A shipping agent will often organise the transportation of thousands of items from their departure point to their destination. The types of cargo will vary but will often be the kinds of items you would expect to travel long distances, such as consumer goods and cars.
However, given that logistics allows for nearly anything to be transported with enough preparation, there have certainly been quite a few odd pieces of cargo.
Terracotta Army
One of the world’s greatest archaeological finds, the Terracotta Army, a collection of hundreds of life-sized clay soldiers were found in a grand mausoleum located in Shaanxi, China.
Once they were rediscovered, the 2,200-year-old priceless artefacts were taken to Shanghai, and later were shipped around the world, most notably to the Smithsonian Institute in the United States.
Thanks to the amazing work of sea freighters, the Terra Cotta Warriors safely arrived.
A Giant Boa Constrictor
Live animals are a complex field of logistics, and laws have been put in place to protect the animals themselves, as well as freight staff and people in the destination country.
However, one inspector received the fright of their life when they inspected a leaking shipping container and found a 70 cm long boa constrictor, a non-venomous snake, but one that can be dangerous due to its size and ability to crush and constrict people.
It was originally packed in ice around a set of yucca trees, either by accident or to hide the fact the container contained a live animal that had not been declared.
Secret Agent Gadgets
Weapons, even illegal ones, can sometimes be found on ships being sent by chancers, although they are usually caught out by inspectors at both ends of their journey.
However, a range of James Bond-styled gadgetry was shipped which caused people to be shaken and stirred. They included iPhone-esque devices that turned out to be stun guns, replica pistols, and lipstick tubes that actually stored tear gas.
All of them were clearly labelled, which does not appear to be very stealthy.
