Chapter 4

FITTINGS TO BALLAST AND OTHER TANKS

Introduction
On conclusion of this module you should be able to identify the location
of Sounding & Air piping of different tanks and bilges on your ship and
study the calibration tables for such tanks. You should be able to sketch
the Bilge piping & Ballast system also. Such information should be
properly illustrated in your technical journal. Remember, the statutory
authorities shall examine your technical journal and if they feel that you
have been fooling around, even Mumbai University cannot help you.
Our role is of a facilitator but you have to do the learning.
Objectives

 To identify the location of bilge and ballast tanks,

 To understand function of such bilges and tanks,

 To understand design and operation of the bilges & ballast system.

 Demonstrate your ability to refer to the ship's plans and physically

locate the various ballast tanks; bilge wells, their fittings and
corresponding pipelines, sounding and air pipes.
 Describe the ballast tank configuration and the pipeline system with
sketches and list the common maintenance / inspection requirements
associated with these systems.
 Sketch and label the fittings associated with ballast / bilge systems.
Include this information in your technical journal after you have carried
out the above tasks.
Ballast tanks and their uses
 Every ship is fitted with ballast tanks to carry seawater as ballast
whenever cargo holds are empty. The purpose, of course, is to maintain
sufficient draft, to immerse the propeller and ensure safe navigation.
Ballast also ensures that the ship does not become too tender.
 Ballasting of tanks is an important aspect of a voyage in ballast. In
very rough weather, if the ship is not sufficiently ballasted she may
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 suffer structural damage. Ballasting also takes into account the stresses
and the strains.
 All spaces, including cargo holds, are liable to collect water either due to
condensation of moisture within the compartment or due to
cleaning/washing. Such water is collected in the bilges. In older ships these
were located on the sides of the holds. However on newer ships there are
wells located in the after part of the hold in which this water collects through
the draining arrangements and can then be pumped out by the pumping
arrangements.
 Knowledge of the layout, fittings and operating procedures of the
above arrangements is very essential for all deck officers not only for
routine ballast and bilge operations but also during emergencies such
as flooding, grounding and collisions.
Introduction to Ballast System
The purpose of ballast tanks is to provide sufficient dead weight when
the ship is in ballast so as to: -
1. Submerge the propeller,
2. Reduce the freeboard and thereby the windage area.
3. Achieve adequate trim,
4. Avoid excessive bow height.
5. Achieve adequate transverse stability.
6 Ensure that the longitudinal stresses do not exceed set limits.
7. Correct the list.
Constructions and equipment details
 Pipeline and pumping arrangements are fitted in the Tanks to
enable filling up and pumping out the ballast.
 Ventilation arrangements are flitted in the Tanks to allow the air
to and from the compartments to avoid pressure and vacuum build-up
as the tanks are closed on all sides and have no other means of
access.
 Air pipes run from the tanks to the weather deck and have self-
closing means to arrest water going in.
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  Sounding pipes also run from deck to the tanks to enable
measurement of the level of water in these spaces. These are flush with
deck and have a screw down cap.
 Capacity tables give volumes in each tank against soundings at
5 to 10 cm soundings.
 Information relating to manhole doors, other openings, location
of sounding pipes, air pipes, filling and pumping arrangements is
provided on the ship's GA Plan:

 Pipelines and pumping arrangements,

 Fittings - air pipes, sounding pipes,

 Maintenance and inspection routine.

Ballast tank configuration

The size, location and configuration of the ballast tanks vary from ship
to ship and more significantly from trade to trade. The fore peak tank
and the Aft peak tank are standard on most ships. The location of the
double bottom tanks (DBT's) is usually below holds for general cargo
vessels.
They are usually numbered from forward to aft and also named port,
starboard or centre in accordance to its location relating to the centre
line of the ship.
The tanks are distributed symmetrically on either side of the fore and aft
centreline with a longitudinal watertight centreline plate / floor.
Transverse watertight floors extending up into transverse bulkheads,
separate tanks from one another.

Plan of the tanks at tank top

On some ships deep tanks are fitted either for bunkers or liquid cargoes
and they may extend to the height of the tween deck or lower
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 depending on the requirement of the trade.
Bulk Carrier with hopper tanks
Bulk carriers are additionally provided with topside ballast tanks. These
are located just below the weather deck at the topside on the port and
starboard side of the holds. The transverse section of these tanks,
known as Hopper tanks or top & bottom side tanks is triangular in
shape.

