for generations. The TT Club's Claims Department is sceptical of allegations that relatively minor damage can be caused by floating containers. Any collision with a container that was lying dead in the water was likely to do serious damage to a lightly built vessel. The potential to improve lashing and securing systems was limited. They believe that there has been constant improvement for 30 years, and there is only so much further the technology can advance. The Club is working with tracking specialist Tri-Mex International on the feasibility of monitoring systems, but at this stage it is seen as uneconomic and too big a task to tag 8m containers. Changes in ship design may help, but the latest vessels are being built with conventional stowage.

Is it happening more frequently?


Early container ships were built with their deckhouse at the forward end of the ship, with containers often in stacks two or three high. The early concept was to protect the containers from boarding seas and to aid navigational control. Whilst both these aspects remain current, as time passed, competition became keener, ships became faster, bigger and more costly. Due to arrangement and cost considerations, a design with a forward deckhouse was replaced with one utilising a substantial breakwater or just omitted. During the 1970s cargo container vessels were built to accommodate stacks six high, which is close to the level of weight compression of the lower units. Current designs are seeing vessels with up to three-quarters of their containers on deck.


The effects of such high deck loadings are numerous. Ship stability is compromised in difficult sea conditions. Bridge visibility is lessened, increasing the likelihood of collisions. Ships are difficult to manoeuvre at low speeds, again heightening collision risks. Container stacks are exposed to storm weather and seas. Lashing arrangements have reduced effectiveness. Low freeboards allow deck edge immersion at low levels of vessel heel.


Unfortunately, when a container or containers are lost overboard, there is rarely a news release and the fact is seldom publicised by the shipping company. The loss is only revealed to those in a need to know situation i.e. the shipowner, the exporter and importer, and the insurer.


The position in NZ


The Marine Committee of the NZ Insurance Council (http://www.icnz.org.nz) has been researching issues surrounding the dangers of lost shipping containers in New Zealand waters, particularly to smaller craft and modern fast passenger ferries. It is known that a significant number of lost containers in New Zealand waters are not reported. Some containers remain afloat, often below the surface, long enough to be a real hazard to shipping.


The Committee has raised this issue in 2000 with the International Marine Organisation (IMO) and with New Zealand’s Ministry of Transport, and is calling for some form of mandatory reporting.


Vero Marine acknowledges these sources:
“Door to Door” magazine of the Through Transport Club
“The Adjuster” magazine
Address of Capt. James J MacNamara, National cargo Bureau, to IUMI 2000
Lloyd's List, 25th May 2001.

This piece by Vero the insurance company I had read though very early in my project when me and some other class mates and a debate weather the containers would sink or float and weather my idea was workable and useable. After reading this I came across a lot of facts which appeared to help me thought the hole project of building my platform. I fell that his piece of writing by the company was a lot of help to my project. 

This piece was published on the Vero Marine Insurance website but has been put together by a writer who has gotten his research from a number of site an resources which have been mentioned on the bottom of the page. 

(Vero marine - Containers overboard. Veromarine.co.nz) 

Paper Marquette

Experimenting Pays off in the end

This stage of my product design I felt was the most helpful as this is were my idea generation started. The idea of having tentacles and the shadows and lighting effect that could be produced front the piece once light. This piece is one of my favorite as I have photographed it in a way it becomes abstract and gives me ideas. I like the way there is a shadow behind the piece. When I experimented this idea was by far the best in terms of the way it is all broken and messed up. This allows the piece to create different lighting effects which I was aiming for.

  

Jelly Fish Inspiration and Research

Jelly Fish Light

Product Design

This is my interoperation of a natural form lighting brief of a jelly fish. 

My jelly fish above is constructed with clear plastic which was asked for by the brief and also I have used fish hooks to constructed the two pieces together. This allows the design to be bought together in a way which makes the materials meaningful. I was either going to use these or a fishing rope. Now after completing my project I have a lot more ideas which I would like to pursue with this. Like making all the tentacles warped and stretched so that they look  like they are in water. I would have also liked to but some stronger light in these and make the tentacles light up more then they have.

When I was producing this I was looking at some work by other people.

Markus Johansson 

His work is similar to the work done by me in terms of his theme. When I talked about warping the design he was my inspiration for this as I wanted to make the legs twist more and appear to be out of place.

Octopus Inspired

(interesting-cirrata-lamp-by-markus-johansson, Nicedecors.com. Markus Johansson)

Once I had seen this design I instantly though it was a artist which I would like to contined looking at. Although this piece above is a table or floor lamp my design was hopping to head in this direction. The way that the legs are all touching the ground are something that really works for his piece as it seems to ground the work and doesn't appear to be floating. The piece of mine is not quite grounded as I wanted it to be floating to the eye.

