Rogue Container Money $$$ ? Anyone?

[Kacper]

Hey guys,

When Ocean Crossing how often do you see floating containers? That fall off from container ships?

If anyone is up for it, I know how to sell these and make a great profit.

I know a guy who a few years ago made about $1Million a year retrieving these distressed containers and selling the contents.(usually, clothes, cars, etc)

Just to give you an example, a container of clothes is worth from $30,000 to $400,000

Once in the Ocean it is legally salvagable property.

There are several techniques for retrieving these, a power boat is necessary. Or sailingdog, maybe your trimaran?

By the way, try to be civil, I'm being serious here and this is a business proposition

Kacper

[Jotun]

Seems to me that would be like finding a needle in a haystack....

[camaraderie]

Kacper...seriously...you need a different idea. Not practical at all. In 5 years of cruising we didn't see 1 ....Estimates are that 4-6 thousand containers are lost each year. Unless they have flotation (like the recent Doritos containers that ended up in NC's outer banks!)...they sink.
If it were indeed profitable to salvage these containers while still afloat, the shipping companies would do it so since they KNOW where and when they lost a container. If you have to search the oceans for one...it is kind of impossible.

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Kacper...seriously...you need a different idea. Not practical at all. In 5 years of cruising we didn't see 1 ....Estimates are that 4-6 thousand containers are lost each year. Unless they have flotation (like the recent Doritos containers that ended up in NC's outer banks!)...they sink.
If it were indeed profitable to salvage these containers while still afloat, the shipping companies would do it so since they KNOW where and when they lost a container. If you have to search the oceans for one...it is kind of impossible.

Were I to come across one awash in dead calm seas and had scuba gear handy and the idea that sharks weren't around (they could contain 50,000 packets of beef jerky, after all!), then I would lanyard up some bolt cutters and have a look, perhaps. But fending off such a thing would be tricky and I can easily see one getting hurt from just the mass moving about in the water.

How you would get the door open (never mind that it might immediately sink completely!) is another issue. I wouldn't want to be actually inside the thing if it decided to roll and go to the bottom.

I think I would be more interested in GETTING it to sink completely than in salvaging it. The odds are that it's either filled with clothing or electronics are high, and neither like sea water much. In fact, I can't think of too many items I could salvage that would be worth putting on the boat. Canada's year's supply of anchors? Ain't gonna float. 5,000 miles of polypropylene rope? Will float, but not worth finding. The world's output of sextants? Maybe, if I could be quick about it!

[Cruisingdad]

You see in England where they had a bunch washing up to shore and they were trying to keep the people from taking the stuff form them?? I say: Good for them! Take the stuff. Next time try a little harder to keep that crap on your boat!! I know the guys that do this for a living are serious about safety and keeping the containers... but I bet they could come up with a better system if it was really important to them.

- CD

PS Kacper - I have NEVER seen one. I even mentioned in a thread a long time back whether anyone had seen one and I don't think anyone on this forum had... not floating, anyway. Besides, I understand that even the floating ones sit just under the water surface, so you pretty much have to hit it to know its there (which, there in lies the problem).

[hellosailor]

CD-
The recent situation in England was a bit different from the usual. The entire SHIP had run aground and was being pounded, the containers were falling off and coming ashore within sight of it. They weren't just flotsam on the high seas.

Cam-
"Hello my name Imbabwe Ngeri, my uncle send many valuable things to America in container that has gone overboard. I am knowing exactly where is container and have contracted with American salvage company to retrieve it but need $15,775 US to make fuel deposit before the salvage can proceeed. If you can be sending this to me I will reward you many times over!"
Come on, let's make a buck and have some fun.

[camaraderie]

Imbabwe...if you'll take my check...we're in business!

[sailingdog]

cam-

Let me guess... you started banking in Nigeria...

[Kacper]

Hey guys,

What this person I knew did was:

1. Go to china

2. Rent a cheap BIG diesel boat from the locals, with a crane rig to pull things out of the water.

3. He would simply travel up and down the shipping routes, find the containers, and either bring it aboard or tug it back to shore.

50% of the stuff in these containers is mostly clothes, name brand jeans, shoes.

Most of the containers are airlock tight so they have air inside and float.

I'm depressed no-one wants to persue this business venture Back to my regular business then.

Kacper

[capttb]

They must all be falling off on their end because in thirty years of cruising near Los Angeles Harbor I've never seen one in the water here.