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4 In a previous issue of our magazine we looked at the different types of ships and their main characteristics. We mentioned that the container ships carry most of the world's manufactured goods and at times can carry the equivalent of 10,000 heavy trucks. Containerisation, is the breaking down of goods into standardized units that can be handled by mechanized and frequently automated equipment. In the past, manual labour, or old fashioned equipment was used at the docks and huge numbers of workers (stevedores) were employed to move cargoes, sacks and crates, for storage in warehouses or onward transportation. The British Railways introduced containers just before World War II. However, the containers had rounded tops and were more like demountable railway wagons than stackable unitised containers. Then the United States Government was the first one to introduce unitisation during World War II, with the use of containers. In 1950, the Danes pioneered containerisation with two small ships of 550 tons DWT, offering a door to door service to other NORD NEWS Autumn 2006 Containerisation - ports via Copenhagen. However, standardised land infrastructure was not readily available, so that the venture was limited in its development. The man whose vision made containerization happen was Mr. Malcom McLean. He was born on November 13, 1913, in North Carolina. In the midst of the Great Depression in 1934, he established a trucking company which by 1953 became the second biggest road haulage operation in the US. In those days the world of road haulage and sea transport rarely coincided. Mr. McLean was the first one to realize that to improve efficiency, the containers needed to be easily transferable from one mode of transportation to another, as part of a comprehensive system. He had the great vision of carrying demountable truck bodies from his semi trailers on board ships. "Why wait for the cargo to be loaded onboard a ship instead of the whole truck to be loaded at once"? The next step was putting his vision to practice. Rather than convincing a sea carrier that his plan was worthy of trying, he sold his trucking
How it all started company and bought a coastal tank ship operation the "Pan Atlantic Steamship" company. He then set out to make his vision a reality. The small fleet of the "Pan Atlantic Steamship" consisted of World War II built T-2 Tankers. The ships were already fitted with a wooden spar deck to carry fighter aircrafts. With minimum modifications the container age began on April 26, 1956, at New Jersey when the first T-2 tanker was loaded with 58 trailers for transportation to Texas. Realising that the use of Tankers was not very convenient and that a ship that could carry boxes below decks would be more efficient, more vessels were converted and in 1957 the first of these vessels "Gateway City" entered service. Their decks were cleared, their width was increased by sponsons and they were fitted with two rail mounted gantry cranes giving them self sufficiency. They were able to lift 35 ft vans from the quayside and stow 226 of them on deck and in the holds. In 1959 the Pan Atlantic became the "Sea-Land Service" serving a growing number of ports, buying tankers, cargo ships and military surplus vessels and converting them to container ships. Containers were also developing fast and soon the basic dry box was developed which evolved into refrigerated and ventilated containers, side loading units and “open tops”, inside stout frames of appropriate dimensions and a whole range of other specialist units. By the end of the 1960's the 42 ships of the US "Sea Land" were covering both the Atlantic and the Pacific ports and the Japanese and Europeans were developing and building their own containerships. Mr. McLean sold his interest in the flourishing “Sea- Land” Company in the late 1960's and turned his attention to other interests like real estate and life insurance. He returned to marine transport in the late 1970's with the purchase of the United States Lines and introduced a round the world service with a dozen 4,456 teu ships. These Jumbo-Econoships were launched in 1984 and they successfully transited the Panama Canal. But the quadrupling of fuel prices and the economic circumstances rendered them uneconomical and they had to be scrapped. With the introduction of containerisation, ports that were dependent on manual labour and stevedoring went into sharp decline and became largely obsolete. However, its benefits are vast and undisputable. Briefly, they relate to greater efficiency and reduced costs, faster and larger vessels, reduced delays in port, and greater cargo security. Nowadays, goods are transported in standard sized containers from trains to ships and can be transported worldwide in a “Door to Door” service. Almost every manufactured product we consume spends some time in a container. Approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide moves by containers stacked on ships and 26% of all containers originate from China. As of 2005, some 18 million total containers make over 200 million trips per year. There are ships trading that can carry over 9,000 TEU. Maersk, the biggest container company in the world that bought over “Sea Land” have now launched the “Emma Maersk”, a 11,000 TEU nominal capacity vessel and designers are working on ships capable of carrying 14,000 TEU. Predictions have also been made that at some point the size of container ships will only be constrained by the Straits of Malacca (one of the world's busiest shipping lanes), with ships as long as one quarter of a mile and 190 feet wide. Mr. McLean died in 2001, at the age of 88. He was the "father of containerization" and also one of the principal architects of a technology that has facilitated the world trade and globalization. He revolutionized and sped up cargo shipping and the entire transportation chain and reduced its costs, so that people throughout the entire world are now able to bring their products to the global marketplace. In memory and recognition of Malcom McLean's achievement, the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point is to become the home for a collection of records, photographs and artifacts relating to the history of containerization and it will be called the "McLean's Container Centre". NORD NEWS Autumn 2006 5
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Page 3: Dear Seafarers and Readers! Looking
Page 7 and 8: In April 2006, it was decided by th
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Page 11 and 12: ONBOARD OUR SHIPS NORD NEWS Autumn
Page 13 and 14: 'RIVER CLASS' PANAMAX BULK CARRIERS
Page 15 and 16: By Demetris Georgiades other mariti
Page 17 and 18: E LIMASSOL “WINE FESTIVAL” The
Page 19 and 20: Reederei “NORD” Klaus E. Oldend

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