How do container ships secure their cargo such that the shipping containers at the top of those tall stacks do not fall off into the ocean?

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How do container ships secure their cargo such that the shipping containers at the top of those tall stacks do not fall off into the ocean?

In: Engineering

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The containers are connected together by single or double stacking cones or twist locks. The entire stack or container block is lashed using lashing wires or rods and turnbuckles.

If you want me to explain in ELI5 what a turnbuckle, a twist lock, a stack, a stacking cone, a rod or a lashing wire is, just let me know.

Anonymous 0 Comments

They don’t secure them and they do fall into the ocean. All the time [lol](https://i.imgur.com/n0y4w4Q.jpg)

Anonymous 0 Comments

ISO containers (aka conexes, shipping containers,) are modular, they have points where you can attach each container at each corner to the containers around the one you’re mounting. When you do this, the set of containers act as a single block and not singular containers.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Actually, they fall quite often.
Some naval compagnies uses to overload their ships to maximize profit over security. Apparently it’s economically viable enough that they keep doing it, but it means if the weather is bad, one cargo can lost a dozen of containers in the sea.
That’s why sometimes that one package you ordered from China never arrived to your doorbell. That’s also (partially) why our oceans are full of trash.

Anonymous 0 Comments

They are secured by lashings to the deck. Lashing are typically galvanized steel rods with a turnbuckle to tighten and lock them tight.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Containers have very strong posts at their corners and locking pins are used to connect those posts together, forming one tall rigid stack, much like legos.

Further, cross bars are used to tightly secure the bottom two or three containers to the deck, preventing them from shifting completely.