Historically, shipping over-dimensional cargo on containerships is inefficient. Using flat racks, over-dimensional cargo hangs over the side displacing additional container space and requires special handling. This creates additional expense for the cargo shipper.
Contrail® is an over-dimensional cargo carrier that operates like an ocean container. The standard duty unit is 12-feet wide by 40-feet long, and is designed to straddle the cell guides below deck on conventional containerships. Complete with built-in ramps at each end for ease of loading and unloading wheeled vehicles, the Contrail® is multi-purpose and capable of carrying many types of cargo. Most importantly, the Contrail® acts like a container and is handled with standard marine terminal equipment. Two Contrails®, side-by-side, equal the width of three containers resulting in minimal space loss on a container vessel and potentially increased revenue.
Take a closer look at the dimensions and the capabilities of a Contrail compared to a flat rack and you will quickly understand the value of the Contrail as a unique and different piece of equipment capable of solving your shipping problems for over-dimensional cargo.
Overall Width – Image A
Contrail - A standard unit measures 12’ wide by 40’ long and can accommodate most oversized vehicles and equipment without any over hang. Plus, the 12’ width allows two Contrails, placed side-by-side, to equal the width of three standard containers optimizing a stow plan.
Flat Rack - A standard flat rack is 8’ wide by 40’ long. More often than not, over-dimensional cargo measures more than 8’ wide and therefore it hangs over the edges of the flat rack, displacing cargo space on both sides.
Image A |
 |
 |
Contrail®
Overwide vehicle fits |
Flat Rack
Vehicle hangs over Edge |
Overall Height
Contrail® - Contrails have been engineered with stow efficiency in mind. Two Contrails stacked one on top of the other equals the height of three low-cube containers.
Flat Rack - Unfortunately, depending upon the height of the equipment you are moving on a flat rack there is the possibility you will not be able to stack anything on top because the equipment extends over the height of the end walls.
Stow Efficiency – Image B
Stowing over-dimensional equipment below deck is never easy -- the cargo tends to displace too much container space. That is the beauty of Contrail. Contrail “unitizes” its cargo just like containers. As a result you can line up Contrails side-by-side, and stack them one on top of the other, to achieve an optimal stow plan.
Compare the representative stow plans using flat racks versus Contrails to ship four (4) oversized cargo items. Four flat racks stowed below deck displace 18 containers, resulting in an “inefficient stow plan.” In comparison, four Contrails stowed below deck displace only 9 containers, thus doubling the efficiency of stow.
Image B |
|
 |
Flat Racks
18 Containers displaced |
 |
Contrail®
9 Containers displaced |
Contrail…additional features and benefits:
- Contrail has been designed with built-in ramps on either end for ease of loading and unloading of wheeled & tracked vehicles.
- Loads and unloads like a standard container with standard marine terminal equipment.
- Two (2) folded Contrails equal the height of one low-cube container.
- Requires no modifications to container holds or cell guides.
- Contrail has over 20 D-rings on each unit to fulfill most equipment lashing requirements.
- Simple – Contrail requires no special handling or ship modifications.
- Safe – Contrail does not require any additional stevedoring or loading time.
- Flexible – Contrail is universal and can fit most liner and feeder vessels operating today.
|
