Tanks offer many advantages over the use of drums, including:
Environmental Efficiency
The tank container is a recyclable resource, which can be used over and over again.
Greater Capacity
Tank containers can carry a far greater quantity of liquid for the equivalent shipping space and cost compared to an ISO container filled with drums. A tank container, with a capacity of 26,000 litres or more, can transport the equivalent of 128 205-litre (55 US gallons) drums in the same space. It would require 1.6 dry box container loads at effectively twice the shipping cost to transport this number of drums.
Added to this is the cost of purchasing standard drums, at around $20 each or $2,560 in total, and the costs of equipment and labour to handle, store, fill and individually mark each one. Tanks offer a more economic alternative.
Economical Design
Think of a tank container as a large but technically superior drum, within its own protective frame and with provision for lifting and stacking. The resulting ease and speed of loading and discharging is beneficial to both shippers and their customers.
Receiving just two tank container loads each day eliminates the handling and storage of up to 260 drums - difficult when the drums are new, but even more costly and inefficient when the drums are empty and contaminated.
Ease of Maintenance
Tank containers have the added benefit of stainless-steel cleanliness and strength, pressurisation and integral heating systems. GE SeaCo tank containers are available from stock and supplied with independent authority test certification and cleanliness certificates.
Tank containers provide benefits of efficiency, economy, quality and safety over a container load of drums.
