My boss, has just bought a new flat bed trailer, which has fittings to carry container/s. Most of the time it will be used as a flat bed, but occasionally for carrying those big boxes.
Q1. At container ports, who is resposible for putting/securing container to trailer?
Q2. How do you know what weight is in container?
Q3. How do you know that the container is loaded correctly? (ie - heavy at one end, light at the other)
Q4. Who owns the container?
Q5. When you have tipped the contents, what happens to empty container?
I appreciate these may seem daft questions, but having never been involved with them, I am a little aprehensive.
We are told what weight is in them when we pick them up, at Immingham they are loaded by a top loader so if they are tilting to the front then you can assume they are front heavy and vice versa.
You can find the weight out by asking the guy who loads them, dependant on his mood he might just ignore you and drive away though.
Ive only been doing containers about 2 days thats all i can help you with.
Q1. A straddler/container crane or stacker (bit like a giant forklift) will actually load the box on for you, but it’s up to you to make sure it’s seated properly and that the twistlocks are then shut. Sometimes the lifter will run off without waiting for you to check, in which case you can either phone your office or the port/whatever direct and get him back…or stand and wave your arms a lot…or employ the age-old container driver’s trick of finding a big bump/pothole in the road and driving over it at speed until it shifts. They have speed humps in many ports which are handy for this!
Q2. Theoretically, it’ll be on the paperwork - either given to you by your own office, or that which you get at the port (or storage yard or railhead). Sometimes that figure will include the weight of the actual container, sometimes it won’t. Sometimes it will be bang on but sometimes (more often than not) it will be a pretty long way out. The only way to be sure is to learn where all the various weighbridges are and check for yourself…
Q3. You don’t. You’ll learn to feel what’s right and what’s badly loaded after a while - front, side, or top heavy are the most common faults - and drive accordingly. What Jammy said isn’t strictly true, as some stackers are knackered and lean to one side even with an empty, and a lot of stacker/crane drivers offer the box up with the front or back lower because that’s the end they like to drop first. Best thing to do is always go careful with a loaded box until you get a feel for it…then drive accordingly.
Q4. The vast majority of the time, the shipping line. Either that or a leasing company - eg. NEVU, CRXU, TTNU and TPHU boxes, although there are others. They lease the boxes to the shipping lines. Every now and again you’ll get what’s called a “shippers box”. This is where whoever owns the freight inside has bought the container because they don’t expect to be able to get it back - if it’s going to somewhere like Nigeria where the guys unloading it the other end will more than likely cut windows in it and move in, for example (I kid you not). None of this makes much difference to you, however…you just carry on tipping and loading regardless.
Q5. Empty containers are “restituted” to either a port (often the one you got it from, but not always - Maersk boxes, for example, can be restituted anywhere), a railhead, or one of the hundreds of storage yards dotted around the country.
Sometimes you’ll reload a box and take it to a port to be shipped out. Make sure you ask about seals when you start, so that you have plenty and of the right type - different shipping lines have their own seals which they like you to use. Seals always go on the RIGHT-hand door, unless you are asked to seal both. Often a customer will use their own seal but you still have to put the one you’ve told your office you’re using on as well (by ringing the number in) , because that’s the one the box will be booked through Customs under.
You as a driver are responsible for the container(check and note any damage) because when you lift the empty off believe me they will check…dont worry about scratches…but serious damage…you as a driver are to secure the container to the trailer…ONLY after loading is complete…NOT when the machine is over your trailer…although this is normally done away from the grid or loading area…your delivery notes will tell you how much weight you have add to this the weight of the box about 3 ton…if you can find a weighbridge if you feel the load is excessive…then go and weigh it…cos you too are responsible…and if the ministry pull you…there are no excuses…make sure the twist locks are in place before you pull under the machine or on the grid…if its an adjustable trailer then make sure these adjustments have been made prior to loading…you are not allowed to adjust or to walk on the grid area…oh…and dont forget the high viz…good luck
have a nice day
If you ever carry a box with a flexitank tank inside (big wine box really) then make sure you only open the RIGHT hand door and NEVER the left. They are also a bit more top heavey and take longer to stop as they are full of liquid.
