WEEK 6

CARGO CARE - Inspection and Preparation of Holds

Hold Cleaning
Preparation of a cargo hold after discharge is more than just sweeping, brushing
and flushing down the holds with water. Preparation of cargo holds for the next intended
carriage is a critical element of bulk carrier operations, requiring careful planning and
competent execution. A lack of proper preparation not only leads to claims related to
cargo quality, such as contamination, water ingress or shortage claims.
Inspection and Preparation of Holds
After unloading of cargo it is very important that the responsible officer does a
proper inspection and preparation of Holds. Inspection of hold helps identify for structural
damage or defects in the hold. It also help to know if any damage done by the stevedores,
and same can be mentioned in the stevedore damage report. We will study further about
inspection of holds.
Similarly it is important to prepare holds before loading the next cargo. Preparation
of holds depends upon the next cargo, if next cargo is compatible with the last, a good
sweep down and removal of leftover cargo is all that is required. If however, the next
cargo is incompatible with the last or if you are loading sensitive cargoes such as
foodstuffs, a more thorough cleaning may be required.
INSPECTION AND PREPARATION OF HOLDS IS IMPORTANT
Cargo spaces intended to be used for loading should be inspected to ensure that
the compartment intended to be loaded with cargo is clean, dry and ready in all respect
to receive the cargo being offered.
Thorough inspection of holds is needed to
Avoid contamination
 No residue of the previous cargo to be left
 Holds are Taint free.
 No Visible loose rust which can cause contamination.
Safety
 Holds are safe for stevedores to work.
 Detect physical damage within the hold. It also benefits in raising new
stevedore damage claims.
 Damages to the ship structure, checking for corrosion/ cracks to get an early
warning for parts/ portions/ strengthening structures to be renewed/ repaired.
Prevent Cargo Damage
• which can be caused from operational bilges
• ballast lines and/or
• lack of weather tight integrity of hatch covers
Fire Safety
• Identification of fire hazard for the intended cargo and availability of
firefighting equipment.
Items to be inspected
1. Check that the designated compartments are clean and ready to receive cargo.
a. Holds properly swept and cleaned from previous cargo residue.
b. Loose rust scale and loose paint removed.
c. Holds free from all stains.
d. Depending upon charterers’ requirement, holds effectively washed/rinsed & dried.
2. Check that the drainage and bilge suctions are working effectively and that bilge
wells are dry. Bilges to be sweetened for some particular cargoes and covered with
burlap and cemented.
3. No leakage from ballast tanks present.
4. Sounding pipes and air pipes passing from holds are clean and rust free.
5. Ensure that cargo battens (spar ceiling) is in position and not damaged
(Note: some cargoes may require cargo battens to be removed)
6. Check that the hatch lighting’s are in good order. Isolate lights if it poses fire hazard
for the intended cargo.
7. Inspect and ensure all means of access to the compartments are safe.
8. Guard rails and safety barriers should be seen to be in place.
9. Ensure all necessary fixed and portable fire-fighting arrangements are ready
for immediate use. Blow through CO2/Halon lines with compressed air.
10. Inspect Cargo Hold Ventilation system.
11. Inspect and ensure hatch covers are weather tight and that all the securing devices
are in good working condition.
12. If Cargo Hold is meant to take heavy weather ballast then pressure test the lines
for leakage and subsequently blank off the ballast lines.
13. Double Bottom tank manhole covers to be absolutely tight.
14. Cargo securing points/ fixed fittings etc are in good condition.
So once a Hold is inspected let us proceed to prepare a Hold for loading.
Hold Preparation
As per Charter party or as per contract of carriage the owner is required
to “… make the holds, refrigerating and cooling chambers and all other parts of the ship
where goods are carried, fit and safe for their reception, carriage and preservation”.
The owner is required to present his vessel in a state that he is ready to
load cargo, that means the holds are ‘clean and dry’ prior to commencement of loading.
If the owner fails to present his ship in a proper state to receive cargo, he risks to claims
amounting to large sums of money. It is, therefore of utmost important to prepare cargo
holds of ship to loading.
Types of Dunnage
 Timber dunnage is frequently used in the shipment of hygroscopic cargoes
(sugar, tobacco, rice and coffee etc.) from warm climates to clod climates. It is
