11. The Number of Container Ships Is Beyond Your Imagination
At this very moment, there are approximately 55,000 container ships sailing the seas or docked in ports. This vast fleet ensures the smooth flow of international trade.
12. Just How Many Seafarers Are There in the World?
There are currently about 1.5 million seafarers worldwide, a number equivalent to the entire population of Bahrain, the city of Yantai in Shandong Province, or Futian District in Shenzhen.
13. Most Containers Are Not Inspected by Customs
That’s right—customs authorities inspect only about 2% to 10% of all containers transported globally. Inspecting every single container would risk causing delays in international trade.
14. Unique Identification Numbers
Every container has its own unique ID number, similar to a license plate on a car. This allows containers to be tracked anywhere in the world throughout their use.
15. 600 Million
Statistics vary slightly, but some public data indicates that as of 2021, there were over 630 million containers of various sizes in service worldwide. That’s a lot!
16. A Massive Train
If you unloaded all the containers from the world’s largest container ship and loaded them onto a train, that train would be at least 70.8 kilometers long.
17. A Lot of Cans
A 20-foot container can hold approximately 35,000 tin cans. These cans likely contain green beans or tomato sauce.
18. Freshness in Transit
About half of all international trade uses refrigerated containers. This allows fresh goods to be transported around the world, significantly expanding the potential market size for importers and exporters.
19. The World’s Largest Single-Structure Container Building
The Hudson Bay Logistics Building is the world’s largest container structure. It was built using 231 shipping containers. In the long run, the world’s largest container community is Keetwonen in Amsterdam, which features 1,000 fully equipped residential apartments.
20. The World’s Largest Container Market
If you’re in Kyrgyzstan, be sure to visit the largest container market. The Dordoy Bazaar, built entirely from recycled shipping containers, consists of over 7,000 used containers and employs approximately 20,000 people.