Oh the shipping is definitely billed by item volume, not
weight (I had to provide exact dimensions in order to get
a shipping quote) but any ship has a gross tonnage rating
that can't be exceeded (mind you, I have no idea if one
of these ships reaches its rated tonnage with exactly a
full load of cars). It was impressive to see the diverse
fleet parked on the wharf at Southhampton--we spoke with
a married Brit couple who'd just imported(!) a late model
Chevy Suburban(!) they'd driven across the USA. They
liked it so much they decided to bring it home. <sigh>
As you say, they may save some fuel by trimming the weight
somewhat, but if all the auto spaces are full and there's
additional space elsewhere perhaps they squeeze in some
other type of cargo to cut costs and increase profit on the
voyage. Anything to make a few extra quid.
Much agreed on the "full tanks are safer" idea, but I got
the impression they were more worried about, for instance,
what might happen if they hit rough seas and a car or two
broke loose. There are probably insurance requirements
involved as well. And, of course I'm sure all the dock
workers "recycle" all that siphoned-off petrol into their
own cars. ;-).
cheers,
dj
1974 SIII Airportable, 'Smudger'
Peter said:
>Ocean shipping is not billed by weight but by cube.
>The amount of freight a ship can carry is almost
>always limited by physical size of the cargo, not
>weight. Draining a few gallons of gas out of every
>car wouldn't even count as to the number of autos the
>ship could carry. It's limited by space. Possibly
>may effect the amount of HP and thus fuel to drive the
>ship, however. If they save a 100 pounds in fuel,
>that's 50,000#s less water that has to be displaced
>and pushed out of the way as the ship moves.
>
>There may be something to limiting the amount of
>gasoline that could spill. Twenty gallons of gas
>splashed on a deck full of vehicles could be enough to
>light the entire ship on fire. Of course most fuel
>leaks are pin hole corrosion that lets the gasoline
>drip out and evaporate before it can accumulate. A
>full tank is definitely less of an explosion hazard,
>however.
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