used on the tank top and sides of the holds or on the floor and sides of a container
to prevent the cargo from coming into direct contact with steel structure of the hold
or container
 Hardwood timber dunnage is frequently used to assist in the stowage of steel
cargoes. This should be dry, as wet dunnage may cause rusting of the steel.
Composition of Dunnage
 It can be made from a variety of products and materials including corrugated
plastic, foam, aluminum, wood, steel and corrugated paper.
 Dunnage may include plastic films, jute coverings, tarpaulins, wood (wooden
dunnage), rice matting, nonwovens, liner bags or also inlets etc. Depending on the
use to which it is put, dunnage may be divided into floor, lateral, interlayer and top
dunnage.
Dunnage materials can be:
 Rough lumber of the same thickness but of different widths and lengths is the
most common type of dunnage. Rough lumber may consist of pieces of pine,
hemlock, spruce, or similar woods.
 Paper is often used to protect cargo from dirt, dust, and moisture and to separate
shipments.
 Burlap is often made up in rolls or squares and used in the same way as paper.
 Plywood is extremely functional for container partitions, dividers, and auxiliary
decking.
  Inflatable air bags are available in paper or rubber and may be reusable or
disposable. Inflatable are used for light and medium duty bracing. Inflatable are
not used to prevent cargo from moving when subjected to impacts such as those
resulting from rail car coupling
Types and Size of Materials used for Dunnage
 Battens - Of 50mm×50mm (2×2) or 76mm×76mm (3×3) used largely with
refrigerated cargo.
 Boards - of rough timber 150mm×25mm (6×1) or 100mm×50mm (4×2) and largely
used for `tween deck dunnage, laying over stowed cargo as a platform for further
cargo or for laying on bulkheads, spar ceilings, etc.
 Inflatable Dunnage Bags - the use of inflatable dunnage bags is now very
common, and they are particularly useful
- re-usable units incorporate a valve to allow the quick release of air at the port of
discharge, where the bags should be collected and stowed away for future use.
 Plywood - Usually in sheets 2,440mm×1,220mm (8´×4´) or 1,830mm×915mm
(6´×3´). Used to protect bagged and baled cargo, etc., from contact with ships'
metalwork, other cargo and for separation.
 Laths - usually wood or polystyrene 9mm (³/8) thick and 25mm to 50mm (lto 2) in
width. Used between tiers and/or cartons of refrigerated cargo so as to assist the
circulation of air.
 Paper - Kraft or similar paper is frequently used to good effect in protecting cargo
from contact with bare metal, and in separating one cargo from another. Care must
be taken in ensuring that the paper does not shift out of position after being laid,
particularly when the practice of "dumping" bagged cargo into an open hold is
carried out.
 Sawdust - traditionally used to absorb the drainage from certain cargoes such as
gambier, hides, etc. However, when impregnated with oil, sawdust is very liable to
spontaneous combustion. Consequently, it should only be used to absorb oils as
a spillage control agent, i.e. when it will be removed and disposed of immediately.
Reasons for using dunnage
 It is used to prevent damage to goods while they are being loaded, transported
and unloaded.
 It also give protection and packaging to the goods / cargo from contamination and
moisture.
 Dunnage braces which secures items in place also absorbs vibration and
eliminates any voids in shipping containers and vehicles.
Dunnage is used to
 Prevent cargo from shifting and chafing.
 Chock off and secure containers.
 Block off broken stowage and fill void space that cannot be filled with cargo.
 Protect cargo from contact with water or other liquids that may get into the holds.
 Provide air passages for effective ventilation.
 Provide spaces for air circulation in refrigerated holds.
 Distribute weight.
 Separate cargo.
Contamination / Taint
Various types of dunnage are used in the stowage of chemicals (plywood
sheets are frequently used in drum stows). Dunnage that has been used in the stowage
of chemicals should never be used afterwards in a stowage of food cargoes or any other
sensitive cargo. It is often best to dispose of this dunnage, especially if it has obviously
been contaminated by spillage of chemicals.
Wet timber dunnage may cause local damage due to moisture migration. Timber
dunnage and even plywood and board dunnage are often stowed on deck after usage,
problems can arise if this dunnage is re-used with moisture sensitive cargoes.
Sparceiling
Removable strips of timbers or battens
fixed to the frames in the cargo hold to keep cargo away
from the ship's sides; this promotes ventilation and
prevents cargo damage by condensation and chafing.

