General Guidance for Container Ship Cargo Stowage, Planning & Record Keeping
Containership cargo operations need careful consideration at various stages. Explained below some critical factors that need to consider for safe cargo handling onboard. The procedures explained here are only indicative, not exhaustive, and must always be guided by practices of good seamanship.
On Arrival Port, Prior Commencing Cargo Operation
The composition of cargo watch personnel shall be decided and duties well understood.
All personnel involved in the cargo watch shall be briefed regarding the expected operations and provided with a Cargo Discharge Plan.
Lashing gear operating tools including Turnbuckle handle, Release bar, Extension pole etc are to be kept standby on deck for use during port stay.
Hatch cleats, Jumping stoppers, King bolts etc of all hatches to be worked in port, shall be opened and cleared.
Hydraulic system for ballast valve operation shall be activated, power and availability of Ballast and Heeling pumps confirmed.
Auto Heeling System shall be put into operation.
Forward, aft and mid-ship drafts shall be visually checked and Draft gauges compared.
Prepare necessary document from the last port
Prepare necessary document for Stevedore concerned
Maintaining cargo records:
The P&I clubs stress the importance of keeping records in order to help defeat cargo claims. Claimants usually
allege that any cargo damage noted has occurred during the loaded voyage, whereas in fact it is more likely to have
occurred ashore.
Documentary evidence required by P&I club claims handlers includes:
bilge, ballast and bunker sounding and pumping records;
cargo ventilation, humidity and temperature records;
records of unusual weather conditions, routeing details, warnings and weather reports;
records of hatch, access, hold and watertight door checks;
records of fire and safety equipment checks, including log entries of and records of training and safety
exercises;
records of cargo securing and lashing rounds and checks;
records of cargo temperatures (heating or cooling) where appropriate;
records of inert gas and venting operations;
records of reefer defrosting and temperature control;
records of temperatures in fuel oil tanks below sensitive cargoes.
Requirement for ships certificates
It is a legal requirement that the vessel’s certification and classification records
are maintained in an updated condition. Failure to comply with certification
requirement may result in a heavy fine, arrest or a penalty and loss of
insurance due to the infringement of flag/port state requirements and/or
insurance underwriter/P&I Club clauses.
Responsibility for maintaining clean and updated vessel’s certification is shared
between the Master and the relevant Management Office Staff. The Master is
responsible onboard for maintaining updated class, statutory and trading
certificates.
The Chief Engineer and Chief Officer are responsible for
monitoring and maintaining updated files and inspection logs of continuous
surveys for their own departments. The “Certificate Checklist”
must be kept updated.
Containership loaded condition
On Receiving Cargo Stowage plan
1) The Cargo Stow Plan file provided by Terminal planner / Local agent shall be imported into the vessels loading computer for confirming acceptability.
2) From the stowage plan provided, following shall be checked and verified with regards to cargo stowage:-
a) Stacking Weights
b) Lashing Strength
c) Dangerous Cargo Stowage & Segregation
d) Reefer Container stowage
e) Out of gauge container stowage
f) Special container stowage
g) 20’ or 40’ or 45’ compulsory stowage locations
h) Irregular stowage of containers
i) Over-stow of containers
j) Hatch cover clearance (HC containers Under deck stow)
k) Other matters regarding cargo stowage as necessary
3) From the stowage plan provided, following shall be checked and verified with regards to hull strength and stability:-
a) Draft, Trim and Heel
b) IMO intact stability criterion
c) Corrected GoM
d) Severe wind and rolling criterion
e) Visibility from Bridge
f) Propeller immersion
g) Shearing forces, Bending moments and Torsional moment
h) Other factors affecting hull strength and stability as necessary
4) If any of the factors listed above are beyond acceptable limits, every effort shall be made to bring them within acceptable limits. This shall be done by liaising with Terminal planner, Local agent and Central planner as required.
5) After confirming stow plan is acceptable, all concerned parties shall be informed and cargo loading be allowed to commence.
6) All personnel involved in the cargo watch shall be briefed regarding the expected operations and provided with copy of the cargo plans.
7) Cargo watch personnel shall also be provided with special cargo stowage plans and manifests as necessary.
8) If changes to the ships ballast water condition are necessary, the chief officer shall make a Ballasting / De-ballasting plan.
9) Such Ballasting / De-ballasting plan shall take into account all applicable ballast water regulations/restrictions and other relevant factors including time available for the operation.
10) The officer in charge of the cargo watch shall be briefed regarding such plan and will be responsible for its safe execution unless the chief officer/master is doing the operation himself.
During Cargo Operations
1) Progress of cargo operations shall be monitored by cargo watch personnel to confirm operations are as per the approved loading and discharge plans. Any deviations must be brought to the attention of the terminal planner.
2) Close monitoring is especially required for special containers like reefer units, DG units, Out of gauge containers, etc.
3) Progress of the Ballasting / De-ballasting operations shall be checked by the officer in charge of the cargo watch or chief officer/master if he is doing the operation.
4) The stability condition of the vessel shall be periodically monitored during cargo operations, especially as to Draft (within applicable load line mark or port restrictions), Trim (not excessive), Heel (max. 2ºport or stbd) and GoM (more than 0.60m). The ship shall never be allowed excessively heeled or trimmed, and the chief officer is responsible for ensuring good positive stability and acceptable condition of Heel / Trim at all times.
5) The opening/closing operation of hatch covers shall be supervised by cargo watch personnel. It must be confirmed that securing arrangements are cleared, and no obstructions / loose material pose a danger of damage to the vessel.
