188
7776 Last Resource
the docks; and, although formalities such as customs clearance can
still cause delays, ultimately transport from remote terminals to a
position on the cargo ship should be a continuous process. Because
the containers are made to international standards, they can be
loaded and unloaded at any port equipped for container transport.
However, at this stage not all ports have the necessary equipment,
and some ships such as the American Seatainer Service ship, Santa
Eliane, avoid delays resulting from conventional handling by having
their own deck cranes.
Some container ships have more in common with aircraft carriers
than the conventional general cargo ship. Gone are the holds lled
through overhead hatehes, and in their place are tiers of decking
reached by entrances at the stem or sides of the ship. The super—
structure and machinery are packed away at the stem or displaced
to one side to give uninterrupted expanses of storage space. Since
most of the load is carried above the waterline, containers as well as
other cargo such as smaller loads piled up on pallets can be shipped
with the minimum amount of manœuvring. To counteract this
high ‘sitting’ load, large permanent ballast is placed in the bowels
of the ship.
First of the thirty leading United States ports to be equipped for
container trafc was Elizabeth, New jersey, but one of the most
highly developed ports is Rotterdam with its Europoort complex.
Having lost the income and resources of its colonies, the Nether—
,
lands has set herself the task of becoming the gateway to industrial
Western Eur0pe. In the United Kingdom, too, preparations are well
in hand for the expected increase in container traic. The rst site
for container berths was Tilbury, a mere 26 miles from London. At
the Tilbury terminal, Overseas Containers Limited can take a ship
with a cargo of 1,300 containers and, aided by a central computer,
can turn it round with another load of containers within 48 hours.
There are other important terminals at Harwich and Felixstowe.
All these container ports are linked by the British F reightlines
service, which provides a direct rail connection with industrial areas
as far away as Scotland.
The trend towards the direct loading of large packages of general
cargo helps to remove the most serious weakness in marine freight
operations—the time that ships waste lying idle in port. The loss of
working time starts from the moment that a ship slows down to
take on the pilot and culminates in the docking procedures—up to
7776 Last Resource
the docks; and, although formalities such as customs clearance can
still cause delays, ultimately transport from remote terminals to a
position on the cargo ship should be a continuous process. Because
the containers are made to international standards, they can be
loaded and unloaded at any port equipped for container transport.
However, at this stage not all ports have the necessary equipment,
and some ships such as the American Seatainer Service ship, Santa
Eliane, avoid delays resulting from conventional handling by having
their own deck cranes.
Some container ships have more in common with aircraft carriers
than the conventional general cargo ship. Gone are the holds lled
through overhead hatehes, and in their place are tiers of decking
reached by entrances at the stem or sides of the ship. The super—
structure and machinery are packed away at the stem or displaced
to one side to give uninterrupted expanses of storage space. Since
most of the load is carried above the waterline, containers as well as
other cargo such as smaller loads piled up on pallets can be shipped
with the minimum amount of manœuvring. To counteract this
high ‘sitting’ load, large permanent ballast is placed in the bowels
of the ship.
First of the thirty leading United States ports to be equipped for
container trafc was Elizabeth, New jersey, but one of the most
highly developed ports is Rotterdam with its Europoort complex.
Having lost the income and resources of its colonies, the Nether—
,
lands has set herself the task of becoming the gateway to industrial
Western Eur0pe. In the United Kingdom, too, preparations are well
in hand for the expected increase in container traic. The rst site
for container berths was Tilbury, a mere 26 miles from London. At
the Tilbury terminal, Overseas Containers Limited can take a ship
with a cargo of 1,300 containers and, aided by a central computer,
can turn it round with another load of containers within 48 hours.
There are other important terminals at Harwich and Felixstowe.
All these container ports are linked by the British F reightlines
service, which provides a direct rail connection with industrial areas
as far away as Scotland.
The trend towards the direct loading of large packages of general
cargo helps to remove the most serious weakness in marine freight
operations—the time that ships waste lying idle in port. The loss of
working time starts from the moment that a ship slows down to
take on the pilot and culminates in the docking procedures—up to