SECU (container)

SECU, Stora Enso Cargo Unit, is a type of intermodal container (shipping container) built to transport bulk cargo like paper on railway and ship. They were invented and used by Stora Enso (forest and paper company). The ports used are mainly in production countries like Finland (Kotka, Oulu) and Sweden (Gothenburg) and in consumer countries Belgium (Zeebrugge), UK (Tilbury, Immingham) and Germany (Lübeck).

A SECU looks like a larger standard 40-foot ISO Container, measuring 13.8 * with a net weight of 80 MT of cargo. By contrast a 40-foot container is 12.2 * and can carry 26.5 MT of cargo. The benefit is that their larger capacity reduces the number of containers needed, and therefore their handling cost. The drawback is that special care is needed to handle them.

A SECU is too big and heavy to be transported by road (ISO-Containers are designed to fit roads), and instead they are transported only by railway and ship. A special vehicle or crane is used to load and unload them, and special railcars are also needed. They can be transported on truck ferries, but do not fit normal container ships.