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From: Ken James (no email)
Date: Fri Jun 02 2006 - 22:00:17 EDT
I'm not saying it can't happen or has never happened, only that the threat
is not nearly as large as some suggest.
I am sure that is true. However that does not negate the fact that it is in
fact a very real and signifigent risk.
Personally, I've never met anyone
who has had a collision with a container, nor have I seen an email from such
a person.
I don't know about emails, but there have been many, many reports in sources
over the web and in published documents as well as studies, Gov't and
othewise, that reveal the risk to be a valid concern.
I have, however, met many sailors who delight in fabricating
stories of the dangers "out thar".
Sure. And many who deny actual risks as well.
The physics of containers will result in nearly every one sinking shortly
after they're lost overboard.
In fact it is true that most remain afoat at least for some time. Also a
signifigent percentage float for much longer times. A few may float for
weeks or months. If there are thousands a year being lost and only 5% float
that is still a lot of hazards that are very hard to spot.
a Containers are steel. They are not air- or
watertight.
Some are in fact. But true most are not.
Typically, containers are filled to capacity, because the
shippers charge just as much to ship an empty container as a full one. So,
for a container to remain "semi-submerged" - i.e., partially afloat - it
must be filled with cargo that will displace the weight of the container
plus any water it ships. That can happen; it just won't happen often.
What makes you think that is so? If you research the matter you will see
that in fact all sorts of cargo has been found in floating containers,
shoes, electronics, books, toys, wood pulp, too much stuff to mention.
There has even been the suggestion to put a dissovable plug in them to make
them sink but it was pointed out it would not work, due to the buyancey of
the cargo.
There are as many as 10,000 containers lost over the side of ships every
year;
http://www.cargolaw.com/2004nightmare_unstacked.html
At least some of them float and are a hazard;
http://www.oceannavigator.com/article.php?a=1008
There is plenty of evidence that collision with them is a real risk and does
happen on a regular basis, some of these are well reported collisions by
well known sailors fairly recently;
http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/2001/May2001/May21/May21.html
http://www.ganssle.com/jack/aarwen.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vend%C3%A9e_Globe
http://www.cruisingconnections.co.za/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=71&whichpage=2
http://no-barriers.com/node/108
http://www.sailingsource.com/scuttlebutteurope/951.php
There are three risks that are commonly underestimated in my opinion that
any cruising boat that sails long enough may well have happen, lightning,
hitiing a whale, and hitting a container. Here is info about vessels hitting
whales, not that uncommon;
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/shipstrike/lwssdata.pdf
The thing about shipping containers that makes them dangerous is that they
are very hard to detect.-Ken
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