6) Vigilance must be maintained for any damage caused to vessel or Cargo.
7) Cargo securing/lashing operations shall be continuously monitored by cargo watch personnel and not left to avoid any delay after completion of cargo operations.
8) A log of all important events shall be maintained by the officer in charge of the cargo watch. Times of Commencing / Ceasing Cargo operations, Opening / Closing Hatch covers, Stoppages with Reasons, Number of cranes operating, etc. shall be recorded in this port log.
On Completion of Cargo Operations
1) The Chief Officer shall be responsible for calculating the final departure Hull strength and Stability condition of the vessel. Confirmation must be made to meet all relevant hull strength and stability criteria up to vessel arrival next port.
2) The Chief Officer shall confirm that all Cargo intended for the port has been discharged.
3) Cargo securing/lashing must be completed as per the vessel’s approved Cargo Securing Manual before departure from the port. Additional lashing may be taken at master’s discretion considering nature of the voyage, weather, etc.
4) If not practicable to complete all Cargo securing/lashing prior departure due to compelling reasons, weather permitting, some remaining inboard containers may be secured later, but before leaving sheltered waters. All outboard cargo lashing must be taken a prior departure from the berth.
5) All vessel gearbox containers with bins shall be placed on board in their designated locations or at suitably protected locations. It shall also be confirmed that all vessel cargo securing equipment is placed back on board with none left on the quay.
6) Hatch covers shall be secured by Hatch cleats, Jumping stoppers, King bolts, etc. before departure from port. If not practicable, then weather permitting, they shall be secured later, but prior leaving sheltered waters.
7) Any residual heel shall be corrected, and the auto-heeling system switched off by following correct procedure.
8) Forward, aft, and mid-ship drafts shall be visually checked and draft gauges compared.
9) Confirm necessary documents for Cargo have been received.
10) Confirm necessary documents for Stevedore concerned have been received.
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.....
Containership operation : Common reasons for stowfall
Container stows often fail due to container stacks being too heavy and too high overall, exposing the lower containers to excessive transverse racking and compressive forces due to the tipping effect. Such an anomaly may occur if the ship is unable to calculate the forces acting on stow with precision. The Cargo/Container Securing Manual is limited in this respect as the examples of container weight distributions shown may not cover all permutations and eventualities. Software programs have the advantage of taking into account all known variables........
Containership operation: Cargo hold ventilation
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Containership operation: Safety of personnel
In port stevedores board the vessel for lashing, unlashing and cargo operations and their safety whilst on board is the vessels responsibility. It is important to understand that any injury caused to stevedores or shore personnel due to a condition on board being unsafe, can result in very large claims to the vessel.
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Containership operation: wet damage in cargo hold When water entered into a ship's cargo, hold it may cause wet damage to the cargo inside containers especially to those stowed on the bottom stack, unless the bilge water is drained in a proper and swift manner. The regular sounding of bilge well or monitoring bilge alarm must be one of the very important or rather essential routine jobs on board. However, this job requires special attention on board. All bilge alarm need to be tested regularly......
Reefer cargo care at sea Unlike permanent cold stores or refrigerated ships, where robust equipment is under constant care by qualified personnel, the ISO refrigerated container may travel by several different modes and be in the care of many and varied people. Before being despatched to load refrigerated cargo (usually at shippers' premises), the container and its machinery should be subjected to a rigorous examination.......
Containership cargo stowage and planning Master and officers of all vessels require a good working knowledge of the various kinds of cargo they are likely to carry their peculiar characteristics, liability to damage, decay, or deterioration, their measurement, and the usual methods of packing, loading and discharging, stowage, dunnage, etc., as the Master is responsible for the safe loading of his vessel and the proper storage of the cargo......
Stacking Weights Restrictions
rior loading cargo, stacking weights of containers must be checked against the allowable stack weights on board the vessel both on deck and under deck. Neglecting above may cause serious damage to ships structure, hull and eventually overall stabilty of ship may get affected. Maximum allowable stack weights of Tank tops, Hatch covers and Decks shall not be exceeded at any time......
Lashing strength calculation Lashing strength of deck cargo shall be ascertained by using the appropriate lashing strength calculation software where provided. All resulting values for lashing strength must be within the tolerance limits prescribed by the vessels classification society......
Dangerous goods stowage and segregation Clear guidelines apply to the stowage and segregation of Dangerous Goods and in some cases may require particular commodities to be carried in completely separate holds. The interaction of two cargoes will not occur if the packaging of that cargo remains intact. However, the Master must always consider the possible effect should the cargo escape for any reason and should not restrict his consideration to those cargoes which are listed in the IMDG Code......
Reefer Container Stowage
Reefer containers proposed for stowage must be accompanied by a reefer manifest. This reefer manifest should contain Container No., Stow position, Commodity, Temperature, and Ventilation status......
Out of Gauge Container Stowage
It is essential that, during out of gauge cargo operations, a careful watch is kept for any damage caused to the vessel, her equipment, or to containers. Notice of any damage must be immediately brought to the attention of the Stevedore's representative, the Port Captain/Supercargo and Charterers Agent. Damage reports must be completed in all cases giving the full and comprehensive details of damage caused......
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Irregular Stowage of Containers
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Other matters regarding cargo stowage as necessary Bulk products carried in a closed container might include malt, grain, seed, polythene granules, chemically inert powders, brake fluid, detergent, fruit juice, wine, non-hazardous oils, sodium silicate, fatty acids and maple syrup amongst many others......
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