Container shipping is among the most environmentally friendly ways to carry huge volumes of goods all over the world. Most of the corporate and business world’s manufactured products and goods are carried by container ship. And, when one takes into account this fact, one can also consider the relative positive impact upon the environment. It causes little harm to the environment compared to other modes of products and goods transport.

In other words, a container ship would carry a cargo in far more effective energy efficient way and emit much less harmful CO2 emissions when compared to any other mode of freight transport. It is estimated that a container ship on average emits almost around 40 times less harmful CO2 than that emitted by a large freight aircraft. It emits almost three times less than CO2 than a heavy truck for the same distance covered.

Container shipping is estimated to be more energy efficient (nearly two and a half times, according to one estimate) than rail route and seven times more so than road. This is the reason why the shipping container industry is recognised as the most preferable mode of transport.

The global container and shipping industry is taking rapid strides. Taking note of its growth and significance, a new, ambitious project has been initiated for BBC News that will track a standard shipping container all around the world.  The year-long project ‘Box’ will crisscross the world to tell the story of far-reaching international trade and globalisation in context of the role played by a shipping container in the same.

It is a unique project that plans to deliver informative content for TV, radio and online audiences. The idea is to tell the interesting stories related to the global economy.

The Editor of BBC business and economics centre, Jeremy Hillman, explains:

“We have painted and branded a special BBC container and bolted on a GPS transmitter so everybody can follow its progress all year round as it will crisscross the globe. It will hopefully reach the US, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. When it does so, BBC correspondents will be there to report on who is producing (what) goods and who is consuming them.”

It is technically a very challenging project and the solid, sturdy shipping container is playing a major role in its success.

Shipping containers - new as well as secondhand - provide us with an abundant and wide array of delivery options. Let us consider the features of shipping containers to carry cargo.

•    The shipping containers are not internally lined in most cases.
•    Fork-lift pockets are available to help move the container.
•    Floors are generally made up of either longitudinal hardwood planks or marine grade plywood sheets.

The containers that are available to clients are used for two broad tasks:

1.    Storage usage
2.    Shipping usage

Storage containers cannot be employed for shipping purposes. Shipping containers need to comply with a host of regulations. Importantly, they can be employed for storage purposes as well, if the need arises.

You can find out about new and secondhand containers to either rent or buy. Containers are supplied either in the original colour or they can be painted to your suggested specifications. The idea is customise them.
There are many customers who get the containers repainted so as to minimise the harmful or undesired environmental impact, if any. Selected carefully and with expert advice, containers help to fulfill your vast storage and shipping needs.

Structurally a container is based on a solid, rigid frame, hinging on four thick corner posts and supported by a strong floor. This works well for lifting jobs since cranes and port handling equipment make use of the corner castings at the top as well as at the bottom of these four corner posts.

The strong corner posts make it possible to stack containers up to nine boxes high even when they are filled. A typical 20 foot container weighs about 2.2 tonnes. It can be loaded with nearly 24 tonnes of cargo though the capacity may vary from one container to another. Apart from the standard container types, various unusual or unconventional containers are available to meet different storage needs such as, for example, an ‘open-top’ box.

The ‘open-top’ box type can be used for craning-in heavy machinery, which would be almost impossible to get into a standard type container. There are also ‘flat-beds’ that, even while conforming to ISO standard sizes, are employed for wide loads, which could not be carried otherwise.

So you need to aware of your precise storage needs before deciding to buy a container.

A system of constructing shipping container structures developed by George & Harding together with engineers Bupo Happold is set to be unveiled as one of the UK’s newest hotels.

The method of construction is said to be twenty five percent quicker than traditional methods and exemplifies the cost effectiveness of the project.

The containers used have been shipped over from China and are easily transported and stacked together. Further savings are made due to the fact that this method does not employ a steel frame.

Travelodge Verbus, who are overseeing the project, have also invested in a similar construction within Uxbridge – close to Heathrow Airport. Each container embodies two rooms which are fully fitted with the normal bedroom features and when placed, create a corridor which generates easily access to each and every room.

The containers are positioned carefully by a mobile crane, which staggering only takes a matter of minutes to complete. When the container has been placed in the required position, they are secured with steel bolts. At this point, the cladding can be developed and the structure completed.

So next time you are residing in a Travelodge hotel, make sure you have a look at the structure and determine if you are lucky enough to be staying in one of these novel and impressive structures!

It has been revealed by the Panama maritime authority that they expect that the country’s volume of shipping containers to experience a marked increase over the next twelve months. The authority forecast that this could be as much as ten percent of the current levels despite the global credt crunch which is affecting so many nations.

