Western Railroad Discussion > How strong are interbox connectors?

How strong are the interbox connectors used to attach one container to another on a stack train? Very strong. These pictures (found on the internet) provide a good demonstration.

In 2011 the Panamax containership MV Rena (chartered by MSC) ran aground on a reef off of New Zealand. Over the next 10 days the ship continued to progressively list, and it finally split in two. The containers remaining on the stern section leaned over precariously (Picture #1).

Eventually, the stern section sank completely, but before it did, the containers on it had been cut loose and salvaged.

Picture #2 shows one of the center stacks at an almost horizontal angle during this activity.

Ray



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/18 14:12 by Ray_Murphy.

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My question is whether the three unsupported MSC boxes in the second pic were empties or loads (and if the latter, how heavy were the loads). Even if the IBC hold up, at some point would the stresses cause the container cornerposts to fail, and the IBC gets ripped right out of the container?

Thanks for the pictures!  Doesn't exactly look like a low-risk salvage operation.

mapboy

Yea even tied off.. if something bad happened it would still hurt, and hurt a LOT.

Here's one I shot in the Port of Los Angeles a couple years ago.

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There are many more photos like the two shown above at cargolaw.com

It will probably take you more than a few minutes to see all of the pictures at the website.

Just one example of trains and shipping

http://www.cargolaw.com/2012nightmare_emd-loco.html


⅂ɐɹɹʎ

LOL, in pic #2, the guy on the right has some balls!!

The corner uprights are by far the strongest part of a container.
Since that is where the IBCs are, I wouldn't worry.

What I don't understand is this:

--the container pulls up next to the ship, under the crane, on a truck
--when the crane lifts the container off of the truck, do they install the connectors then? I've never seen that.
--when I watch the cranes position a container onto the top of a stack of other containers on the ship, it seems to "set down" on connectors, BUT..........no one can scale the very tall sides of these container stacks on the ships and tighten those container connectors--I mean there is no one way up doing that, and I've looked many times.

So how are the IBC's installed, and how are they tightened down once the container is lifted into place onto the ship????????!!!!! It baffles me. I don't see men swinging in harnesses way up alongside the containers as they're dropped into place on top of a stack. The crane puts the container on top of the stack, lets go, and then moves to get another one. No people anywhere tightening anything!!!

And then I see these photos, and it really baffles me!

> So how are the IBC's installed, and how are they tightened down once the container is lifted into place onto the ship?

Plenty of vertical crawl space between the ends of the stacks of containers.

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What I don't understand is this:
>
> --the container pulls up next to the ship, under
> the crane, on a truck
> --when the crane lifts the container off of the
> truck, do they install the connectors then? I've
> never seen that.
> --when I watch the cranes position a container
> onto the top of a stack of other containers on the
> ship, it seems to "set down" on connectors,
> BUT..........no one can scale the very tall sides
> of these container stacks on the ships and tighten
> those container connectors--I mean there is no one
> way up doing that, and I've looked many times.
>
> So how are the IBC's installed, and how are they
> tightened down once the container is lifted into
> place onto the ship????????!!!!! It baffles me.
> I don't see men swinging in harnesses way up
> alongside the containers as they're dropped into
> place on top of a stack. The crane puts the
> container on top of the stack, lets go, and then
> moves to get another one. No people anywhere
> tightening anything!!!
>
> And then I see these photos, and it really baffles
> me!

You don't "tighten" IBC's. You LOCK or UNLOCK them. And the containers that are down in the hold don't need them since they are held in position by the the racks.

This is the lashers job. The add the IBCs to the bottom of the container while it is on the truck before the crane picks it up. On the ship, there are catwalks between the rows of containers.

Look on YouTube for ILWU lashing. There is even an "how to" video.

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What I don't understand is this:
>
> --the container pulls up next to the ship, under
> the crane, on a truck
> --when the crane lifts the container off of the
> truck, do they install the connectors then? I've
> never seen that.
> --when I watch the cranes position a container
> onto the top of a stack of other containers on the
> ship, it seems to "set down" on connectors,
> BUT..........no one can scale the very tall sides
> of these container stacks on the ships and tighten
> those container connectors--I mean there is no one
> way up doing that, and I've looked many times.
>
> So how are the IBC's installed, and how are they
> tightened down once the container is lifted into
> place onto the ship????????!!!!! It baffles me.
> I don't see men swinging in harnesses way up
> alongside the containers as they're dropped into
> place on top of a stack. The crane puts the
> container on top of the stack, lets go, and then
> moves to get another one. No people anywhere
> tightening anything!!!
>
> And then I see these photos, and it really baffles
> me!