Shipping Containers in SF Bay & at Sea

[crabcake]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

I don;t know, guys. I'm not licensed to practice statistics across state lines, but the way I figure it is:
Either I WILL hit a cargo cube, or
I WON'T hit a cargo cube.


And that makes it 50-50, either I hit one or I don't.


The odds only change if you try to figure which result amuses Poseidon more, and whether you can win his favor by placing a larger dowry (the gold coin) under your mast.

Actually, the odds may seriously change if you ply the shipping lanes

[hellosailor]

"Actually, the odds may seriously change if you ply the shipping lanes"
You mean, like Schrodinger's Cat? There are more possible outcomes than
"The cat is either dead or alive" ? Like, it could be an undead zombie cat?


OK, that makes it 1-in-3. Or rather, 2-in-3 possible bad outcomes, so I'm down to only a 1-in-3 chance of a good outcome, regardless of whether I'm in a shipping lane.(G)

[crabcake]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"Actually, the odds may seriously change if you ply the shipping lanes"
You mean, like Schrodinger's Cat? There are more possible outcomes than
"The cat is either dead or alive" ? Like, it could be an undead zombie cat?


OK, that makes it 1-in-3. Or rather, 2-in-3 possible bad outcomes, so I'm down to only a 1-in-3 chance of a good outcome, regardless of whether I'm in a shipping lane.(G)

Radioactive or fissionable materials should be clearly labeled. Potentially Godzilla may be in the box............

[Fluer de Mer]

FYI, Largest container ship in the world at Oakland...at 1/4 mile long and nearly 2x the width & a 50' draft, this new mega-ship is a leviathan that dwarfs what we are used to. Hope it comes with better container weight enforcement and attachment system.

[Breck Sailor]

I personally encountered a whole, intact container during an offshore race about 5 years ago. The good and bad news is that the race was a total bust (Charleston - Bermuda) with virtually ZERO wind. We were "sailing" at approximately 1 knot when we saw an object near our course. As we came closer in nearly dead calm seas, we could see the entire container underwater with only the corner raised and floating approximately 3 feet out of water - exactly like an iceberg might present. We reported it - we were roughly 300 NM offshore - and went (slowly) on to Bermuda. It did not look like it had been in the water too long (not too much weed). We all wondered what it would have been like to contact the container. If there were any seas at all, its likely that we would have never seen the container - even in broad daylight.

[nematon785]

I watched a story on youtube about a salvage operation to clear a harbor entrance when a container ship sank right in the main route. huge operation. they had to raise several parts of the ship, every container, and all the loose cargo and whatever else was related to it to satisfy the contract. In the footage they were hoisting a container up to the surface with a crane, and when it came out it just gushed water straight out of the door gaskets.

My father bought a sea land container once and had it dropped at the farm for storing stuff. sort of an "instant shed" He specifically bought a good condition one, they come in several ratings based on the damage, holes, poor flooring, paint, rust etc...

The door gasket would not keep that thing afloat, I am certain. Unless the cargo was super buoyant like solid styrofoam or something, it would sink immediately, it weighed something like 10,000 pounds or more.

I bet most sink right away. a few in very good condition may last a little while, but that door gasket is not designed to be submerged, and it will be.

I worked on a ship in a alaska that handled containers. most had holes you could see sunlight coming in, weather leaked in all the time at the doors and that was just rain, even the refer models were junk. and they all looked just like any other containers I see these days.

I am convinced the number that sink is a high percentage.

If I find one do I get to keep it and its contents? pure salvage right?