Marine Surveyors Lexicon

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Container


A rectangular metal box used to transport cargo between two or more modes of transit; i.e. truck, train, vessel or airplane. The same loaded container is transferred, eliminating the intermittent handling of cargo; also called "Multimodal." Intermodal containers may be 20 feet, 40 feet, 45 feet, 48 feet, or 53 feet in length; 8'0" or 8'6" in width, and 8'6" or 9'6" in height. They may be ventilated, insulated, refrigerated, flat rack, vehicle rack, open top, bulk liquid or other configurations. Specialized containers for air shipments are called "Igloos" due to their shape. See TEU (twenty-foot-equivalent unit) and FEU (forty-foot-equivalent unit).