CONTAINERIZATION AND

MODERN CARGO STOWAGE

LECTURE 4
Containerization
Types & Markings

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 CONTAINERS
• Standardized reusable box used for the safe,
efficient and secure storage and movement of
materials and products within a global
containerized intermodal freight transport
system
• ISO container
• shipping container
• box
• freight container
• intermodal container
• conex box
• sea can

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 CONTAINERS
• ISO (international Standards Organization)
• Freight container is an article of transport
equipment
a) of a permanent character and accordingly strong
enough to be suitable for repeated use
b) specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods,
by one or more modes of transport, without
intermediate reloading
c) fitted with devices permitting its ready handling,
particularly its transfer from one mode of transport
to another

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 CONTAINERS
• ISO (international Standards Organization)
• Freight container is an article of transport
equipment
d) designed as to be easy to fill and empty
e) stackable
f) sized such that
1) area enclosed by outer and bottom corners is at
least 150ft3 (14m2)
2) at least 75ft3 (7m2) if top corners fittings

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 CONTAINERS
• Construction
• Usually of corrugated weathering steel
• Aluminum or fiberglass too
• Steel frames
• Support weight
• Corner fittings, or casting, are used to lift
entire weight
• Wood floor
• Typical container has doors fitted at one end

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 CONTAINERS
• Components/Parts
Corner Post: Vertical frame
components located at the
corners of freight containers
and integral with the corner
castings and floor structures.
Corner Castings: Fittings
located at the corner of the
freight container which provide
means for lifting, handling,
stacking and securing the
container.

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 CONTAINERS
• Components/Parts
Front-End Frame: The structure
at the front end of the container
(opposite the door end)
consisting of top and bottom rails
attached to the front corner posts
and the corner castings.
Top Rail: Longitudinal structural
members located at the top edge
on either side of the freight
container.
Bottom Rail: Longitudinal
structural members located at
the bottom edge on either side of
the freight container.

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 CONTAINERS
• Components/Parts
Header and Sill: In way of door
entrance with overhead
horizontal header frame and
similar floor level threshold sill.
Cross-members: A series of
transverse beams at
approximately 12 inch centers
attached to the bottom side rail
and an integral part of the floor
frame support
Forklift Pocket: Location for
placement of forklift forks for
lifting when not loaded.

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 CONTAINERS
• Components / Parts
Floor: The floor may be
hard or soft laminated
wood, planks or plywood.
Roof: Roof bows are the
undermost structure of
the roof and are usually
placed at 18 or 24 inch
centers. Steel containers
(except open top
containers) are not fitted
with roof bows but will
have corrugated or flat
steel sheet roofs welded
to the frame members. Aluminum containers have aluminum sheathing, bonded
with adhesive to the roof bows and riveted to the top rails and headers. Fiberglass
containers have fiberglass reinforced plywood panels fastened to the rail and
headers. The roof is the part of the container most vulnerable to damage.

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 CONTAINERS
• Components / Parts
Sides & Front: Modern
steel containers will have
corrugated steel panels.
Aluminum containers
have aluminum sheathing
on the sides and front of
the container which are
affixed to aluminum
stringers which are in turn
bolted to the top and
bottom rails and also to
the front end frame. The
stringers may be on the
outside or inside of the sheathing. Fiberglass containers do not use stringers for
supporting the fiberglass reinforced plywood panels.
The side and the front of steel containers are made of corrugated steel sheets
eliminating stringers.

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 CONTAINERS
• Components/Parts
Doors: Doors may be ply-metal
(plywood core with steel or
aluminum facings), corrugated,
or combinations with fiberglass.
The hinged doors have plastic or
rubber lined door gaskets as
seals against water ingress.
Security seal: Used in
conjunction with locking
mechanism in order to seal the
containers for security purposes.
These seals are numbered and
often color coded.

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 CONTAINERS
• Size
• ISO (international Standards Organization)
standards set in late 1960s
• Standardized length took some time
• Pan-Atlantic used 33ft. and then 35 ft.
• Matson used 24 ft.

• Length
• Standard length set at 10, 20, 30, and 40 ft.

