Shipping Containers Blog

Posts Tagged ‘steel containers’

I am often asked “your second hand container won’t be all rusty will it?”

Shipping containers are made out of corten steel. Why, I am often asked, is corten steel so special? Why not just use ordinary steel instead?

Wikepedia defines corten steel as “Weathering steel, best-known under the trademark COR-TEN steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to obviate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years”. What this actually means is that due to the chemical make-up of corten steel it has an increased resistance to weather corrosion. In short corten steel forms a protective surface layer that acts as a weather proof barrier. Very useful in a steel container that is primarily designed to withstand salt water and the extreme conditions found at sea.

But if the corten steel container is painted a weather proof layer does not have a chance to form. It is no more effective against the climate than normal unalloyed steel. So why do shipping lines bother to paint their containers? Apart from the obvious advertising benefits of having a ship stacked with boxes all carrying your logo, shipping containers do not stay pristine. The moving of the containers on and off ships does result in the steel shipping containers getting knocked and the paintwork scraped leaving the steel exposed underneath. That is where the fact the containers are made of corten steel is an advantage, because, rather like putting a plaster on a cut, the corten steel starts to form its protective layer when exposed to the weather and prolongs the life of the steel shipping container. No need to repaint!

The rust proof qualities of corten steel are not only put to use in shipping but in other industries such as construction. Many buildings, such as the The U.S. Steel Tower in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania have been made out of corten steel. There is, of course, a crossover between shipping containers and construction which is largely due to the corten steel. Nowadays, shipping container conversions have become popular not only because of the green credentials of recycling an industrial product but because of the strong construction and weatherproofing that is inherent in the steel shipping container itself. There are numerous examples of projects that use shipping containers that our previous blogs have highlighted, but, at the risk of repeating myself, new readers only have to look at projects such as Container City or Riverside House to see what can be done. These are of course, container conversions on a large scale. The properties of shipping containers can also be utilised in smaller conversions such as offices, site accommodation and storage containers.

So next time you look at a second hand steel shipping container and see what appears to be a brown patina where the paint has scraped off, remember that it may not be rust at all, but the weatherproofing layer formed by the corten steel itself.

Earlier this month Hurricane Gustav threatened to hit New Orleans.  The city was evacuated in preparation.  Everyone held their breath.

The American Red Cross prepared Shipping Containers in readiness.  They planned to use them as storage for all the equipment and provisions that would be needed to cope with the fall out from Gustav.

In the event, although the 20ft containers were still needed, Hurricane Gustav lost its momentum over the Gulf of Mexico, and ended up being classed as a Tropical Storm instead.  New Orleans survived.

Yet shipping containers are used in many other emergency situations throughout the world.

In Australia and New Zealand the steel containers are often used to provide temporary secure housing that is easily transportable and infinitely adaptable.

In China this year after the earthquakes they used shipping containers to provide storage, office and housing.

Whilst we get excited about the amazing things that Architects do with shipping container conversions, such as the Containart Pavillion we featured yesterday, it can be easy to forget how the adaptability and the easily transportable qualities of a shipping container can be used in their most basic form to help out in a crisis.

With it being the 1st October, thoughts are - scarily - going to turn towards Christmas.  Christmas cakes and Christmas puddings to be made and the first decorations appearing in the shops.  So, what on earth has all of this to do with shipping containers?

Operation Christmas Child is a scheme whereby individuals collect presents and necessities for a child overseas and put them in an old shoe box. The boxes can contain things like toothbrushes, combs, small toys, chocolate etc.  Then the filled shoe boxes are gathered together at various points throughout the UK at drop-off points in shops, churches, schools etc before they are forwarded  on to a central depot.  From there the boxes are often put into 20ft or 40ft steel containers and are shipped to their country of destination.

Last year, Operation Christmas Child sent 1.30 million shoe boxes to hospitals, orphanages, refugee camps, homeless shelters and impoverished neighborhoods.  Should you want more information please log on to www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk.