Box Container
Containers are used to transport smaller packaging, for instance drums. But also commercial products like televisions and cars. The benefit of container transport is that transporting products in containers is easier and more efficient than transporting the products by themselves.
Working with containers is easy and efficient, because the size of containers is standardized. This makes for easy
working because shipping companies and harbours can all use the same cranes to move the containers, and these can easily be transported by road or rail. The use of containers makes it possible to stack much more cargo than if it were loose. Again, a stack of drums is much less stable than a stack of containers containing drums.
Current container sizes are 5, 10, 20 or 40 feet, though these are more usually placed in the standard 20 and 40 foot containers.
Again, every container has to have plated information as set out below.
| - Owner Code | - Country code |
| - Container Serial Number | - The code for the type and |
| - Self Check number | Size of the container |
The downside is that it is not always possible to know the contents of a container. For example it may contain personal belongings such as clothing and other products and substances that are not a hazard to the environment or those of greater risk such as paint thinner. Furthermore container ships can carry up to 14 thousand containers. Again, if one of the containers is leaking on board a ship, it can be very difficult to find it and identify the leaking product and even if it is located, it can still very difficult to reach it in the stacks of containers on board.
Yet again, containers lost from the ship are difficult to identify, even when the loading papers are to hand.
Furthermore, containers are not watertight and once lost from the ship, will fill up with water. For certain products this can be dangerous if they are not packed well. Certain substances give explosive reactions with water; while others may dissolve to pollute the water though to a limited extent depending on quantity and subsequent dilution. However, great care should be taken as to how such products are transported particularly if the package is to be transported in a container.
The maximum cargo transported in a container is assumed to be:
| 40 foot | |
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| 20 foot (1 TEU) | |
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