Longitudinal section of Bulk Carrier

Transverse section of bulk carrier

Oil tankers
Oil tankers have various configurations of tanks. Single hull Oil Tankers,
which did not have double bottom tanks, were provided with tanks,
which could be used for ballast and thus were segregated from the oil
tanks. Such wing tanks serve two purposes,
a) They protect the oil tanks from the pollution danger in case of a
collision and
b) They can be used for water ballast.
These are normally located on either side of the cargo tanks. They
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 extend from keel to the deck. These tanks are also numbered from
forward to aft and named Port, Stbd or centre. Oil tight Longitudinal and
transverse bulkheads separate them.
The double hull tanker has an independent side shell on the sides and
the bottom. This provides an oil pollution protection in case of collision
or grounding.

Double hull tanker

Transverse section – Double hull tanker

The ballast tanks can be entered for inspections and maintenance

through manholes on deck or on tank tops in case of double bottom
tanks.
Make a note.
Remember that these tanks are enclosed spaces and may contain
dangerous atmospheres and / or deficiency of oxygen. No entry shall be
made or be permitted without adequate ventilation and testing of the
atmosphere. Refer to your ship's procedures regarding entry into
enclosed space, for guidance.
The ballast tanks' interior has access fittings like ladder or lightening
holes to enable personnel to move about in a tank. SOLAS and
MARPOL regulations require these tanks to be of such dimensions so
as to enable proper inspection. Cargo cluster lamps or flashlights are
provided for illumination. The tanker’s transverse and longitudinal
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 frames run through these tanks. These make movement cumbersome.
When entering and moving around these tanks, precaution needs to be
taken. They are followed as ship specific procedures.
Ballast tank pipelines and pumping arrangements
The pipelines for ballasting /deballasting run through the tanks and are
fitted with valves and bell mouths at the suction end. The control for
these tank valves may be situated on deck or in E/R. The pipelines are
led to ballast pumps, which must be operated for deballasting the tank
to the sea. For ballasting a DBT, seawater is run in by gravity through
the E/R sea chest, by-passing the pump.
On cargo ships each double bottom tank is fitted with individual lines
leading to the engine room manifold where a bank of valves can be
operated to allow each or several tanks to be pumped out or filled at a
time. The fore peak ballast tank line also is led into this manifold
arrangement and operated as above. The after peak tank is ballasted
and deballasted in a similar way from the engine room.
On tankers, one common pipe runs through the port side tanks and a
similar arrangement is fitted for the starboard side. At each tank this line
branches into the individual suction bell mouth for that tank with its
independent valve for working each tank as required.
Each line, port or stbd side, leads to the suction side of the ballast pump
or the General Service pump while the discharge pipe from the pump
leads to the sea-chest or overboard outlet.
This is the line up for deballasting a tank. All relevant valves in this line
must be opened prior to start of operation. For ballasting a tank the
same lines are used. However by altering the configuration of valves at
the pipeline network in the vicinity of the pump, we can lead the line
from the sea chest to the suction side of the pump and the discharge of
the pump is led to the tank to the bell mouth.
Ballast tank Fittings
Air pipes
Whenever a ballast tank is filled, the air inside the tank must be vented
out to prevent build-up of excessive pressure. Similarly, whenever the
tank is deballasted the void space must be replaced with air to prevent
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 build up of vacuum. Vertical vent pipes run from top of the ballast tank
to the main deck with a specially designed vent head to allow ‘breathing’
of the ballast tank.
The vent head is designed to allow this 'breathing’ of the ballast tank
without allowing seawater to get through in case of very rough weather
when the deck is swamped by seawater.
Sounding pipes
The level of water in a given compartment / space is measured
frequently during a voyage to know if there is any accumulation of water
or a leak from external source. Since it is impractical to check the same
visually, particularly when there is cargo in the hold, sounding pipes are
fitted to lead from the weather deck to the space. The end of the pipe
may be flush with the upper deck or raised slightly above it, but in both
cases it will always be provided with a threaded cap to prevent
seawater or rain water from draining from the weather deck into the
space.
Sounding lines are normally in the form of long ropes with weighted
rods at the ends. The rope is marked with knots usually at every meter
of its length and the rod is marked in centimetres or inches for the
purpose of 'sounding' the space.
Are you aware that, at the bottom of the tank or compartment, where
the sounding rod strikes, the bottom plate is fitted with a striker plate to
prevent pitting caused by repeated sounding over the years, which may
thin out the bottom plate to dangerous levels?
Filling pipes
On the main deck around the accommodation, if you look closely, you
will find filling pipes for fresh water tanks and some lubricating oil tanks.
The fillings pipe is a pipe raised above the deck level with a means of
