Free Made on Earth by Wolfgang Korn Page B

Biscay, the heavy autumn storm takes hold. Now the captain has to decide whether the ship should change course or seek shelter in a port. He has been instructed to stay on course during storms of up to gale force 11. In light of this, he holds steady and the steel behemoth heads straight into a fog as thick as pea soup. As the World Star ploughs on through the rough seas, the containers awake as if from a long slumber. A chorus of screeching metal sings out across the ship as the containers sway and roll. Unfortunately, not all of the containers are singing the same tune. Container D 42-523-46-743 doesn’t seem to like the singing of its neighbour M 53-987-12-853. It moves further and further away with each roll of the ship. The storm also increases the risk that the cold storage containers will lose their connection to the ship’s power supply, causing their contents to defrost and be ruined. Every half an hour, the crew patrol the ship to make sure the containers aren’t moving around too much. Finally, after seven long hours, the storm blows itself out and the weather becomes calm. The World Star is undamaged and still sailing according to schedule.
    Was there ever any real danger to the ship or crew? Yes, there was. Every storm is dangerous. On average, two cargo ships sink every week due to poor weather conditions. Sometimes monster waves, 20 metres high, engulf them, dragging them under. The World Star passes the English Channel and reaches the North Sea. The captain stands outside and sniffs the air. Yes, it smells like home to him, nowhere else on the ocean is there so much iodine in the air. After crossing the North Sea, they will once again have to pass through a narrow stretch of water. They have to make their way up the River Elbe and hope that there are no traffic jams.
     
    15 October 2005
    Slowly but surely, the World Star makes its way up the Elbe. Ships the size of the World Star can only sail the 117 kilometres up the Elbe to the port of Hamburg when the North Sea tide is flowing upriver. The river is too shallow otherwise, and the World Star could easily run aground. Then comes a message the captain had been hoping not to hear: that their pre-booked docking place is occupied. How long will the World Star have to wait before it can dock? Two hours? Five hours? Delays like this are happening more and more frequently. The World Star ’s shipping company, and many of the captain’s colleagues, blame the ports for working too slowly.
    But the captain knows the truth. The whole system is to blame. Last year, when the World Star started sailing, it was one of the largest container ships in existence, carrying up to 8,400 containers. In reality, the World Star is too big for a port like Hamburg, with its narrow shipping lanes and shallow water. But it’s still expected to dock there. Now, shipping companies are building even larger ships that can carry up to 18,000 containers. The shipping companies believe that with larger ships, they’ll make even more money, as they’ll be able to reduce freight charges and beat the competition. They’ll also, of course, be able to transport more cargo on every journey.
    Where will it end? the captain wonders, as he gazes across the river to where a flock of cranes fly away.

7
     
    From Surplus to Talisman: Something Unwanted Becomes a Lucky Charm
    18 October 2005
    Our off-white container is lifted out of the belly of the World Star by a huge crane, swung over a row of patiently waiting containers, and finally deposited on dry land. After a 12 hour wait in the third largest port in Europe, our cargo from Bangladesh is loaded onto a truck. Before leaving the port, the truck has to pass through customs. Information about the cargo had already been sent on ahead over the Internet, arriving long before the World Star docked at the quayside. The paperwork should list the exact contents of the container.
    The customs officials check whether the data supplied is correct, but