• 10 proved to small and few 30 were built

• 20 and 40 as the most popular and
universally common
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 CONTAINERS
• Length
• Standard length set at 10, 20, 30, and 40 ft.
• Longer units of 45ft., 48ft. (14.63 m) and
53ft. (16.15 m) in use Additional support
At 40 foot position
• Additional support
points at the 40 ft.
position so that they
can be stowed over
a standard 40ft.
container

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 CONTAINERS
• Length
• Standard length set at 10, 20, 30, and 40 ft.
• 20ft. slightly shorter
• 19ft. 10.5in.
• So two can fit in space of one 40ft.

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 CONTAINERS
• Width
• ISO containers have width of 8 ft. (2.438m)
• “Pallet wide" containers
• About 2 inches (5 cm) wider than
standard containers
• Accommodate Euro-pallets common in
Europe
• Internal width of 2440 mm for easy
loading of two 1200 mm long pallets
side by side

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 CONTAINERS
• Height
• Standard
• A standard container is 8ft.6in. in height
• High Cube
• A high box is 9ft. 6in.
• Even 10ft. 6in. in some cases.
• 8ft. height used early on
• Seen rarely today

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 CONTAINERS
• Capacity - Boxes

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 CONTAINERS
• Capacity – Some Variations by Owner

Tables include “heavy” 20 ft. containers.

Normal max gross is 24,000 kg for standard 20ft.
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 CONTAINERS
• Capacity - Boxes
• Tare Weight
• Weight of a container without cargo
• Includes all fittings and materials
• Varies depending on construction
• Gross Weight (maximum gross weight)
• Weight of a container and all its contents
• Payload (maximum permissible payload)
• Weight of contents of a container
• Difference between gross and tare
• Volume
• Internal length x width x height
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 CONTAINERS
• Capacity – Ships and Terminals
• Twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU)
• Based on the volume of a 20 ft.
intermodal container
• 20 ft (length) × 8 ft (width) container
• A forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) is two
TEUs
• Approximate measure
• Height of the box is not considered
• 9 ft. 6 in. High cube and the 4 ft. 3 in. half
height 20 ft (6.1 m) are both one TEU
• A 45 ft. container is still 2 TEUs

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 CONTAINERS
• Types
• General purpose containers
• Open-top and Half height containers
• Flat rack and Platform containers
• Ventilated container
• Thermal Containers (mechanical / insulated)
• Bulk container
• Tank container
• Named cargo containers (Livestock
container, Automobile containers ...)

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 CONTAINERS
• General purpose containers
• Standard dry van
• Suitable for
commodities in
bundles, cartons,
boxes, cases, sacks,
bales, pallets, drums,
loose cargo, bulk,
furniture, etc.

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 CONTAINERS
• General purpose containers
• Totally enclosed and waterproof
• Rigid roof and sides
• Wood floor
• No ventilation
• May cause problems with some cargos
• Carry Solid and liquid bulk cargoes with
modification

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 CONTAINERS
• General purpose containers
• Full width doors at at least one end
• Side opening doors option
• High cube and pallet wide options

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 CONTAINERS
• Open Tops
• General purpose container with no rigid roof
• Load through open top or end doors
• May have removable tarpaulin soft top
• Removable roof bows can be used for support
• Used for
over-height
goods like
machinery
and timber
requiring top
loading
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 CONTAINERS
• Half Height Containers
• Similar to open top
• Only 4ft. high
• Used for high density (heavy) cargo) such as
steel pipes, beam, or rolls; and ores
• Two can fit in space
of one standard
container

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 CONTAINERS
• Open Sides
• General purpose with rigid roof and ends, but
no sides
• Sides covered with removable tarpaulin
• Prone to cargo shifting in transit

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 CONTAINERS
• Flatracks
• No side walls or roof
• Used for out of gauge cargo (over height
and/or over width) and bulky goods
• Machinery, vehicles, boats, etc.
• Fixed or folding ends
• Folded ends
allow
stacking into
bundles for
storage when
empty

