Although it is the only solution I can think of, other than actually spotting a mostly submerged container. You still have to ask, is the sonar effective enough to actually maneuver around an object in time?
Worthless is still not better than worthless. If it is not better than nothing, then it is a waste of
money. I question that it has any value for cruisers other than an impressive piece of eye candy to look at.
Perhaps the real solution is to make a more powerful unit capable of looking ahead a few hundred meters which uses artificial intelligence to discern the difference between a container,
marine mammals, kelp or soft garbage in the
water. Only then would it sound an audible
alarm if it "sees" something hard so you don't have to
monitor the screen all the time. The technology exists to do this. I have towed side scan sonars which are pretty much the same technology applied differently.
Why they don't put
cheap water activated acoustic pingers on containers, or better yet, why they don't put hydrostatic releases or
salt water activated fasteners that secure the roofs of containers is beyond me. I think its irresponsible of container
lease companies not build containers that don't sink in a few days by creating a method that releases the roof..allowing to contents to escape then allowing the container to sink. Its irresponsible especially when they already know they lose hundreds of containers each year and that there really are boats hitting them.
Like all things, it all comes down to cost and people not pressuring them. Maybe its time for boaters,
commercial fishermen, and the portion of the maritime industry that does not use containers to start pressuring them?
Wouldn't making it so containers could not float for very long in the first place be an even better solution than forward looking sonar?