Bilges or Drain Well Should Be Clean And Dry And

Sweet Smelling Disinfectants Used
Many cargoes contain moisture that may
accumulate at the bottom of the cargo hold and drain towards the hold bilges, raising the
bilge level and possibly triggering the high level bilge alarm if fitted. This can also occur if
there is any leakage into the cargo holds through hatch covers or from elsewhere.
If the ship is loaded with the same cargo in all holds and all the bilges
indicate increased soundings, then it can be said with certainty that the water in the bilges
has drained from the cargo. For example, a cargo of coal may contain up to 1% of its
weight as moisture, which will drain into the bilges. Otherwise, it may indicate a particular
leaking hatch cover or other leakage, which should be investigated.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO PUMP OUT WATER ACCUMULATED IN THE BILGES TO
AVOID
• Excessive corrosion of the tank top. A pH test of the acidity of the bilge water is required
• Difficulties during discharging cargo from the lower parts of a cargo hold flooded with
accumulated water
• damage to adjacent cargo by flooding, eg pulp.
The handling of bilge water should be clarified in the charter party or
otherwise by charterer's instructions. As the moisture may amount to about 1% of the
weight of the cargo, the quantity of cargo available for discharge would also be less. It is
conceivable that charterers may try to forbid discharging of bilges, in which case advice
should be sought from owners/ managers.
how bilge suction be checked for efficient working suppers and sounding pipes
Before loading the cargo hold of a bulk carrier or a general cargo,
appropriate inspections should be conducted in order to ensure that all the systems
related to the cargo hold are in good working order. One of the key common issues is the
cleaning of the hold from cargo residues. Various debris have the “ability” to find their way
into the systems of hold bilges making manual removal of such debris imperative. Debris
(especially foodstuff) which have been left in the bilges will decay over time giving some
of the most unpleasant smells. Hold bilges are usually cleaned using a shovel and
afterwards they must be lifted out of the hold. Once the bilge area has been cleaned the
next thing to do is to verify and ensure that the rest of the hold bilge systems are in good
working order. Therefore the following should be checked and tested if possible: bilge
sounding pipes, bilge suctions, bilge non return valves.
How limbers and drain well covers should be treated to prevent suctions being
blocked by small debris but ensuring free drainage to the suction
A limber hole is a drain hole through a frame or other structural member of
a boat designed to prevent water from accumulating against one side of the frame, and
allowing it to drain toward the bilge. Limber holes are common in the bilges of wooden
boats. The term may be extended to cover drain holes in floors. Limber holes are created
in between bulkheads so that one compartment does not fill with water. The limber holes
allow water to drain into the lowest part of the bilge so that it can be pumped out by a
single bilge pump (or more usually, one electric and one manual pump).
The ballast system
The ballast system is arranged to ensure that water can be drawn from any
tank or the sea and discharged to any other tank or the sea as required to trim the vessel.
Combined or separate mains for suction and discharge may be provided. Where a tank
or cargo space can be used for ballast or dry cargo then either a ballast or bilge
connection will be required.
Bilges or (drain wells)
The bilges (bilge well) are small collecting space for any water in the hold,
there are two bilges in each hold located in the aft end of the hold, one to the port side
and one to the starboard. Any water accidentally enters the hold or as a result of sweat,
will drain to the bilges carrying with it dust, cargo residues and cargo odor. Over time (in
the long run) dust and cargo residues will form solid mass blocking bilge suction pipes,
so piping out bilge water will be impossible, over flow of the bilge water will occur
contaminating the cargo.
What is Segregation?
Segregation is the process of separating two or more substances or
articles which are considered mutually incompatible when their packing or stowage
together may result in undue hazards in case of leakage or spillage, or any other accident.
Segregation is obtained by maintaining certain distances between incompatible
dangerous goods or by requiring the presence of one or more steel bulkheads or decks
between them, or a combination thereof.
Four Terms for Segregation
1. “AWAY FROM” - Effectively segregated so that the incompatible goods cannot
interact dangerously in the event of an accident
2. “SEPARATED FROM”- In different compartments or holds when stowed under
deck.
3. “SEPARATED BY A COMPLETE COMPARTMENT OR HOLD FROM”- Either a
vertical or a horizontal separation. If the intervening decks are not resistant to fire
and liquid, then only a longitudinal separation, i.e. by an intervening complete
compartment or hold, is acceptable.
4. “SEPARATED LONGITUDINALLY BY AN INTERVENING COMPLETE
COMPARTMENT OR HOLD FROM”- Vertical separation alone does not meet this
requirement. Between a package under deck and one on deck, a minimum
distance of 24 m, including a complete compartment, must be maintained
longitudinally.
SEPARATE INCOMPATIBLE GOODS FOR SAFE SEGREGATION
Separation between goods can be achieved by increasing the distance
between the goods or loading them in different cargo holds. The process of maintaining
distance between goods or separating them is different for containerized goods and non-
containerized goods.
DANGEROUS GOODS
A dangerous good is any gas, liquid or solid that
has been classified and is listed in the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous
Goods or other international equivalent Codes. Typically they are chemicals that destroy
or have the potential to destroy life, property or the environment. They are classified and
labeled as a dangerous good belonging to one of the categories.
SEGREGATION OF CARGO