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 CONTAINERS
• Platform (flatbed)
• No side walls, roof or ends
• Used for equipment, over-length cargoes
and special project cargos

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 CONTAINERS
• Ventilated
• General purpose containers allow exchange
between inside and outside ambient air
• Designed to prevent condensation on cargo
• Used for fruits and vegetables, bagged
coffee, tea, spices, tobacco

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 CONTAINERS
• Ventilated
• Natural air flow
• Highly vented
• Side vents along top and bottom rails
• Top vented
• Side vents along top rails

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 CONTAINERS
• Ventilated
• Mechanical air flow
• “Fantainers”
• Mechanical fan installed inside or outside
• Ambient air
drawn into the
floor by the fan
via a especially
designed
perforated lower
front sill and
replaced air is removed through the fan

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 CONTAINERS
• Thermal
• Similar construction as general purpose
• Inside is isolated from outer walls by a
thick layer of insulating material
• Aluminum t-section floor with ducts for the
passage of cold air into the container

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 CONTAINERS
• Thermal
• Used to carry cargo requiring precise
temperature control
• Capable of chilled, frozen, or even heated
applications
• Number in use/circulation has skyrocketed

• Detailed discussion of reefers in later lecture

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 CONTAINERS
• Thermal
• Integral “Reefer”
• Refrigeration unit built into container
• Requires external
power source on
ship and at terminal
• Own data logger to
record temperature

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 CONTAINERS
• Thermal
• Porthole “Reefer”
• Connected to a system of air ducts in the
vessel’s hold through which cold air is
supplied
• Clip-on
refrigerated
units used
when off ship

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 CONTAINERS
• Bulk
• General purpose container with special top
loading ports and lower door discharge shoot
• Used for dry cargoes in bulk i.e. grains, malt,
sugar, fertilizer,
coal, etc.

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 CONTAINERS
• Tanker
• Tank fit within a container frame
• Used to carry small shipments of bulk liquid
and gas such as food-stuff, chemicals,
helium, etc.

• Temperature control is possible

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 CONTAINERS
• Named Cargo
• Livestock, autos, etc.

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 CONTAINERS
• Locking and Sealing
• Prevent loss or tampering

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 CONTAINERS
• Locking and Sealing
• Prevent loss or tampering

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 CONTAINERS
• Standardized Container Bolt Seal
• Preferred By Shipping Lines
• Galvanized High Tensile Steel shank
• ABS Protective Mold To Counter Corrosion
• Highly Visible Unique Sequential Numbering
• Easy To Lock Spring Lock Mechanism

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 CONTAINERS
• Over 90% of all non-bulk waterborne cargo is
shipped in containers
• Over 18 million shipping containers in circulation
making over 200 million trips per year
• Over 28 million TEUs

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 CONTAINERS
• Average life is 10 – 15 years
• Modified containers are used commonly for
mobile self-contained homes, as on-site
offices and for various uses such as a
generator van when
mounted on a
chassis
• Container architecture
is a new industry

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• ISO 6346
• International standard for coding,
identification and marking of intermodal
containers
• Visual identification system for every
container
• a unique serial number with check digit
• the owner
• a country code
• a size
• type and equipment category
• any operational marks
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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
1.Owner’s name and Logo
2.Classification Society
Shield
3.Custom Seal
4.CSC Plate
5.Container Number &
Country Size Type Code
6.Capacity and weight
7.Manufacturer’s
certification
8.Dimensions name plate

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
1.Owner’s name and Logo
2.Classification Society
Shield
3.Custom Seal
4.CSC Plate
5.Container Number &
Country Size Type Code
6.Capacity and weight
7.Manufacturer’s
certification
8.Dimensions name plate

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Locations

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Letter / Number heights
• ID code minimum 100 mm high
• Country/Size/Type code minimum 100 mm
• Operational marks minimum 50 mm high

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• On Line Tutorial

http://www.pier2pier.com/links/files/educ
ational/containermarkings.php

http://www.pier2pier.com/links/files/educ
ational/containermarkings.swf

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Container Number
• Unique to each container
• Eleven alpha numeric characters
• owner code, consisting of three capital letters
• product group code, consisting of one of
capital letters U, J or Z
• six-digit registration number
• check digit

