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Deep Waters: Container ships

Container ships carry everything we buy - but those giant boxes hold secrets too.

Container ships are the monsters of the seas - the very biggest are almost half a kilometre long and piled high with up to 20,000 huge boxes. At any one time, there are tens of thousands of these floating cities on the move, many unable even to dock at local ports. It鈥檚 our relentless demand for more and cheaper stuff that drives the industry. We meet the British salvage man who鈥檚 making millions from the boxes that get left behind, lost or abandoned - yet another example of how invisible the world of shipping is, even though the whole planet depends on it.

Presenter: Tim Whewell
Producer: Monica Whitlock

Image: Jake Slinn, founder of JS Global, at Felixstowe docks, Credit: Monica Whitlock

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 16 Apr 2023 21:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 11 Apr 2023 01:32GMT
  • Tue 11 Apr 2023 08:32GMT
  • Tue 11 Apr 2023 12:32GMT
  • Tue 11 Apr 2023 19:06GMT
  • Sun 16 Apr 2023 04:32GMT
  • Sun 16 Apr 2023 13:06GMT
  • Sun 16 Apr 2023 21:32GMT