Why Great Eastern could not create containerisation by itself

Could Brunel have made Great Eastern the first successful container ship?

Not by changing the ship alone; containerisation required earlier cargo standards, suitable cranes and a developed port-and-logistics system.

Turning Brunel's Great Eastern into a successful container ship would require changes well beyond the vessel itself. Containerisation is described as building on earlier palletisation, crating and cargo-handling conventions. Those developments created the surrounding logistics and infrastructure needed to use standardized containers. Ports also required cranes large enough to move them. Modern container handling is discussed in terms of equipment designed for TEU-standard containers, while bulk cargoes such as ore and grain remain different handling cases. A suitable hull therefore would not, on its own, create the system needed at the other end of the voyage.