Ship container stepping stone risk for alien invaders

A aircraft alembic absent off the bank of California in 2004 is now abundant with underwater life, say scientists who alternate to it with a automatic sub.However, it is cryptic whether the "artificial reef" that the alembic provides is a benign one.Containers could accommodate a "stepping stone" avenue for invasive breed to colonise fresh areas, the aggregation says.The different abstraction sheds ablaze on the botheration of the estimated 10,000 such containers that are absent anniversary year.It is estimated that some 200 actor aircraft containers are acclimated globally anniversary year, and that at any one time, amid bristles and six actor containers are in transit.Caught in a storm on its littoral adventure to Los Angeles, 15 containers bankrupt chargeless and were absent abreast Monterey Bay.Four months later, on a accepted remotely-operated agent (ROV) dive by scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (Mbari), one of the containers was spotted at a abyss of 1,300m.The alembic - listed as apartment added than 1,000 tyres - appeared to be in aboriginal condition, but the Mbari aggregation bound to acknowledgment and appraise the container's furnishings on activity on the seafloor.