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Two Lost Shipping Containers, a $25,000 Barge, and a Live Alligator Inside

Brent Rivera · ▶ 17:36 · 10 min read
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Overview

In this video, a group of creators set out to find two shipping containers they had spotted on Google Maps, get them out of the water, and open them up. Their pitch is that thousands of containers fall off ships every year, and these two had supposedly ended up on one stretch of coast. Most of the video is the search, a run-in with authorities, a costly deal to get access, and a race against daylight to unpack both containers. Inside they found real electronics, water-damaged goods, film props, and some genuinely alarming discoveries.

10 min read
0:32

Searching the Coast and the River

The group flew to the containers' last known location. Before they arrived, one member worried that they "might have flew here for nothing." That worry looked justified at first. After searching the entire coast they found nothing, so they rented a boat and kept looking on the river.

The narrator says the area is abandoned and that it is illegal to be there, with police patrol boats all around. There were alligators too. One member joked that the alligators were scarier than the police. Several false alarms followed, including what turned out to be a giant tree branch, and the group was close to giving up.

The breakthrough was a piece of debris with lettering on it. The group read it as "Firefly Shipping," with a double-F logo, which matched the container they were looking for. They reasoned that the container had probably drifted downstream with the current, so they followed the flow of the water. They eventually found the exact container from the Google Maps image.

It was no longer where the photo had shown it. In the image it sat on the beach. Now one container rested on a broken-down barge in what the narrator calls a completely abandoned part of the shipping dock, and the second had fallen into the water.

2:15

Towing, a Crane, and the Coast Guard

The narrator says finding the container was the easy part. To get the waterlogged one out, the group got into the water, which had a danger sign posted nearby. They tied ropes to the container and towed it toward a crane they had rented. The container was visibly full of water.

The crane's noise drew the attention of an officer from the local coast guard, who turned on their boat's lights and approached. The group explained that they thought the containers were abandoned. The officer replied that they did not care about the containers. The problem was that the group had climbed onto the barge, which is equipment and someone's property. After the group explained themselves, the officer gave them the address of the boat company that owned the barge.

3:38

The Owner's Warning and the $25,000 Decision

The group drove to the company and met the owner, who recognized the Firefly name. The owner said that company ships "anything that could be shipped," from pool noodles to teddy bears to grenades, and when asked, said it was possible the containers held live explosives.

The owner quoted about $25,000 to use the barge for landing the containers. The narrator admits this is a lot of money when the containers might be empty, but after some discussion they decided the risk was worth it. The deal came with a deadline. They had about four hours of daylight to open and search both containers, or they would have to pay another $25,000 to rent the barge again the next day. That deadline drives the pace of the rest of the video.

4:43

Opening the First Container: The Manifest

The first container was marked with warnings for flammable objects, toxic hazards, and live animals, along with an image the group took to be a lion. One member said they were terrified. After cutting it open, the first thing they found was the shipping manifest, which listed the declared value at $112,000. The group celebrated, saying they had "already made our money."

The narrator immediately adds a caveat. The container might have been worth $112,000 before it fell off a boat and flooded, and damaged items would lose value. They decided to go through every item and test whatever they could.

5:56

Mixed Finds: Clothes, a Mummy, and Nintendo Switches

Many of the early boxes held low-value items such as shirts and small packages, which went to a donation pile. A mummy figure startled them but turned out to be a Halloween decoration. Then the group heard what sounded like growling from the back of the container, and they remembered the live-animals label.

The first major find was a box of electronics full of Nintendo Switch units and games. These appeared brand new and not waterlogged. The narrator says they were only a few boxes in and had already made half their money back. They said they would give the Switches away to subscribers, and they later offered other items, such as the iPads, the same way.

7:24

The Alligator

With about three hours left, they opened a box that held a real, live alligator in a cage. One member wanted to free it, and another objected to opening the cage. When they looked closer they saw that its mouth was taped shut, and they guessed it had not eaten "in like months." The narrator says they did not know how to care for an alligator, so they called a local reptile expert to release it into its natural habitat. The find raised their anxiety about what else might be inside, and they joked about finding a bomb or a lion.

8:05

Drones, a Storm, and Water Damage

About halfway through the first container they found a set of drones and guessed they were worth at least $500 each. Then a storm rolled in. Items they had laid out, including the drones, got soaked. Meanwhile they kept finding boxes inside the container that were already ruined. The narrator notes this is the downside of these containers: some of the contents probably don't work anymore.

One soggy box still held something they wanted to try, an inflatable over-water trampoline. They called it possibly the best find so far, or at least the most fun. They inflated it, took it to a nearby beach, and jumped on it, saying it was bigger than expected.

9:21

AirPods Max, a Go-Kart, and Prop Money

After more useless items, such as boxes of bolts, they found what they called the most expensive box so far. One member hoped for an iPhone. The box was full of brand-new AirPods Max, which they estimated at around $500 each "at least."

Next came a go-kart, which they struggled to get out of the container. It had been at the bottom, and they suspected water damage. The narrator sums it up as "there goes a couple thousand dollars."

The next box seemed to hold bands of cash. A closer look showed the bills read "In motion pictures we trust," so it was prop money. One member admitted they had briefly thought they had found a million dollars.

10:54

A Safe With a "Time Bomb"

They also found a safe with its keys attached. Inside was a device with what looked like a clock, which they first thought might be a time bomb. They concluded it was a fake prop because it was not powered on and had small batteries plugged into it. The narrator admits it was concerning at first, and they removed it from the container.

11:33

iPads and an Underwater Scooter

Another electronics box held what the group said was about 50 iPads, still sealed and showing no water damage. They turned one on and it worked.

A large box they first thought might be a PS5 turned out to be an underwater scooter, with a label they read as something like "Sublue Navbow." They said these are also expensive. They tested it in the water, and the narrator says the scooter was cool but not the coolest vehicle in the containers.

13:16

The Military Crate

Near the end of the first container they found what one member called a military crate. Remembering the earlier props, they guessed it might be another one. Inside were what they identified as RPGs, along with gas masks. They closed it right away and said they could be arrested just for touching it. They decided to hand it over to the barge owner they had spoken with and let that person deal with it, and they handled it carefully on the way out. The video does not show what happened to the crate after that.

The narrator says they opened a few more "dangerous boxes" before reaching the last box in the first container.

14:06

The Second Container: Ducks, Bubbles, and a Crossbow

The second container, marked as holding flammable objects, was opened with about half an hour left before they would owe another $25,000. A large shape inside looked like it might be a car, but they opened the smaller boxes first.

These held Sabrina Carpenter merchandise, bubble toys, and a box labeled "live animals" that turned out to be full of rubber ducks. One member said this is the nature of these videos: you find either something really expensive or something completely random.

A box marked fragile held a crossbow labeled as a "tactical lightweight hunting crossbow." The group said it could be used for real hunting and was dangerous, and one member said they did not trust themselves holding it.

16:08

The Final Find: A Mercedes Boat-Car

The biggest item turned out to be a vehicle styled like a Mercedes car, with four seats, a steering wheel, and cup holders, but no wheels. They realized it was a boat shaped like a car. One member pointed out a problem: this was the container that had been underwater, so the boat might not work. Another objected that it was a boat, and a third answered that boats aren't supposed to be under the water. The hood was wet.

They put it in the water and it ran. The driver said it felt like driving a car, with a steering wheel, a gas pedal, and a brake, and the group described it as both cool and a little scary. The video ends with the group calling it a "jet car" and joking that the only thing better is a free one.

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