Article
Article
Marine containers
Article By:
Vulovic, Rod Ship Management Services, Sealand Service Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina.
Last reviewed:2014
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.405700
Standardized rectangular boxes for the transport of marine cargo. Ocean transportation of cargo containers began in 1956, when the converted tanker Ideal-X of Pan-Atlantic Steamship Company left Newark, NJ, for Houston, TX, for the first time. On the vessel's deck were fifty-nine 35-ft (11-m) containers holding cargo that until then had been brought to piers by truck or train, placed on pallets or in cargo slings, and lifted into the ships' holds. This method of handling cargo, called break-bulk, was slow and labor-intensive. Containers, in contrast, can be loaded at a remote site, sealed, moved to the pier, and lifted into the ship without the need for intermediate handling. The principal benefits other than reduced pierside handling cost are less cargo damage and reduced pilferage. See also: Merchant ship
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