Floating containers - ever seen one?

RichardS said:
If it's not the weight of the air that's important, surely that means that when all the air leaks out the container will still float? :confused:

Richard
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When the air leaks out the effective weight of the container will increase so the 26 ton that was inside at the beginning will increase until the total weight of the contents( 26 tons) the water that has displaced the air and the tare weight of the container equals the volumetric weight of the water (sea) that is displaced, then the container will sink.
 
Minn said:
Think about it please. As I said earlier, the doors on a container are weathertight not watertight. How much air has to be displaced by water, which is entering via the door seals at say 2 metres head, before the container sinks?
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Thats easy

The volumetric weight ot the container (approx 39 tons) less then weight of the contents of the container and the tare weight of the container
 
Why not fit a couple of vents, flat dorado style, on the top of the boxes? As water gets in round the doors, air vents, box sinks. :encouragement:
 
In 40 years plus offsore in the North sea I never saw a single floating container at our location although we often had reports of ships losing them in storms. I did see on different occasions, 2 refridgerated lorry trailers floating and in danger of hitting our platform. Both times in bad weather. The standby boat did a brilliant job in both cases of getting them under tow and then arranging lift out onto supply boat once the weather improved. Of course they were lined with insulation material otherwise they would probably have sunk before we saw them.
 
Rogershaw said:
When the air leaks out the effective weight of the container will increase so the 26 ton that was inside at the beginning will increase until the total weight of the contents( 26 tons) the water that has displaced the air and the tare weight of the container equals the volumetric weight of the water (sea) that is displaced, then the container will sink.
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Exactly .... which is why I couldn't understand your comment that "Its not the air inside" which is critical as to whether a container floats or sinks. It is all about the air inside. :)

Richard
 
RichardS said:
Exactly .... which is why I couldn't understand your comment that "Its not the air inside" which is critical as to whether a container floats or sinks. It is all about the air inside. :)

Richard
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Agree. It's how submarines work! Hence fit weatherproof vents. :encouragement: cheap too.
 
Is this a realistic call?

According to Vero Marine a 20-foot container can float for up to 57 days while a 40-foot container will float more than three times as long. That’s plenty enough time to collide with something, especially since a fully-loaded container will generally float only 18 inches above water. Additionally, they don’t always show up on radar and can be especially hard to spot at night as Segal and other sailors have experienced.

Vero Marine are Insurance underwriters.

Pretty sure a weatherproof and inexpensive vent could be fitted to hasten departure from the surface and not allow water ingress to cargo.

It's always in the back of your mind during offshore passages. Which is ok as long as it doesn't end up in the front of your saloon.......
 
Never heard of them. I just run containerships. The length of time that a box might float will depend on what is inside it rather than whether is is a twenty or a forty.

We don’t set out to throw boxes over the side; the idea is to deliver them to the customer with the contents intact.
 
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