When the sealed containers arrive, they are stacked at the port to wait for the shipping vessel to arrive. Stacking the containers on top of each other means the terminal does not have to allocate as much space to hold the bulk commodity, as containers are stacked on top of each other, and the commodity is filled to the top of the containers. This is a much more efficient method of holding bulk commodities at the port side than open stockpiles and avoids the need to build purpose-built facilities, which are far more expensive than sealed containers. It also helps improve the sustainability of ports as the commodity does not escape into the water or produce dust plumes which is often the case with open stockpiles. Moreover, with the commodity sealed shut the product quality is protected, which is particularly useful when handing grains to avoid contaminates. This is also particularly useful when a terminal wants to hold multiple types of bulk – they avoid the risk of cross contamination. Further to this, the commodity is securely locked, so the risk of theft of valuable commodities is reduced.
