Shipping Containers Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Shipping Container’

A shipping container made into a helicopter?   Surely that has to be one of the most amazing shipping container conversions ever?   If it is true?   We are currently arguing within the office whether this is a spoof or not and if any of you have any ideas after watching the You Tube video embedded here we would grateful for your input.   Is this really a genuine use of a used shipping container or not?

Whatever your thoughts, it is certainly a great video to watch.   Long live shipping containers!!

There has been a rise in the number of people that use shipping containers to make houses and other community buildings.   Architects have started designing more projects that rely on shipping container conversions for prestigious sites.

But why should you choose a shipping container as the basis for your building?

1. Shipping Containers are readily available with over a million being released by shipping lines each year
2. They are ecologically friendly - you would be giving something that is essentially an industrial waste product a new lease of life
3. Shipping containers are weather resistant being made out of corten steel and having water resistant seams and 27mm marine plywood floors
4. They can be quickly assembled on site
5. 20ft and 40ft shipping containers can be combined to make larger units quickly and easily
6. They are structurally very strong - shipping containers are used to support concrete bridges in states such as Utah
7. Shipping Container conversions can used other recycled materials such as windows and doors
8. The containers have a good fire resistance rating
9. The fact that containers are designed for transportation means that they are easy to get onto most sites
10. On average a shipping container home is 20-50% cheaper than a conventional construction project

In our next post we will look at some shipping container building projects to see just how well containers can be converted and how visually appealing they can be.

Apparently the shipping container came about due to the fact that an American trucker, Malcolm McLean, whilst queuing at Jersey City Pier in 1937, realised that it would be quicker to have the whole truck body lifted onto the ship.   18 years later, he decided on the strength of that light-bulb moment, he bought a war-surplus tanker and equipped it to carry 33 ft containers.

In truth, ship lines and railways had been experimenting with containers for over half a century before 1937 but it took someone with the insight of McLean to realise that the real issue was making the transportation of cargo inter-modal - ie in a standard sized container that could move between rail, road and sea transport without the need for lots of manpower and many different sized machines.  The standard sized shipping containers meant that the prices of moving goods could be brought down and as a result the cost of many things became more affordable - and more varied - to the customer.

Today, the standard sizes of shipping containers are 40ft and 20ft containers.   There are other sizes available such as 8ft and 10ft but these are less common and often more expensive to transport - particularly by sea. 

Many ports were developed as a result of shipping containers - such as Felixstowe in Suffolk - able to take advantage of cheap land and good transport links.   Nowadays one-and-a-half million 40ft containers arrive at ports throughout the world each week.

One of the by products of this amount of containers is the market for second hand used containers.   The excess containers at ports are used for domestic storage, shipping container conversions such as offices and accommodation - even for housing data centres.

Whether or not there is any truth in Malcolm McLean’s “eureka” moment it certainly has had a big impact on all our lives.

Like most shipping containers, refrigerated containers are available for hire.   Christmas time with many suppliers needing additional storage is the most popular time period for refrigerated container hire.   Perhaps this is not surprising given all the traditional goodies from turkeys to cheese, smoked salmon to luxury icecreams that we eat during the holiday period.   Supermarkets and small producers in keeping up with this demand, hire the refrigerated containers between October to January just to fill orders.

Refrigerated containers are ideal as they are easily transportable and can be set at any temperature between -20C to +20C.   Most require 3 phase electricity although they can be run off diesel fuelled generators or “gen-sets”.  The most common sizes are 20ft and 40ft containers.

For those who have never hired a refrigerated container before there are a few important points to remember.  

• The length of the hire has an impact on the weekly rental cost of the container itself - normally there is a minimum hire period of at least 4 weeks - with the longer the period of hire being the most economic.   This is partly due to the fact that the refrigerated container itself needs a pre-trip inspection (PTI) by a refrigeration engineer which ensures that the container itself will be in good running condition prior to being delivered.
• Haulage.  Most hires require that the cost of the haulage from the depot to the delivery site as well as the cost of the haulage back from the delivery site to the depot is paid in advance.   This acts as a guarantee that should the customer default on payment the container can be collected.
• Breakdown.   In case of the unit failing, breakdown cover should be provided as part of the hire contract.   The speed of this is important as you don’t want to be left with a whole load of frozen turkeys defrosting at the beginning of December.

For those of you considering hiring a refrigerated container for Christmas it would be a good idea to start looking for a company to supply this now if you have not done so already.   Many companies have already hired out most of their containers and may therefore be unable to help.

Last September an exhibition made using shipping containers called “The Journey” was opened in Trafalgar Square.   This month this same exhibition opens in the US.  

Co-curated by actress Emma Thompson brings the reality of sex-trafficking to public attention.   Each of the seven shipping containers shows a different aspect of the life of Elena, a moldovan girl, sold into the sex trade when she was 19.

Shipping Containers are used to house the installation called "The Journey"

 The first shipping container is called Hopes, Dreams and Aspirations and shows the naivity of Elena and how she believed the promises of a good job as a receptionist in the UK.   From there a dark container filled with repetitive sounds speaks about the monotony and the violence of the journey to England.   A third container is called “Uniform” and projects the viewers face onto the bodies of prostitutes to show the lack of identity of sex workers.   The bedroom or workplace is featured in the fourth shipping container and the main focal bed is a filthy bed which pulses up and down.   The next container is a clean, neutral space with photographs of  people and represents “the customer”.  A sculpture is in the sixth container which is entitled the void that leads on the seventh and final container called “Language” in which Elena’s voice is played telling her story and that of other trafficked victims. 

