Sea cargo reference
45' High-Cube
The largest box in ordinary ocean service. The figures below are the inside of the box, the door, and the weights.
- Internal length
- 13.556 m
- Internal width
- 2.352 m
- Internal height
- 2.700 m
- Door opening, width
- 2.340 m
- Door opening, height
- 2.597 m
- Cubic capacity
- 86 m³
- Empty weight
- 4800 kg
- Payload
- 27700 kg
How a 45' High-Cube is used
High-cube internal height plus five extra feet of length. That is the largest cargo volume of any ISO container in international ocean service.
For light palletised freight it is among the lowest cost per pallet in the standard fleet. That is why it is favoured where volume, not weight, sets the freight bill.
It is harder to find than 20' and 40' equipment. Some ports, feeder ships, rail services and road networks restrict 45' units. Confirm the whole routing, inland legs included, before the booking is placed.
Cargo it suits
How the box is made
- A welded steel frame with a corner casting on each of the eight corners. Those castings take the crane spreader, the twistlocks that hold the box to the deck, and the lashings that secure it.
- Side walls and roof are pressed from corrugated low-alloy weathering steel. The corrugation stiffens the panel. The alloy grows a protective oxide skin instead of rusting through.
- Double doors sit at one end. Vertical locking bars with cam fittings pull each door tight against the frame.
- A rubber gasket runs the full edge of the door opening and seals against driven rain and dust.
- The floor is thick marine plywood, usually film-faced, bolted to steel cross-members that carry forklift wheel loads.
- Lashing points run along the side rails and at floor level so cargo can be secured inside.
- Outside it is 2,896 mm (9 ft 6 in) tall, against 2,591 mm (8 ft 6 in) for a standard container.
- Lashing rings rated to 1,000 kg sit on the front top-end rail, the bottom cross member and the corner posts.
- A recess in the floor at the front end seats the box on a gooseneck chassis, so it rides lower and can stand taller.
- Many units carry corner castings at both the 40 ft and the 45 ft positions, so standard 40 ft gear can still handle them.
- It suits light, bulky cargo and over-height pieces up to roughly 2.70 m.
Why shippers choose it
- Running costs stay low. Upkeep is mostly dents, door seals and floor boards.
- The same sealed box moves by ship, rail and road. The cargo is not handled again at each change of mode.
- Corner castings sit in the ISO positions, so any crane, spreader, chassis or railcar can take the box.
- The box is weatherproof and can be locked, which limits both moisture damage and theft.
- This is the most widely available equipment, so a booking rarely fails because no box is free.
- The frame supports itself and stacks, so a retired unit is still useful for site storage or a modular building.