Are Shipping Containers Bulletproof?

The answer: Standard shipping containers offer minimal ballistic protection, but strategic modifications can significantly improve their bullet resistance.

This guide explores the ballistic capabilities of shipping containers, the factors that affect their protective qualities, and proven methods for enhancing their security.

Understanding How Shipping Containers Are Built

To understand a shipping container’s defensive capabilities, we first need to examine how shipping containers are built and what materials comprise them.

Core material: Corten steel

Most shipping containers use corten steel, also known as weathering steel. This alloy offers several advantages:

• Exceptional durability under stress
• Natural resistance to rust and corrosion
• Reliable performance in outdoor environments
• Robust structural integrity

While corten steel excels in these areas, it wasn’t engineered with ballistic threats in mind.

Shipping Container wall thickness and bulletproof performance

The walls of standard shipping containers measure between 0.063 to 0.079 inches of corrugated steel. Certain container sections feature greater thickness, including corner posts, door assemblies, and floor crossmembers. However, even these reinforced areas lack the specifications needed to reliably stop projectiles.

Can a Shipping Container Stop a Bullet?

The short answer is no, shipping containers are not bulletproof. The steel used in their construction can stop certain low-caliber rounds, but it is not designed to provide comprehensive ballistic protection.

Here’s a closer look at how different types of bullets interact with shipping container steel:

Small-caliber bullets

Small-caliber handgun rounds have limited penetration power compared to rifles.

They can create dents or deformations in the surface or partially deflect when hitting at oblique angles.But despite these scenarios, most handgun rounds will breach the walls, particularly from short distances.

High-caliber and rifle rounds

High-caliber rounds from rifles or larger handguns are much more likely to penetrate the steel walls of a shipping container. These rounds possess higher velocity and energy, making them capable of breaching the thin steel used in container construction.

Armor-piercing rounds

Armor-piercing rounds are specifically designed to penetrate heavy armor and hardened targets. These bullets can easily pierce through the steel walls of a shipping container.

How to Make a Shipping Container Bullet-Resistant

While standard containers aren’t bulletproof, they can be transformed into fortified structures through various upgrade approaches.

Here are common bullet resistant shipping container modifications:

Add ballistic armor plating to a shipping container

Professional-grade ballistic materials include:

• AR500 or AR550 hardened steel plates
• Kevlar fabric panels
• Advanced aramid fiber composites

Properly installed ballistic materials enable containers to withstand handgun fire, rifle rounds, and potentially armor-piercing threats depending on the protection level chosen.

Reinforce shipping containers with additional steel layers

Another method is layering steel, such as welding 0.12-0.24 inch steel plates onto the interior or exterior walls. This creates double-wall barriers with air gaps and adds internal steel framing.

This reinforced shipping container bulletproof strategy increases weight significantly but boosts protection.

Use concrete or sand for shipping container reinforcement

Concrete and sand both act as excellent kinetic energy absorbers. The reinforcement can be done by pouring concrete into framed interior walls or filling the empty spaces with sand as a cost-effective barrier.

Real-World Applications for Reinforced Shipping Containers

Once upgraded, bullet-resistant containers serve important roles across industries and highlight various shipping container uses:

• Safe rooms & panic rooms: Containers can be converted into secure spaces for homes or businesses, offering reinforced steel, locking systems, secure ventilation.
• Temporary shelters: During emergencies or high-risk events, reinforced containers provide temporary protective structures.
• Mobile command centers: Law enforcement, military, and emergency responders often use fortified containers for field operations and communications hubs.

Shipping containers, while strong and durable, are not inherently bulletproof. Their steel construction can offer some protection against small-caliber bullets, but they are not designed to withstand high-caliber or armor-piercing rounds. For those seeking bullet-resistant properties, additional modifications and reinforcements are necessary. Understanding the limitations and possibilities of shipping containers can help in making informed decisions about their use in security and protective applications.