At the moment, the authority has stated that ports within Panama operate by handling just over five million, twenty foot shipping containers and this is to be increased to five and a half million by 2009.

The country has already seen marked growth in the shipping container industy over the last twelve months with the number of structures rising by over one and a half millin since 2007.

This has resulted in the main from an increase in demand for raw materials from the Chinese, coupled with the developing export market in finished goods.

The whole of the Latin America region is experiencing a massive growth within the industry and as a result vast amounts of money are being invested into the infrastructure to support this. Over $1.6m has already been spent on developing shipping facilities within Panama and this sends clear signals that the industry within the region is here to stay.

Many shipping containers are made from steel or aluminium, and certainly in the early days of mass shipping these were the favoured materials used. However as things have progressed, different techniques and materials have been developed to satisfy the massive demand for the structures.

Although there are several variations to how the structures are built, there is one common method which is commonly adhered to.

The majority of new shipping containers are now made from a type of steel called Corten which has the advantage of not being as liable to rust as traditional steel.

The traditional steel frame which has been fitted with eight corner castings to help support the weight, are filled with high strength steel panels which are commonly between one and a half to three millimetres thick.

Present at one of the ends is two regualr sized doors which are put in place using four locked bars which connect the bottom to the top of the frame.

It is very common that shipping containers embody a twenty seven millimetre thick wooden ply flooring, which is held in place by crossbearers which are roughly twelve inches apart. Under normal circumstances this would mean that the container can withstand weights of between twenty and thirty five tons – this is obviously dependant on the size involved.

American members of the Container Shipping Information Service will be celebrating National Maritime Day tomorrow and plan to increase the awareness of the important role played by the structures, by asking people to imagine daily life without the products which are transported to them by these. This is sure to press home how much we all rely of the shipping industry and in many ways represent the structures which our lives depend on.

National Maritime Day was declared in the US seventy five years ago and provided an opportunity for the country to recognize the importance of the industry.

It is a striking fact that trade conducted with other countries represents a quarter of the American GDP, and yet the industry is relatively unknown to the average person in the street. Many people assume that products just arrive on shelves within the supermarkets without actually realising the vast journey which they have made for our consumption.

When National Maritime Day was declared back in 1933, the aim was to increase the awareness of the international shipping industry. However, it could never have been predicted that the industry would grow so quickly in a relatively short period of time, to the extent that we can now enjoy almost any product in the world at fairly cheap prices.

If you mention the words “shipping containers” to the average person in the street, then the image which will be generated probably will not be one of prestige or elegance. This is because they are mainly used within the merchant shipping industry and are generally thought to only embody a narrow range of uses.

However, in downtown Ottawa this is exactly the image which the containers are conveying, and this has furthered the increasing trend in using these structures in an eclectic manner of ways.

The Arts Council has commissioned a fifty thousand dollar pavilion to be erected, constructed from shipping containers. At the moment the exact location of this feature is unclear, however it has been indicated that the preferred site is within the vibrant Daly Avenue area.

The pavilion will embody an art gallery, an artist’s studio as well as a performance area and is thought to only take around a month to complete. The pavilion is set to become a major focal point within the cultural community of Ottawa and provide tourists with a wide range of local events.

Architects have suggested that the building will be two storeys and will utilise four containers as a result. The exterior of the building is sure to be vibrant and creative as a graffiti artist has been commissioned to complete this work.

This further exemplifies the diversity which shipping containers generate in terms of their usage.

The merchant shipping industry is one of the largest and most lucrative in the world. We all rely on this industry to provide us with many of the products which play a pivotal role in our day to day lives.

As we have previously explored, products are stored within large shipping containers and transported around the world until they reach their destination. But what happens when the size of the cargo which requires to be shipped, is larger than the actual container? Obviously the size and weight constrictions within the shipping industry are much more lenient in comparison to transportation via land or air, yet there are some situations where even this are not enough.

In these circumstances, then the products can be transported via platforms, open top containers and flat racks which maximise the area available. Additionally, there are certain types of merchant ships termed “roll-on / roll-off” vessels which employ ramp systems and easily allow the containers to be placed onboard the ship and unloaded following the journey. These are most commonly utilised during fairly short distances of transportation, due to the fact that they are not able to hold the high volumes of containers which can be accommodated on crane based ships.

RORO’s place at the heart of the merchant shipping industry is assured, as their high speeds and adaptability render them indispensable.