Comments on: Collapsible Cargoshell Shipping Container Cuts Emissions

By: xbicoastalkidx

xbicoastalkidx — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:11:20 +0000

andyt: I can see the problem you’re talking about, but there’s something you’re not considering. Without the containers on board the ships are considerably lighter, meaning better fuel efficiency going back across to pick up more cargo. I’m no expert on this, but basing this off land transport, a 4x the cargo does not mean 4x the fuel consumption to get it there. In other words, the ratio of fuel use to cargo is not 1:1. So I’d be willing to wager that while the one ship taking back 4000 containers might use more fuel than if it only had 1000, the increased consumption to carry those back would more than likely be less than amount saved by freeing up those three other ships.

By: andyt

andyt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:08:22 +0000

But if one ship brings back 4000 empty containers, what are the other three ships that brought the original containers across going to do? They still have to go back to pick up the refilled containers, no?

By: runofthemill

runofthemill — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:19:37 +0000

If a ship can only fit, say, 1000 containers normally – with these collapsible containers it could fit 4000. Likewise, trailers used to transport them across the country could more efficiently move empty containers to wherever they need to go.

By: andyt

andyt — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:55:08 +0000

At a glance this seems amazing. But don’t the ships have to go back to pick up the full containers anyway? Unless we start packing ships onto ships, I don’t see how any of these 10,000 voyages can actually be cut.

Please tell me where I went wrong. I want this to be a good idea.