Independent journal on economy and transport policy
04:01 GMT+2
CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE STUDI CONTAINERS
ANNO XXXVIII - Numero MAGGIO 2020
LOGISTICS
SHIPPING CONTAINERS PROVE VERSATILE IN COVID-19 FIGHT
"While we are used to seeing shipping containers at
ports and on ships, and sometimes even converted into tiny homes, it
is worth noting that they can also be useful in the fight against
COVID-19."
Shippers have been left with thousands of empty containers to
move because of the slow down of the logistics supply chain.
Containers are themselves versatile offering a larger footprint
of up to 40ft (12.2m) in length and are typically are a water-tight
space.
In a recent article, Johnathan Bulmer, managing director at
Cleveland Containers, has highlighted three uses for shipping
containers.
First, makeshift hospitals can be built using shipping
containers as the demand for health care rises exponentially.
A video from the World Economic Forum provides an example of how
shipping containers can be used to provide extra hospital space.
Another design which has received funding to develop its first
prototype is the Connected Units for Respiratory Ailments (CURA),
notes Bulmer in his piece.
In the same way in which pop-up shops and co-working spaces can
be turned around quickly, the CURA fits all equipment and features
of an intensive care unit placed inside a 20ft container.
Hospital housing and temporary accommodation is yet another use
for containers.
Detroit-based cargo architecture firm Three Squared has turned
its "state-of-the-art cargo container dwellings" as relief
units for hospitals, but also as appropriately appointed and
climate-controlled housing units for doctors and nurses needing to
stay close to those patients.
The company also notes that the dwellings have also been turned
over as relief units for morgue/mortuary overflow. As is the reality
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finally, Bulmer notes that in the UK, 500 temporary prison cells
are being made from steel shipping containers, with more expected to
be built if demand continues.
They will be built in a prefabricated manner into the grounds of
seven prisons, in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus in
these locations where it's harder to maintain social distancing.
Work has begun on HMP North Sea Camp along with others in Moorland,
Lindholme and Huber, according to the Ministry of Justice.
"Shipping containers have been used as temporary measures
for years, but never in such a capacity for healthcare as they are
today. What the landscape will look like after the pandemic passes -
which it will, eventually - is unclear.
"But temporary changes to tackle the crisis now may endure
into the future, and create a new normal for reactive relief
efforts, with design ready-made," Bulmer noted.
Finally, as a minor distraction for those working from home
full-time and schools being closed, shipping line Hapag-Lloyd has
offered a fold your own Hapag-Lloyd container that can be printed
out, coloured in and assembled at home.
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