Weaponized Shipping Containers

[Ben]

I think I have found a new use for my conex box.

https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/china/china-has-deployed-secret-missiles-in-cargo-ships-to-be-used-for-surprise-attacks-report.html

This has apparently been a thing for a while - the image below is Russian from 2011 and one use appears to be simple modularity, but the Chinese use is fairly ingenious, especially if you don't care what happens to your Trojan horse platform/crew after weapons deployment.



https://survincity.com/2011/08/missile-system-club-k-criticism-and-prospects/

[HankB]

How much damage would a Chicom cargo container - heck, a whole shipload of Chicom cargo containers - do if they were packed with explosives and detonated at one of our major ports?

[WLJ]

How much damage would a Chicom cargo container - heck, a whole shipload of Chicom cargo containers - do if they were packed with explosives and detonated at one of our major ports?

Fertilizer as in ammonia nitrate. Whoops, sorry about that, it was an accident.  Ha hahahahaha

[Nick1911]

How much damage would a Chicom cargo container - heck, a whole shipload of Chicom cargo containers - do if they were packed with explosives and detonated at one of our major ports?

Bad, but why would the Chinese want to disrupt trade with their largest trading partner?

[MechAg94]

A container with explosives going off in a ship in port or in a port holding area may or may not cause a lot of damage, but it certainly would cause a scare and slow down shipping even more than it is now. 

I can see the people in charge now adding 173 new procedures to the process for handling cargo. 

[RoadKingLarry]

Bad, but why would the Chinese want to disrupt trade with their largest trading partner patsy?

FTFY

[Nick1911]

FTFY

Eh, we voluntarily buy all their cheap crap, happily outsourcing a lot of production doing so.  Americans are a willing party to Chinese trade.  If we can save a few bucks, we don't care if it's made in a state owned factory in a communist country.  I'm as guilty as anyone there.

[JN01]

Eh, we voluntarily buy all their cheap crap, happily outsourcing a lot of production doing so.  Americans are a willing party to Chinese trade.  If we can save a few bucks, we don't care if it's made in a state owned factory in a communist country.  I'm as guilty as anyone there.

The problem, too often, is that there is no alternative to the Chinese made product.

[dogmush]

The problem, too often, is that there is no alternative to the Chinese made product that we are willing to pay for.

FTFY.

I agree with Nick here.  We caused this problem over a couple decades, and I buy Chinese stuff as much as the next guy, but there are almost always alternatives.  They are just expensive.

[RoadKingLarry]

If I can find a US made item I will happily pay a little more for it. If no US made alternative I like to look for Made in Taiwan or Made in India

I used to really despise Harbor Fright, but hell, their cheap *expletive deleted*ss China made crap is likely as not made in the same same factory as the name brand Made in China crap anymore.

[Ben]

If I can find a US made item I will happily pay a little more for it. If no US made alternative I like to look for Made in Taiwan or Made in India

I used to really despise Harbor Fright, but hell, their cheap *expletive deleted*ss China made crap is likely as not made in the same same factory as the name brand Made in China crap anymore.

Yup. Everybody always says to "go green" with tractors, but all the small John Deere tractors are made in China now. I feel better about my "offbrand" LS made in South Korea.

I try to buy American, but sometimes the price Delta is just ridiculous, and it's not all the fault of Chinese slave labor. I'm ok with stuff like DeWalt's "made in USA of international components" stuff (belated thanks to Dogmush for the heads up on that). It's a reasonable extra charge for made in USA. When we're talking double or even triple the cost though, especially on big items, sometimes a guy has got to go with the Chinamen.

[RoadKingLarry]

I feel better about my "offbrand" LS made in South Korea.

That's one of the reasons why my compact tractor is a Kioti

[AZRedhawk44]

If I can find a US made item I will happily pay a little more for it. If no US made alternative I like to look for Made in Taiwan or Made in India

I used to really despise Harbor Fright, but hell, their cheap *expletive deleted*ss China made crap is likely as not made in the same same factory as the name brand Made in China crap anymore.

A big part of off-shoring manufacturing was to save money, but also to invest in allies' industrial capacity.  Americans have known how to smelt wrenches on industrial scale for 50+ years after WWII.  Sharing that skill with Taiwan and South Korea allowed skilled US labor to work on other things, and build a new industrial base in countries close to communist sway so they can see how skill and expertise are not communal assets.

I have a set of Taiwanese "Gearwrench" brand wrenches that I love.  They're fantastic.  Strong, precise, durable.

I've also broken a HF 10mm wrench.  Bubbled voids in the handle where it cracked.  Inferior chinese-make.