Towry Russel 

This artist is another one who works of the same idea of the jelly fishes freeness. The work by this artist is quite amazing as the way certain pieces are designed. The idea behind his work is it takes on the mythological character Medusae. The work bellow relates to my design for a lot of reasons which can be seen. 

Medusae 

(medusae-beautiful-pendant-lamps-inspired-by-jellyfish. Nicedecor.com. Towry Russell)

As you can see there are a lot of simulates to the jelly fish especially in the center image. The one I find the best is the last image as to me it is more of a design you could see in houses. the over all balance and esthetics is a lot stronger then the other two. What I really should have considered in my own design is the layering of tentacles like you can see in the centre image as this would have given my design more detail about it.  What I am liking about these is that the work is in a white plastic which I think might have been another fact that could have worked with my own project. 

Led Jelly Fish Lamps 

Artist Unknown

(floating-led-jellyfish. Cubeme.com)

This piece by a unknown artist was a piece that I came across late into my project of making my light. When I started my own project of adapting a light to a natural form I though about the way that jelly fish relate to the ocean and seem to be drifting within the water. I liked this idea and wanted to make a interesting lighting feature out of it. The Piece above is a nice idea of a jelly fish light which is using the colors of the fish themselves. The down side to theses are that they look very plastic would look nice with the tentacles floating and swaying. 

Video Assessment

(Please Find the link to my Video Assessment to the top of the page)


The video I presented for the influences to my project I thought I did quite well as it seemed to communicate the idea of my influences on certain parts of the building. I found the way I photographed the building I communicated the idea quite well. I feel that because I did my own photography I could get what I wanted to and focus on areas I find important. I was lucky with the weather conditions as it really worked in my favor as the images came out bright and crisp.

I feel that while subtitles are a clear way to understand the information that I was trying to get across I choose to go with reading text I had written and giving a giving a voice over. This enabled me to talk to my slide without people having to read the words an allows them to watch the slides which I found to be more interesting.

However a down fall of it was that I ran out of time to interview the lead architect on the Iron bank building myself. I would have found if I had interviewed him I would have gotten a better representation of information then I did with the information given by the women who did the interview. If I had interviewed the architect I would have moved around the site to get him to talk about certain aspects of the building as such the way that each area is off set from another due to this being my main focal point.

Artist Model

Research Images

I didn't really have any artist model in such but had a bank of images that I referred to and built from.

Floating shipping containers was my original idea in terms of if they had fallen off a boat. After I had been making my model the Rena happened and I found out what the actually happens to containers after they had fallen. The idea of fallen shipping containers came to me while I was going though my photos on my laptop and I had taken photos of the containers at the Viaduc.

The idea of the pallet came from me brain storming about shipping containers and the way they use them. Pallets turned out to be a major part of my design and can clearly relate to the idea of shipping. The wooden pallet is yet another item which is a universal size which is world wide, Same with the shipping containers. 

(Images retrieved from google by google search "Pallet Architect" from google.co.nz)
(Rena Images are from "New Zealand Herald")

Orexart

The Oedipus Rex Gallery (Orexart) has been one of my favorite galleries that I have visited though out the year, The White walls of Orex gallery often gets filled with bright abstract paintings which really makes a statement upon this gallery. One of my favorite shows that I have seen at this gallery would have been one of the shows that I visited recently.

Christina Popovici

Gallery Site: Orex Gallery Site

Floating Cemetery

Architect Research

Floating Cemetery is a unquie idea by architect Tin Shun of Hong Kong has developed this idea which saves space in a busy city.

This floating structure looks to be amazing with the scale and the design of the platform. Love the idea and would feel like a nice space to spend our after life.

Tin Shuns project of the floating cemetery is a lot like the floating escape that I have been working on. There are many elements which boost similarities to each others work. The work by Tin Shun is away from the shore line and has no attachment which allows people to gain access from the shore by foot. The only way to this is by boat or other flotation device. This idea is very similar to mine with the same idea. Although Tin Shun space is very large in space the idea of a area were people can spend time with the past is also another element which can be shared with the escape. The area on the platform is very large and boost lots of space for the human an also can cater for a lot more people then mine space.

More info at : http://designfolio.co.nz/_blog/Design_Folio_NZ/post/Want_to_be_Buried_at_Sea/

Written By Claire Sullivan - Tuesday, June 08, 2010, Designfolio.com