In our modern fast-paced society, we probably don’t stop to think about how all of the things that are part of our daily lives reach us. Due to the ideas of one man, the world is shrinking as it globalizes. Modern container shipping will celebrate its 60^th anniversary next year. Container ships now carry about 60 percent of the total value the world’s goods shipped by sea.

The History of Containerization 

Though transporting containers has been practiced since 1792, it wasn’t until 1955 that modern containerization was introduced by American entrepreneur, Malcom McLean. (Image: Malcom McLean, http://bit.ly/1TLcMgF)

He came up with the idea that if he was able to drive his truck straight onto the transportation ships with its cargo and drive it off at the destination point. He later realized the process could be much simpler if the containers could be lifted off the trucks and placed on the ships. The process he created is called “inter-modalism” transportation; cargo can be transported in the same container, without being unloaded or reloaded, through the duration of its route, and on different modes of transportation. Thanks to the efficiency of modern containerization, the world is shrinking and human choice is growing. (Video: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-containerization-shaped-the-modern-world)

Since McLean started his shipping business, the technology of shipping containers continues to advance. The third generation of shipping containers for RO-RO ships using non-cassette carrier (NCC) technology lifts steel plates and coils. This technology is improving the efficiency of the shipping process.

The Efficiency of RO-RO Carriers

On July 2, the Gwangyang Frontier, the world’s first NCC concept RO-RO carrier, left the Port of Gwangyang. The Gwangyang Frontier is dedicated to the shipment of steel plates, and delivers only POSCO Steel products. It will drastically reduce logistics costs for POSCO by improving transport efficiency to a much higher level than conventional RO-RO ships currently operate.

The first generation of steel carriers loaded and unloaded steel by using wharf cranes, which was a very time-consuming and complicated process. The second generation of dedicated steel carriers developed the RO-RO concept to load and unload steel coils by cassette and to be carried to the transporters. The second generation RO-RO carriers required large investments in heavy equipment at both loading and unloading ports.

Gwangyang Marine has acquired a third generation carrier which applies the world’s first concept NCC technology, using bundle transport, and specializing in lifting steel plates and coils. It is expected to save annual logistics costs of about 2.5 billion won by reducing the loading and unloading time by half, and is capable of lifting super-wide and super-long cargo. It is expected to have a big impact on conventional ways of transporting steel plates and coils in future for POSCO.

Since the publication of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1869 up until the dawn of today’s sci-fi thrillers such as Stargate Atlantis, the concept of underwater exploration and civilization has captured the imagination of the public. Now, facing problems like overpopulation, rising sea levels and increasing natural disasters, humanity is seeking alternative living environments, and with ever-progressing technology, life under the sea no longer seems all that unrealistic.

In fact, some small underwater habitats already exist, and we have the technology to create and maintain larger ones that could easily support human sustenance. Might it be possible that one day there will be an entire network of undersea cities, brimming with futuristic technology and advanced ways of living? And if it is, how would these sub-aquatic societies be connected? 

Undersea Tunnels, a Brief History

Undersea tunnels, the most likely method of transportation in a world submerged by water, are not a new concept. In fact, the earliest example of such engineering endeavors dates back to around 2100 BCE, when the Babylonians used a tunnel to divert the Euphrates River. It wasn’t until the 19^th century that the world saw a succession of more challenging tunnel projects, made possible by vast improvements in surveying and ventilation techniques.

The first notion of the Channel Tunnel, which connects England and France, was proposed to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 by a French engineer named Mathieu-Favier, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that it became a reality. Instead, London’s Thames Tunnel became the first modern undersea tunnel in 1843, taking almost 20 years to complete. The tunnel was originally designed for, but never used by, horse-drawn carriages.

Noting the comparable advantages undersea tunnels have over bridges, such as their ability to divert traffic and not be affected by external factors such as wind or rain, city planners began incorporating them into city layouts in the late 1800s. But, at the time, the methods used to construct these tunnels consisted mainly of excavating in painstakingly small increments, and were incredibly time consuming.

The game changed in 1903 with a construction project beneath the Detroit River in America when engineers used a method that involved anchoring premade sections of steel tube into a pre-dug trench on the river floor. Then, in 1971, a new era of underwater tunneling began with the construction of the Seikan Railroad Tunnel, which currently stretches 53.85 kilometers beneath the Tsugaru Strait in Japan. Instead of using the antiquated tunneling techniques of the past, tunnel builders began to utilize giant tunnel boring machines to make the process go faster. Since then, tunneling projects that could once only be conceptualized have become a reality.

The Eurasia Tunnel Project, for example, is a 14.6 kilometer-long road tunnel that will link Europe and Asia via the Bosporus Strait, and is currently in the last stages of construction. It is a project that has long been discussed and aims to reduce traffic in Istanbul, the second-worst European city in terms of traffic congestion.

Tunneling to the Future

Of course transportation tunnels like these would be vital in aquatic lands, but a sustainable undersea city would also need gas, oil, electricity and, most importantly, oxygen. Yet, some of these types of undersea tunnels exist, and are constantly being positioned across the waters of the world.

In the most recent tunnel developments, POSCO, in coordination with GS Caltex and Jeonnam Development Coorporation, has made plans to construct a 3.98 kilometer-long undersea tunnel connecting Gwangyang Port and Yeosu Industrial Complex by the first half of 2019.

POSCO Green Gas Technology will use the undersea pipe network to supply syngas produced at the Gwangyang SNG Plant to GS Caltex, which will then use the syngas for petroleum refining and enhancing processes. Furthermore, the undersea tunnel will minimize risks associated with transport and establish an efficient undersea logistics infrastructure by reducing production and logistical costs.

POSCO’s gas pipeline tunnel is indicative of what is to come. Perhaps the undersea tunnels of the future will allow for the transportation of fresh drinking water, alternative energy resources or even food sources from faraway lands. But with real-life projects concerning tunnels between Morocco and Spain, Japan and South Korea and the mainland of Canada and Prince Edward Island on the table, it is clear that such possibilities are not only realistic, but also limitless.

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