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Owner Code
• Consists of three capital letters of the
Latin alphabet to indicate the owner or
principal operator of the container.
• Code needs to be registered at the Bureau
International des Conteneurs in Paris
• Equipment Category Identifier
• One of the following three capital letters
• U for all freight containers
• J for detachable freight container equipment
• Z for trailers and chassis

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Serial Number
• Six numeric digits
• Assigned by the owner or operator
• Check Digit
• One numeric digit
• Validates accuracy of the owner code and
serial number
• Can validate on line
http://42g1.com/validate.html

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Check Digit Calculation - Step 1
An equivalent numerical value is assigned to each letter of the alphabet,
beginning with 10 for the letter A (11 and multiples thereof are omitted)

The individual digits of the registration number keep their everyday value, i.e.
1 = 1, 2 = 2 etc.
For Example:

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Check Digit Calculation - Step 2
Each of the numbers calculated in step 1 is multiplied by 2position, where
position is the exponent to basis 2. Position starts at 0, from left to right.
Multiplies are the first number by 1, the second by 2, the third by 4 … and the
10th by 512.

The following table shows the multiplication factors:

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Check Digit Calculation - Step 3
1) Sum up all results of step 2
2) Divide them by 11
3) Erase all decimal digits of the division (i. e. make the result an integer value)
4) Multiply the integer value by 11
5) Subtract result of 4) from result of 1):
This is the check digit! EXAMPLE

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Check Digit Calculation - Step 3
Two More Examples:

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Country, Size, Type Codes
• Country (optional)
• Consists of two capital letters
abbreviation.
• US for United States, GB for Great Britain

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Country, Size, Type Codes
• Size & Type
• Four alpha or numerical coded digits
• First character, representing the length
• Second character, representing the width
and height
• Third and fourth character indicating the
type of the container

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Country, Size, Type Codes
• Size & Type
• Under current standard

According to the two characters 45 of According to the two characters 45 of

the size code, the container is the size code, the container is
12,192 mm or 40' long, 2,895 mm or 12,192 mm or 40' long, 2,895 mm or
9'6" high and 2,438 mm or 8' wide. The 9'6" high and 2,438 mm or 8' wide. The
type code characters G1 state that the type code characters R1 state that the
container is a general purpose container container is a thermal container which
without ventilation but with vents in the can be mechanically refrigerated and
upper part of the cargo space heated

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Capacity and Weight

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Capacity and Weight
• Maximum Gross Weight (Rating)
• Maximum permissible weight of a container
plus its contents
• Tare Weight (also Net Weight)
• Weight of a container without cargo includes
all fittings and materials
• Payload
• Weight of contents of a container
• Difference between gross and tare
• Cubic Capacity or Volume
• Internal length x width x height
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CONTAINERS
• Markings
• CSC Plate
• Required for
any container
used for
international
transport
• International
Convention
for Safe
Containers

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• CSC Plate
• Permanently affixed
• Left side door
• Testing for defects that
could put a person in
danger
• 5 years then every 2
• Max Gross Weight
• Allowable stack weight
• Racking test
• Twisting stresses when in transit

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Classification Societies

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 CONTAINERS
• Markings
• Operational
• Height
• Even mirror
version

• Hazardous/ Dangerous Cargo

• Placards
• Discuss in detail in later
lecture

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 CONTAINERS

• Looked at the Types of Containers and their

markings

• Next Lecture:
Terminals and ships

• Assignment:
Chapter 1: Marine Cargo Operations, Meurn
Chapter 8: Cargo Work, House

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 CONTAINERS

References:
• Marine Cargo Operations, Meurn, 4th ed. 2011
• Cargo Work, House, 7th ed., 2005
• http://www.containerhandbuch.de/

Purpose:
• All materials are presented strictly for educational purposes only

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 CONTAINERIZATION

• Looked at the history of containerization by video

• Next Lecture:
Types of Containers and Markings

• Assignment:
Chapter 1: Marine Cargo Operations, Meurn
Chapter 8: Cargo Work, House

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