Shipping containers are used to store and transport a wide variety of things – and could potential store 446,428 (and a half) bananas, and 110 velociraptors (hypothetically…). Many people have found a treasure trove of items inside containers, all because thousands of shipping containers become lost at sea every year!
Bananas – Proving the point about how easy it is to fit thousands of bananas in shipping containers, the Dutch North Sea island of Terschelling found countless numbers of this fruit in 2007 when no less than six containers fell off a cargo ship after a storm!
Doritos – Imagine walking down the beach collecting pebbles and shells, when suddenly you spot something different: a school of Doritos bags floating on the sand… Many people had the pleasure of finding a beach-full of these snacks in 2006 when a container washed up on the beach.
Chocolate Biscuits – Two years later, in 2008, another container washed up on the beach… this time carrying McVitie’s chocolate biscuits. The lucky beach was in Blackpool, and the reason behind the tasty misstep was that Riverdance, the cargo ship carrying the containers, ran aground off the north shore near Blackpool.
Rubber Ducks – Perhaps the most famous example of strange items that wash up on the beach… and one of the most fitting. The 28,000 duckies, called Friendly Floatees, have been lost at sea since 1992 when the shipping container carrying them fell overboard on the way from Hong Kong to the US. They are now being used to analyse ocean currents.
LEGO – Another incident from the 90s, this time from 1997. 62 containers of LEGO figures, which totalled an astounding 4,756,940 pieces, fell into the sea after a storm hit the Tokio Express ship. It’s not surprising, then, that LEGO pieces are still washing up on shore today, especially on the beaches of Devon, Cornwall, and Ireland.
Tea – In Maharashtra, India, in 2010, thousands of teabags ended up on shore after the ship MSC Chitra collided with another ship and lost nine containers to the ocean. Local villagers and fishermen took the chance to collect as many bags as they could!
Fly Swatters – Bearing logos of collegiate and professional sports teams, dozens of fly swatters washed up on the shores of Kodiak, Alaska, in 2012. This incident occurred after a shipping container coming from China fell overboard, with more than 70 people reporting fly swatter sightings.
Shipping containers are used to carry anything, from bananas and tea to fly swatters and LEGO – and a multitude of other items we used in our everyday lives. To learn more about our containers and take advantage of their amazing storing and transporting capabilities, contact us today!
