Anti-Container Submarine

Lost shipping containers currently present one of the biggest hazards to ocean shipping. They lurk unseen just beneath the surface and have sharp steel corners ready to punch a hole in all but the most solid hulls. There is now, however, a solution to this menace of the seas. It's not cheap, possibly very expensive and probably quite dangerous, but it can clean up our oceans.

The Wagster Industries ACS (Anti-Container Submarine) is an unmanned, nuclear powered submarine capable of roaming the oceans for years unattended. It travels 2km deep, scanning the surface of the ocean with vertically focussed sonar. When it detects the signature of a shipping container it launches a torpedo upwards, punching a hole in it.

Whilst you might think that holing a container would be enough to sink it - what if it were full of delicate items packed in polystyrene? It might continue to float even after the torpedo impacts. In order to avoid this scenario, the ACS immediately follows up the torpedo strike with a HUGE torpedo containing enough explosive to blast the entire container into millions of tiny little pieces.

This presents us with yet another problem to overcome. What if all those millions of tiny little pieces are sharp and floaty? They could still present a hazard to sailing boats. Fortunately the ACS follows up the HUGE torpedo with a small nuclear device which instantly vaporises the dangerous floaty bits and the surrounding bit of ocean. This has the added advantage of temporarily marking the area with radiation as a warning to shipping that they should avoid the area in case the odd floaty bit remains.

The ACS is equipped with a location beacon enabling the sort of people who like seeing things exploding to follow it around at a discreet distance.