[240219.EN.SEA] Hapag-Lloyd Comes Up with New Steel-floor Boxes Able to Carry Heavier Weight

GERMANY's Hapag-Lloyd has created a 20-foot, steel-floor container that can carry cargo with a greater weight than cargo of equivalent dimensions can fit in a standard wooden container.

According to the company's senior manager for special cargo David Piel, the steel-floor container can load 7.6 tonnes per metre (T/M) compared to 4.6 T/M that can be loaded into a wooden floor container of equal size, he said.

"The difference is even greater with the 40-foot box," Mr Piel was quoted as saying in a report by American Shipper. "While the wooden floor can withstand a load of three T/M, the steel floor can withstand twice as much." Furthermore, the steel floor container's tare weight is 150 kilogrammes lighter than the conventional boxes.

There are up to 66 lashing rings in a 20-foot steel floor container and up to 100 lashing eyes - on the floor and ceiling longitudinal rails and the corner posts - on the 40-foot containers.

All lashing rings in steel floor containers must be rated with 2,000 kilogramme pull load, which is double the 1,000 kilogrammes for rings on the floor and quadruple the 500 kilogrammes per lashing on the upper rails on wooden floor containers, he said.

The steel floor also prevents residue from previous loadings, he said, and the slightly wavy floor shape keeps cargo from sitting in any moisture if liquids have escaped or condensation has formed.

The container, which is made entirely of steel, is 100 per cent recyclable and its stability can be guaranteed over its entire service life, Mr Piel said.

"What's more, the floor wears away much more slowly, which means that it needs to be repaired less often and that doing so requires less effort," he said. "This, in turn, means that fewer resources are used and that less effort is needed to clean it."

Source : HKSG.