Emma Thompson met Elena through the Helen Bamber charity of which she is Chairman.  “The Journey”  says Emma Thompson,  contains a message of hope. “It reveals — as I have learned from Elena and other survivors — the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit. It shows how, with support and care, these courageous women can rebuild their lives”.

Here at CS Shippng Containers we have been missing the Olympics. Susan, who handles the logistics side of the business has, in particular, been missing the swimming. So, at coffee we got talking about the recent posts we have filed about shipping containers being converted into all sorts of amazing things and linked it to the upcoming 2012 Olympics in London.

Apart from her talents in keeping calm and organising everybody so your cargo containers get to where they are meant to, on time and in the right conditition, Susan is an amazing artist. It didn’t take her long to come up with these 3 simple and fun ideas.

OK. We admit none of this is very likely, but it does make the point that, as our previous posts show, 20ft or 40ft containers are very versatile - not only as a source of inspiration for Susan!

North Sea Oil Rigs had been using shipping containers for offshore accommodation for sometime when, shortly after the Falklands War, the British Army decided to rent what became known as the Coastel.  This in effect comprised of shipping containers that had been installed onto barges to provide floating accommodation - in this case in Stanley Harbour.

But there have been other examples of how shipping containers - or iso containers as they are known in the Army - have been used in the operational field.  In the Gulf War when the Allied Forces arrived in Saudi Arabia accommodation was very limited.  In fact the only shelter available was in warehouse and the shipping containers that were already in the port.  The 20ft and 40ft containers were quickly put to use as secure containers to store arms and ammunition as well as stores.  Many were converted into temporary offices and living quarters.

In Bosnia and Kosovo shipping container conversions were delivered as living accommodation, bedrooms and bathrooms to nearly all the camps.  The US Army uses similar conversions throughout Iraq today and the Australian Army even has Medical Operating Theatres in shipping containers which they move to wherever they are needed.

Who says that shipping containers don’t get everywhere?

If you have decided that the you want to choose a shipping container, how do you go about it?

The first thing to decide is what you want to use your container for.  It maybe that you want to ship it abroad or use it as domestic storage in a situation where appearance is very important.  In which case you should consider a new/ex-factory/once used shipping container.

There is some confusion over the term “new” container as opposed to “once used” or “ex-factory”.  In fact they all refer to the same thing.  Shipping containers are manufactured in China and shipped over to this country with one load inside them before being released into the domestic market.  It is these containers that are called new/once used or ex-factory depending on who is selling them to you.

They should all be in excellent condition.  The colours will obviously vary according to shipping line or the specification of whoever commissioned them.

Obviously these shipping containers cost more than good second hand wind and watertight containers but they are by no means un-affordable and will have an average life of 25 years from purchase.

The next post will focus on second hand cargo containers and what to look for when buying.

Many Shipping Container Conversions are based around finding additional space for sport.   Be it for storing equipment, for clubhouses or for changing rooms the versatile nature of the shipping container and the fact that it can be easily transported - and quickly assembled - on site means that it is ideal for a variety of problems that may face either the individual, team, club or school.

The most simple of conversions is that of sports storage.   Often this involves nothing more than fitting out the container with shelves or racks to hold the equipment for the particular sport involved.   This make take the form of bicycle racks, canoe/boat racks or shelves for PE kit with cupboards underneath for balls, nets etc.   Containers have also been fitted with ramps so that they can be used to store specialist wheelchairs.  The real advantage that having the storage within a container is the fact that it can be placed easily on sleepers - or a concrete pad - on the side of the sports fields, by the river/lake and still provide secure, self sufficient storage.  Of course these storage container conversions can also be tailored  further to include lighting and heating, and often include a side personnel door for ease of access. 

Shipping Container Used as Sports Storage

But storage is only the beginning of what a shipping container can be used for in the sporting world.   Changing rooms and clubhouses are also very popular conversions.   A number of shipping containers - 20ft or 40ft containers - can be joined together in various formations to allow for multiple changing rooms -with shower/toilet facilities - as well as kitchens, rooms for referees and match officials and even meeting rooms.   The advantage of using shipping containers in this particular application over the more traditonal construction methods is the speed of which they can be assembled on site.   Even allowing for insulation, lighting, heating, plumbing and the assembly of the containers, these conversions can often be assembled in one day, and at a third of the cost.

What is important if you are thinking of a major conversion such as a clubhouse is that you carefully consider the layout of the containers.   Most shipping container companies should be able to advise you - and even produce CAD drawings - for you to consider. 

Mind you, while we are on the topic of shipping containers, I did mention in a previous article the use of shipping container walls as an easy way of producing a windbreak, or as quickly assembled stands in the formation of a sporting stadium.   We have even featured a shipping container converted into a self container pool and used for swimming or surfing against a mechanically induced current.

Next time you see a shipping container on a road, a train or even a ship, don’t just think of them as a means of taking goods cheaply from  A to B, but think of them as a possibility in helping sportsmen and women train and maybe as a helping hand in Britain’s preparation for the 2012 Olympics.