Here’s Why Cargo Ships Take What Look Like The Weirdest Routes: COTD

Global trade depends on logistics working like a well-oiled machine. If your car wasn’t built in America, it likely experienced quite the journey before you even put the first mile on it. Cars are often loaded onto trucks or trains, rolled out to ports, then loaded onto ships. After a journey across the ocean, they land at another port where trucks and trains bring them to distributors. All of this is fascinating – but hold on, why do ships sail the weirdest routes?

Lewin wrote about the Morning Midas, a roll-on roll-off ship that was headed to Mexico from China but caught fire close to the Aleutian Islands. If you’re wondering why a ship from China on its way to Mexico ended up somewhat near Alaska, reader Bob has you covered:

It’s “The Great Circle Route.” Maps are flat, but the world is round (really, I promise) so what looks like a straight line on a map actually needs to curve to pick the shortest and most fuel-efficient route. Here’s what it looks like from the two closest airports.

Not all ships will take this route, but so many do. Here’s what a marine tracker shows for shipping routes across the Pacific right now. Note that the Morning Midas was following a fairly normal route! You can read more about so-called RoRo ships here.

I marked the ship’s last transmitted position on the map above with a red circle and the routes are shown with black lines. As the Maritime Executive writes, the Great Circle route has been used by sailors for centuries to reach their destinations in the most efficient way possible. Now, navigators are using modern technology to make these routes even more efficient than before.

In other news, Jason wrote a Cold Start where he mentioned that the Esso gas station chain gets its name from Standard Oil. “Esso” is basically just a phonetic spelling for “S.O.,” which is neat. Jason then noted that he thought Arby’s was a phonetic way to spell “R.B.” as in “roast beef.” OHsnap said:

Pretty sure everyone except Jason knew Arby’s was “R.B.s”

Flyingstitch said:

*Timidly raises hand in solidarity with Jason.*

I got confused, too, so I looked it up. Here’s what Arby’s says about its history:

Arby’s was founded in 1964, but the concept for a roast beef sandwich franchise was rooted many years earlier. Forrest Raffel, and his younger brother Leroy, bought an uncle’s restaurant equipment business in the 1950s. The small company rapidly grew to become one of the country’s leading foodservice consulting firms. Raffel Brothers, Inc. designed and installed hundreds of foodservice facilities including the flight kitchens at Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, interiors of six Ohio Turnpike restaurants, and foodservice facilities for the Hospitality Inn motel chain of Standard Oil of Ohio.

The Raffel brothers quickly sensed the potential of fast food and decided to develop a franchise operation based on something other than hamburgers. A late-night excursion to a small Boston sandwich shop one rainy Halloween was the inspiration for the Raffels, who joined a damp, but determined huddle of patrons to await the main attraction – a 69-cent roast beef sandwich.

The idea was born. The only kink in the chain’s orderly development came with choosing a name. The partners wanted to use the name ” Big Tex”, but were unsuccessful in negotiating with the Akron businessman who was already using the name. So, in the words of Forrest, “We came up with Arby’s, which stands for R.B., the initials of Raffel Brothers, although I guess customers might think the initials stand for roast beef.”

Well I’ll be dipped! Have a great weekend, everyone.

Top graphic image: Hoegh Autoliners