Ocean freight is the reliable method used to ship goods across oceans and seas, connecting countries and continents. Whether it’s the latest tech gadget or the freshest produce, ocean freight is responsible for delivering a wide range of products to consumers worldwide.
Ships loaded with cargo crisscross the seas, delivering goods from one port to another. While it might seem like an ordinary process, there are some surprising and downright bizarre facts about ocean freight that you might not know.
Quack Quack
One of the weirdest things about ocean freight is that sometimes it washes up on shore. Over the years, there have been countless reports of shipping containers, boats, and even cargo washing up on beaches worldwide. In 1992, for example, nearly 30,000 rubber ducks, turtles, and beavers were lost at sea when a shipping container fell off a cargo ship.
The rubber toys, which were intended for a bath toy manufacturer, made their way to the shores of Hawaii and Alaska over the years, providing scientists with valuable information about ocean currents.
Not Eggspecting that
It’s not just rubber ducks that make their way onto beaches. In 2018, a shipping container filled with nearly 3,000 pounds of liquid egg yolk washed up on a German island. No matter how well-wrapped these fragile eggs were, they did not stand a chance against the ocean.
The container was lost during a storm, and the egg yolk, which was meant for a food processing plant, seeped out, coating the beach in a yellowish slime. This is not one of the services that ocean freight officially provides.
Cargo ships and the ocean
Did you know that the development of more wildlife-friendly cargo ships is in progress? As it turns out, cargo ships, and ships in general, can have a large impact on marine animals.
Nowadays more shipping companies think of these consequences, which has pushed the production of less destructive and even quieter engines forward. Like that, ocean freight can continue to be one of the best and most environmentally friendly transportation methods.
Prohibited items
In the world of cargo ships, some items are more forbidden than a mouse in a cheese factory. Take magnets, for example. While they’re great for sticking things together, they’re not so great for ship navigation equipment. Navigational equipment on ships can be disrupted by the magnetic forces of some objects, leading to equipment malfunction, and even running aground.
Another banned substance on cargo ships is nitroglycerin, a highly explosive compound used in dynamite production. Nitroglycerin is so unstable that even the slightest impact or pressure could cause it to detonate, making it an extremely perilous substance to transport by sea. Despite these prohibitions, ocean freight remains an important and efficient way to transport goods worldwide.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ocean freight might seem like a straightforward process, but there are plenty of weird and wonderful things about it. From shipping containers washing up on shore to massive ships that can carry billions of bananas, the world of ocean freight is full of surprises.
