What Happens To Lost Containers?

✩ABOUT THIS VIDEO✩
In this video, we look at what happens when containers fall off a ship? Do they sink? Or do they float and forever plague the oceans as "growlers", waiting for unsuspecting yachts?

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All content on this channel is provided for entertainment purposes only. Although every effort has been made to ensure the content is accurate and up to date, it remains the responsibility of the viewer to determine its accuracy and validity. The content should never be used to substitute professional advice or education.

[jjsmallpiece]

Royal Navy submarines have also been known to hit containers that have submerged but are buoyant at a depth below the surface. An ex navy friend said who had served on subs

[benji]

So my dad was a sailor on a soviet merchant ship. One day they got a call that a Japanese ship lost some containers in a storm in some region nearby and to "avoid the hazardous area". Somehow, the crew 'misunderstood' this message to be "free foreign products in the area" and quickly dredged them up to find some undergarments and record players, soaked about halfway up but with the top half completely dry. So yes, they float and, as it turns out, are totally free for the taking.

[benedictroberts]

The idea of a small rubber ducky floating alone across the sea is both wholesome and sad.

[PakaBubi]

15 years ago I decided to move back from Australia and packed my entire life into a 20' container. Guess, what... the container was lost at sea 🤪

[rilmar]

I remember reading about the bath toys. They were nicknamed "Friendly Floaties" by the scientists and enthusiasts

[jaquigreenlees]

Slow down the lost containers from happening: Ports weigh each container as it comes in and check the bill of lading for it's stated weight by shipper, variation gets investigated if it's heavier by more than 500 kilograms and shipper gets fined the cost of the investigation. New bill of lading issued with accurate weights. Since the biggest cause of lost containers is improper loading due to inaccurate weights this will slow the losses.

A float running up a tube with a spring loaded radar reflector mounted to the side of the container means it hits the water and the reflector is deployed by water coming into the bottom of the tube. As the container sinks lower the float lifts the reflector higher.

[stevenneiman]

Another thing: good stowage isn't just good for preventing hazardous floaters, it also means that lucrative cargo isn't being lost, and it probably makes the crew safer as well.

[dh]

The next question that comes up is: Is there an "industry" that specializes in reclaiming containers lost at sea?

[Blakkrazor]

I always recall the story of a woman who came to the US from China inside of a shipping container. Makes me wonder how many poor souls are lost in such travels being smuggled like cargo. R.I.P.

[georgeofhamilton]

Imagine being a twilight-zone marine animal and seeing these huge metal structures like ships or cargo containers just falling past you out of nowhere.

[slyfoxx]

Send the navy after the floaters. It would be good exercise in hunting down tiny dangerous things and who wouldn't want to loose a torpedo on a container of rubber ducks!? Sometimes my brilliance exceeds that of Jeremy Clarkson himself.

[ArcanisUrriah]

About 25 years ago, an offshore minicontainer (8'x6'x8') containing food supplies destined for a North Sea oil platform (NAA for those interested :) ) got swept off the back of the supply vessel, and floated around for about 7 months over winter, before being spotted, retrieved, and returned to its originator (who had already claimed loss from insurers). Needless to say, all the frozen food had to be thrown

[LPRD]

I feel like your talking pace is back at what it used to be. I really love it when you speak at this pace!

[HugeRademaker]

Parametric rolling is not stopped because of OoW whom are afraid of their captain, whom is afraid of losing his job when arriving late at the next port.
I encountered this on an Abis Shipping D-class ship where the captain did not wanted to wait for the storm to cease. We ended up with enormous damage to the cargo and the ship plus we had to enter an emergency port for re-stowing the cargo.
A very expensive lesson learned.

[sankimalu]

Is that shipping company ‘Ever’ not having issues on the high seas?

[davidchilds]

In 1984 a helicopter dropped a 40 foot container into Port Stanley harbour. It floated very high in the water and was easily towed to shore. Flotation was doubtless aided by the fact that the container was filled with empty beer kegs being sent back to Courage's brewery!

[mikeguitar]

Good ideas here except for one problem. They’re losing about 1 container in 100, 000 shipped. That means if you add $1 to the cost of ALL the containers, the cost per lost container is already $100, 000 before any salvage operations.

[johnl]

The south east coast of Florida is covered in these containers. It is very expensive to take them away, but at times, they have valuable contents that the hotels and condo buildings do use.

[sailwesterly]

A well rounded look at this tricky old problem.

[paulelliott]

I’ve worked with shipping containers. All shipping containers have air holes. The hole prevent the container from imploding. Some containers carry hazardous chemicals that alter the air in the container, which intern causes the imploding. Hence the need for air holes.