Specific cleaning instructions be given, they will usually fall under one of these five
usual standards for the bulk cargo trade
Separation between parcels of cargo for different consignees or different ports of
discharge is required
 Cargo for different ports must be kept separated for easy identification to aid
correct discharge. Stevedore labor in many countries may be illiterate and may
not understand any port name or markings on the cargo.
 Separation between parcels of cargo for different consignees or different ports of
discharge is often required. This is achieved using any of the means discussed
above as suitable. It shall be borne in mind that the cargoes for the designated port
are clearly identified. Discharge of cargo in any other port than the destination is
likely to result in huge costs.
METHODS OF SEPARATING ADJACENT PARCELS OF CARGO
 In order to carry goods safely, the vessel must be seaworthy and the cargo spaces
must be in such a condition as not to damage cargo parcels by ships sweat, taint
or cause any other harmful factor.
 Separation of cargoes – it is often a requirement when separate parcels of the
same cargo are carried together that a degree of separation between the units is
essential. Depending on the type of goods being shipped will reflect the type of
separation method employed.
 Cargoes can be loaded together in the same hold or tweendecker using various
forms of separation material

1. Thin netting (different colors are available) usually synthetic.

2. Ropes (different colors are available).
3.Paint (Water-soluble as it may damage the cargo, for example: timber)
4. Marking pens (very suitable for cartons and cased goods).
5. Chalk (but beware as this may be easily erased).
6.Layers of dun age (flat board or plywood).
7. Construction of bulkheads from timber or occasionally, steel plate.
8. Separation cloth like Burlap.
9. Plastic sheet (but make sure restriction of ventilation will not harm the cargo)
10. Use of markings (for example: bags marked on one side can be separated
by stowing them mark up/ mark down).
THE USE OF PORT MARKING TO SEPARATE PARCELS FOR DISCHARGE OF
DIFFERENT PORT
Separation of consignments:
There may be many shippers shipping the same type of cargo to the same destination.
Hence to retain the identification of each consignment as described in the bills of lading
they are kept separated from the other.
Separations are also placed to prevent one cargo from chafing or damaging a more fragile
cargo.
Non-compatible cargoes need to be kept separate; hence there will be a need
to segregate dangerous cargoes, cargoes liable to contamination by our tainting or fragile
cargoes as failure to observe such requirements could give rise to a most hazardous
situation involving toxics or flammable gas being given off as a by-product.
Incompatible materials – are those materials which may react dangerously when
mixed and are subject to recommendations for segregation.
Stowage of cargo and distribution on board, as per discharge ports is important in order
to control trim, list and stresses of the vessel during various stages when cargo is
discharged at subsequent ports
 A Written Assignment Presented To
Capt. Venancio Simon Sulit
Technological Institute of the Philippines

In Partial fulfillment
Of the requirement for the subject
SEAM 3- Cargo Handling and Stowage (Non-Dangerous Goods)
Week 6 ( Batch II )

Presented by:
Busa, Nizza Claire G.
July 19, 2019