The chicken-container saga

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am a Jamaica Maritime Institute-trained professional mariner of 40 plus years’ experience. There has been much public interest about the refrigerated container that washed up on Hellshire Beach. I contacted my colleagues in the local maritime industry to get some information. The following are my thoughts on the matter.

The offshore sea conditions on the night the container fell overboard were poor, with winds gusting to 32 knots and seas of eight to ten feet. Some time before midnight, a refrigerated container fell overboard from a medium-size container ship en route from Kingston to Georgetown, Grand Cayman. The captain of the ship reported the incident soon after to the Jamaican civilian authorities. Some hours later, the container was driven ashore the Hellshire Beach by the prevailing winds and sea currents.

An empty shipping container weighs about 6,500 pounds and, because it is ‘hollowed out’, similar to the way ships are, an empty sealed shipping container can float, provided it is remains watertight. A refrigerated container has a generator and cooling equipment at one end so the distribution of the weight will make it float. Some 20 years or so ago, I personally observed a dry cargo container floating in the sea off the western edge of the Pedro Banks, and just about 12 inches or so of it was above the surface of the sea. Based on reports, the container that washed up in Hellshire was laden with 40,000 pounds of chicken. Given the sea conditions at the time, (eight- to 10-feet waves), the fact that only a few inches would have been above the surface it would have washed ashore in the night.

Some 25 or so years ago, I recall a tragic incident where two fishermen lost their lives off Port Royal when their canoe struck a bale of lumber and sank. The lumber had fallen overboard from a ship that ran into bad weather just outside the Kingston Harbour east channel. Unlit floating objects in the sea are often a hazard to navigation, especially during the night. The end to this chicken-container saga could have been much different. Thankfully, it’s not.

ALWYN GREGORY