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Containers

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15 views26 pages

Containers

Uploaded by

Joshua Jacob
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Containers

History:
A USA businessman, Mr Maclcom McClean,
looked for a way to reduce costs and speed-up
the movement of cargo along the East Coast of
the USA. He had the idea of putting everything
in big boxes; which cut down on the individual
handling of each item (also reduced pilferage –
stevedore theft)..
Containers
History:
Initially, all the shippers supplied their own
boxes, so Mr Hotpoint would make a box to
take 50 washers, Mr Dyson’s box would fit
200 vacuum cleaners. All different shapes &
sizes, which was difficult to stow on the ships
& wasted space. The idea then went to the
standard size box which we have today.
Containers
History:
Being an US invention it was decided that a
good size would be:
20feet long x 8feet wide x 8feet6 high
with a maximum gross weight of 25mt
They eventually accepted bigger boxes for
bigger volume cargoes:
the 40ft long box with a max weight of 35mt
Containers
Why these dimensions?
 To fit on trucks & railways
 To fit under road bridges & tunnels
 To stay within maximum road & rail
weights.

Notice anything?
No input from the ships!
Containers
The Ships then had to adapt to a different way
of carrying cargo, move away from the labour
intensive old fashioned method where small
pieces of cargo was hand-stowed, or maybe
with a forklift, into position, to the new idea of
a bigger box being dropped (Sorry! we don’t
do this with cargo, we lower it gently!) into
its stowage position by a crane.
Containers
Gone then was the conventional “General
Cargo” design, to be replaced by a construction
designed purely for containers:
Containers
So now shipbuilders had to adjusted their
designs to holds being multiples of 8feet wide
& multiples of 20feet long, with extra
strengthening under the corners of the boxes to
support the weight of the box.
Containers
A “standard” 20footer.

Identification number
Double door at one end,
Secure-able & weathertight

Feet at each corner –the only


Points that touch the floor so
takes all the weight.
Option to
move Design at all eight corners
by forklift to allow lifting and securing
Containers
This is the construction at all eight corners:
So what cargoes can be carried by container?

Just about any type, Carrying anything:


Anything?
What about frozen cargoes?
An insulated container would keep the cargo
frozen, but originally these boxes were fitted with
diesel generators, which powered the box’s own
refrigeration plant. This has developed into
electrically run machines, the boxes still having
their own refrigeration plant, but run on electricity,
being plugged into the ship’s supply. Care should be
taken to ensure temperatures are checked on
loading & daily afterwards. To maintain volume,
the box is sometimes extended by 5ft.
Anything?
What about oversize cargoes?
These cargoes are loaded on “flats” & are usually
loaded as top-stow, but middle picture shows can
be overstowed.
Containers
Now let’s introduce Mr Twistlock, he invented
a system that could secure containers together,
and to the ship, truck or rail-wagon:
The idea being that an oblong cone fit through
the elongated hole & was then twisted through
90° so it couldn’t be extracted.

Open Locked
Containers
These have now been developed further to
include automatic locking & release systems,
doing away with the manual securing.
Containers
So, would these “twistlocks” be sufficient to
secure a hold cargo?
Probably not even required, as the holds are
multiples of 8feet wide, so can’t move!
Plus the shipbuilders usually
introduce “cell guides” as
positioning aids.
Holding in place by double
ended cones would be sufficient.
Containers

So, would these “twistlocks” be sufficient to


secure a deck cargo?

Probably, but . . .
always better to be safe!
Containers
Insurers have suggested that extra lashings are put
on deck cargoes:
These are steel bars of
the correct length that are
fitted as shown.
The amount of lashing
will vary from ship to ship, the
requirements would be in the
“Cargo Securing Manual”
Containers
So how big can these container ships be?
Mr McClean thought his barge of 200 was big,
now we are looking at ships carrying 20,000+
TEUs.

TEU? It varies, some say Totally Enclosed Unit,


others Twentyfoot Equivalent Unit, so we also
get the FEU, Fortyfoot Equivalent Unit.
Containers
If we have 20000teus on a ship won’t our cargo plan look a
bit complicated? Yes & to make it simpler, every position
on a ship can be identified by a 6 figure code:
The 1st two referring to the position longitudinally, the 2 nd
two referring to the thwartship position, & the final two
referring to the height.
So the cargo plan can be reduced to a computer generated
list.
Have a look at:
http://www.containerhandbuch.de/chb_e/stra/index.html?/c
hb_e/stra/stra_01_03_03.html
Containers

1st two numbers: Bay number counting from forward, numbered with
odd numbers for 20’teus, so going 01, 03, 05, 07 &etc.
2nd two numbers: Row number counting from the centreline, odd to
starboard, even to port.
3rd two numbers: Tier number counting from the tank top with even
numbers, so the bottom one is 02, & above the main deck starting at
80, so 82 would be on the hatchcover.
Containers
Why are bays in odd numbers? Over two 20’s you can put a 40’, so a 40’ over bay
01 & 03 would be described as “02”.
Why do heights go up in twos? Half height teus are moderately popular for heavy
cargoes (eg steel), so two half-heights on the tank top would be 01 & 02, with the
next full height one being 04.
Why do deck cargoes start at 80? Because the Yanks chose a big two-figure number.
So if my TEU is in position 011792 I should be worried? Yes, it is on the front row,
right out on the starboard side, six tiers above the hatchcovers.
So if my container was in position 130104? Relax, it is seven bays from forward,
next to the centreline on the starboard side, below deck, 2 nd from the tanktop.
& if my FEU was in 070182? Somebody has screwed-up, the 1st two numbers for a
40’er should be even.
So how high can these numbers go? Totally dependant on the size of your ship, the
longer, wider & higher she is, the higher the numbers will go.
How do cranedrivers know where these positions are? They are usually painted on
the ship.
Containers
So how does the trade work? The bigger ships (6000+) will
carry the cargo to a single discharge port, then the cargo
will be distributed from there, often by smaller ships,
Feeders (1-1000). Similarly, cargo will be collected by the
feeders & taken to a single loadport for the ocean vessel to
collect. So your cargo might be carried on three (or more)
different ships.
Doesn’t that mean I will have 3 Bs/L? No, the operator will
give you a Through B/L that will cover the whole voyage.
Of course, sometimes things do
go wrong
Of course, sometimes things do
go wrong (2)
Containers
As they get bigger, so must the ports (ie longer &
deeper berths), the handling equipment (ie shore
cranes must reach the outboard side) and the
infrastructure (the ability for the cargo to be
stored and moved to its final destination).

So long as trade exists, ships will be needed; So


long as trade grows, bigger ships will be needed:
but will the expense of designing & constructing
bigger ships and ports be justified?
The big question.
Containers
A thought:
In the 60s & 70s, cargo was carried in 15000dwt
ships at around 12-15kts, loading & discharging
took around two weeks.
So, to move 1million tons 5000Nmiles in a month
would take 67 ships.
Now, an 18000 teu (basis 15mt/teu = 270,000mt)
ship loads in two days & does 20+kts. So, 4 of
these ships can move the same cargo in 13 days
Where did all the jobs for the crews go?

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