SMART Hybrid Container System

The global economy has brought about enormous opportunities in the areas of trade with developing nations. Nowhere is it more evident than in the East Asian basin. In 2002, over 12 million TEU containers where imported into the U.S. with over 60% originating in China/Hong Kong. In the same year, only 7 million TEU containers where exported from the U.S. to the rest of the world. What happened to those 5 million TEU empty containers? Shipping of steel containers (both full and empty) poses several problems to Homeland Security and shipping companies. RFID systems will not operate in steel containers because of wave propagation and false signals. X-ray systems must be extremely powerful (3MeV to 6Mev systems) to penetrate steel siding and can only review 20 containers per hour per system. At a 50% return rate, the shipping of empty containers is an expensive choice for shipping companies. Steel, while strong, rusts in marine environment. Mariner Container Corp. is ready to take advantage of opportunities available in today's global intermodal transportation market by providing a quantum increase in the level of detection, protection, tracking, recycling, and advanced manufacturing processes of a hybrid recyclable plastic 40' "smart" merchant ship containers.