10,000 Shipping Containers Lost At Sea Each Year 163
kkleiner writes "Right now, as you read this, there are five or six million shipping containers on enormous cargo ships sailing across the world's oceans. And about every hour, on average, one is falling overboard never to be seen again. It's estimated that 10,000 of these large containers are lost at sea each year. This month the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) sent a robotic sub to investigate a shipping container that was lost in the Monterrey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 2004. What's happened to the sunken shipment in the past seven years? It's become a warren for a variety of aquatic life on the ocean floor, providing a new habitat for species that might otherwise not be attracted to the area."
"Lost" (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:"Lost" (Score:3, Interesting)
They aren't lost one at a time... (Score:2, Interesting)
They overload container vessels on purpose, raising the center of gravity of the ship. If there is smooth sailing, you make millions extra a year. If you hit rough seas, you cut loose your entire top layer of containers, lower your COG, and still come out ahead in the grand scheme of it all.
1 an hour...as an average. Reality would be more like every 100 hours 100 containers get cut loose.
Re:"Lost" (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:They aren't lost one at a time... (Score:5, Interesting)
Also you should never, ever, ever ship something without insurance if you can't afford the loss.
Re:"Lost" (Score:4, Interesting)
It is probably for that reason that valuables are loaded under deck.