I'm with a lot of you where I try my damnedest to avoid buying Chinese.  Sadly, I just purchased a Chinese lens for my new digital camera.  It's a $1000 lens, 70-350mm with image stabilization built in, Sony's G-series telephoto.  And it really is a premium piece of glass.  My other 3 lenses are made in Thailand and Japan, and I did look over the place of manufacture of the other two competitors to this telephoto and they were made in Vietnam and Japan, respectively.  Had no idea that Sony would make a G-series lens in China and considering the two kit lenses I had weren't made there I figured there was no way this higher end one would be.  But evidently there are some good things that are made in China, even if we don't want to support their economy or world view. 

[MillCreek]

^^^I have heard several places, and maybe here was one of them, that the PRC is able to build to whatever quality/price point you want.  I have followed somewhat the PRC space program, and some of their stuff is as cutting edge as Russia, the US or the EU.

[Ben]

^^^I have heard several places, and maybe here was one of them, that the PRC is able to build to whatever quality/price point you want.  I have followed somewhat the PRC space program, and some of their stuff is as cutting edge as Russia, the US or the EU.

I think Harbor Freight is a great example of that. I bought a drill bit set from them once where pretty much every bit broke within a few uses. Their Pittsburgh tools also tend to fall apart.

On the other hand, I have some of their Icon hand tools, and they probably give Snap-On, which is too rich for my blood, a run for their money (the Icon stuff is actually not that inexpensive either). Also, just look at the Youtube reviews for stuff like their Predator generators - all on par with Hondas.

[MechAg94]

One weakness of mine is Olight Flashlights.  Lots of neat designs that seem to work well.  Surefire makes some good lights also, but a lot of their stuff is 3 times the cost. 

The Inforce weapon lights I have seem to work well and I think they might be US made.  Don't know for sure.  I guess Streamlight is another option.

[HankB]

. . . When we're talking double or even triple the cost though, especially on big items, sometimes a guy has got to go with the Chinamen.

Sometimes the price delta is more - Chinese made toasters cost in the tens of dollars, the (very) few USA made toasters I've found go for hundreds.

[Hawkmoon]

If I can find a US made item I will happily pay a little more for it. If no US made alternative I like to look for Made in Taiwan or Made in India

I used to really despise Harbor Fright, but hell, their cheap *expletive deleted*ss China made crap is likely as not made in the same same factory as the name brand Made in China crap anymore.

Unfortunately, that's the truth.

For most of my life, I bought nothing but Sears Craftsman automotive tools -- wrenches, sockets, ratchets, adapters, breaker bards, the whole enchilada. My rollaway tool chests are Sears Craftsman. Now? It's all made in China. Can't blame Black & Decker -- Sears had shifted production to China before they sold the Craftsman brand to Black & Decker. The onlt Sears Craftsman ratchet I have aver had go bad is the newest -- and, not coincidentally, the only one that wasn't made in the USA.

[French G.]

I actively avoid Chinese. I save most of my ire for tools because we had good brands here and corporate decided to whore the name for dollars while slipping in a Chinese replacement. Vaughan, channellock and the good Wiss stuff are still made here. I buy made in Taiwan Milwaukee. The gun thing burns me up too because companies like swamp fox optics wrap their marketing in murica stuff while selling you china. Just be honest. I might buy it if I am hard up. But if I have to dig through customer reviews to find out where your red white and blue stuff is made, ehh no thanks. Food has always been a hard pass and not for slave labor, I like my food to not kill me.

[HankB]

. . .  Food has always been a hard pass and not for slave labor, I like my food to not kill me.

Ditto. I avoid Chicom canned goods (like mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, etc.) since they still use lead paint on baby furniture, cadmium and other heavy metals and various toxins been found in dog food and vaping fluids, so I don't trust them to sell us wholesome food.

[MechAg94]

I haven't really looked into it, is there are resource that lists common food brands imported from China?

[JTHunter]

Fertilizer as in ammonia nitrate. Whoops, sorry about that, it was an accident.  Ha hahahahaha

Didn't that actually happen many years ago down in Texas?  IIRC, a whole shipload of "fertilizer" exploded.

ETA:  Yep, Texas City, TX.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fertilizer-explosion-kills-581-in-texas

[WLJ]

Didn't that actually happen many years ago down in Texas?  IIRC, a whole shipload of "fertilizer" exploded.

ETA:  Yep, Texas City, TX.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fertilizer-explosion-kills-581-in-texas

And don't forget Beirut. Yes the AN had already been off loaded into a warehouse but I don't think that mattered much except for the fact the effect could have been worst if it was still on board because much of the city was shielded from the direct effects of the blast by the grain silos next to the warehouse.

[MechAg94]

That makes me curious how much of an explosion would come from a standard shipping container full of "fertilizer".  And how stable would it be if it was set up to be able to explode ahead of time. 

[dogmush]

Meh, if you want to kill a port, and you have the resources of the CCP, just put a nuke in a container, transship it through Karachi, and pop the popcorn.

Antiship missile carrying Q-ships are a little more worrisome because they are more likely, but it's a trick you only get to use once, so they need to make it count.