positive closing such as a threaded cap or a cap held in place by quick
closing means. The filling pipe leads into the appropriate tank and is
used to fill liquid into the tank from the main deck level. Normally the
fresh water tanks have filling pipes connected to the air pipe of the tank
but they may be independent also. In severe weather conditions the
filling pipes should be checked for damage as sea water may find its
way into the tank if the pipe is holed / sheared / broken. This applies to
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 all other pipes leading to various tanks. All piles should be clearly
marked so that wrong tank is not filled. Students should check the
position of the tanks and their filing pipes on the General Arrangement
plans if the same are not marked properly. Markings are normally
secured by welded plates on the pipe itself.
Maintenance / Inspection routine for Ballast systems
Ballast tanks are not normally entered. The space is cumbersome to
inspect. The tanks are subject to corrosion due to the action of the
seawater, ballast and air. The bulkheads, scantlings and other
structures are coated with corrosion resistant epoxies or special paints
in addition to being provided with zinc anodes.
Process of calculating ballast or fresh water in the tanks
The ship is provided with calibration tables of all the tanks in the ship.
The tables give the volume of the tank at various soundings assuming
the ship to be on even keel and upright. The tables have a correction,
which is to be applied to the sounding in case the vessel has a trim
and / or the ship is listed. Sometimes you may find that the tables are
given for ullage instead of soundings. Ullage is the height of the empty
space above the surface of the liquid. The procedure of using the tables
is:
1. The sounding (or ullage) of the tank is obtained.
2. The trim and list is determined.
3. The correction to be applied to the sounding for the trim and list is
obtained.
4. With the corrected sounding, the table is checked for the volume
corresponding to the sounding.
5. The volume multiplied by the density of the liquid gives the weight of the
liquid in the tank.
Normally the density of seawater is taken as 1.025 t/m 3, fresh water
density is 1.000 t/m3, and heavy oil is 0.98 t/m3.
Bilges Location
Bilges are spaces on a ship where all waste fluids in the compartments
or tanks are collected. Bilge spaces are located in Engine room, Pump
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 rooms of tankers and cargo holds of dry cargo vessels. Obviously they
are located at the bottom of the compartment, with the ship's keel plate
usually as their bottom. The vertical extent of the bilges is quite low and
the length and breadth, in case of E/R and Pump room bilges extends
the entire area of the spaces above.
Purpose
Waste fluids such as water, oil etc. may come from a variety of sources
over which we do not have complete control. Some of the common
sources are:
1. In the E/Room steam leaks, fuel, diesel and lubrication oil leaks and
Wash water
2. In pump room similar sources as above.
3. In cargo holds
a) Moisture condensate (sweat) from bulkheads and cargo.
b) Wash water from holds’ cleaning
c) Rain and seawater ingress.
d) Water ingress due to hull damage such as caused by collision,
grounding and seepage from hull.
e) Water from fire main in case of leakage.
It is difficult to move about in the bilges. Bilges are also difficult to clean
due to the number of longitudinal and transverse structures. Drain holes
are provided at the bottom of the bilges to enable the bilge water / oil to
flow across to the bilge wells / suction bell mouths.
Needless to say, all maintenance / housekeeping efforts in engine and
pump rooms must be directed at reducing the inflow of wastewater and
oils as all this collects into the bilges. These bilges can only be pumped
out through approved Oil Discharge Monitoring and Control Equipment
(ODMC) and when the concentration exceeds levels prescribed in the
MARPOL regulations the bilges have to be retained on board and
discharged into shore reception facilities.
Similar arrangements exist for bilges in the pump room of an Oil Tanker.
Any bilge oil or water that is retained in the pump room should be
pumped into the ship's slop tanks.
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Bilges in General Cargo Ship
The bilge arrangement in a dry cargo hold comprises of a relatively
small well, sited at the aftermost part of the hold. The bilges were
located on port and starboard side in older designs because the double
bottom tanks did not extend across the breadth of the hold. Nowadays it
is more common to find the well along the centreline in the after part of
the ship. The well itself is separated into two compartments by a
perforated baffle plate to keep out large debris from choking the suction
mouth of the pipe.
The bilge suction mouth itself is protected from rags and other particles
by a strum box. The suction pipe extends all the way aft into the E/room
to the bilge pump. This pipeline may pass through the double bottom
tank or a duct keel, where provided. Inspection of the condition of the
pipeline for leaks should be undertaken as such leaks could make bilge
discharge by pump ineffective.
Bilges / drain water from tween decks are led to the bilge well in the
lower hold through scuppers and drain pipes. Normally in Reefer
compartments, these pipes are bent into a U-shape at some point along
the length and anti-freeze brine is filled in the U-trap to maintain air
tightness between the tween deck and the lower holds.

Brine trap in reefer ships

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