Some examples of grain cargo are – wheat, rye, maize, rice, oats, barley, pulses, seeds, etc
Hazards associated with grain cargo are
Settling
Shifting
Grain contamination and rottening
Dust Explosion
Fire
Depletion of oxygen
Evolution of toxic vapour
Among the above hazards settling and shifting are among the most important.
Settling and Shifting
A compartment may be full when the cargo is loaded but, due to ship’s vibration and other movements, the grain settles by about 2 % of its volume leaving space at the top of the cargo. This space allows cargo to move from side to side in conjunction with the rolling and pitching of the vessel.
Grain has a low angle of repose (15 – 18 deg depending on the type of grain) and this results in its shifting very easily.
As the cargo shifts, the vessel lists to one side. The shifting of grain is the greatest hazard involved in the carriage of grain.
Thus the heeling moments for the ship are to be kept as small as possible
This is done by securing the grain surface to prevent shifting
CHART DATUM is the plane of reference for soundings and is stated in the title of each chart. A chart datum is generally derived from some tidal phase, in which case it is also known as a tidal datum. Common chart datums are the lowest astronomical tide (LAT)
ROUTING CHART
Essential for use in passage planning for ocean voyages, Routeing Charts include routes and distances between major ports, ocean currents, ice limits, load lines and wind roses. They also contain expected meteorological and oceanographic conditions for each month of the year.
ISOGONIC LINE
An imaginary line or a line on a map joining points on the earth’s surface at which the magnetic declination is the same
ODAS BUOY
DRYING HEIGHT
On a nautical chart, the drying height is the vertical distance of the seabed that is exposed by the tide, above the sea water level at the lowest astronomical tide.
Drying heigh
Question asked in AUG, SEPT, OCT & NOV 2021
COMMON QUESTIONS WHOSE ANSWERS ARE WRITTEN ABOVE ARE IGNORED.
SPOIL GROUND
An area within a body of water, esp. in the sea, where dredged material is deposited.
fittings are used for the reliable securing of containers Which can be classified in 2 parts.
Fixed fitting
loose fitting
Fixed fittings – Stacking cones, foundations, deck foundations, lashing plates, eyes, pots, d-rings. Fixed fittings are integrated into the hull structure or hatch covers.
Loose fittings – Twistlocks, Base locks, spanners, lashing rods, and turnbuckles.
In this article, we will read about the following –
Base locks
Mid locks
Twist locks
Lashing rod
Turn Buckle
Stowage bins and lashing equipment stowage design
1. BASE LOCKS
Base locks, All rights reserved to imunotes.in
It is the foundation of container securing. The bottom-most layer of containers or say the base tier of the container is secured by base locks. Base lock sits in iso socket and once the container is placed on it the handle in front is turned to left side. In the above image the handle is right side which indicates it is in open position. Once the container is loaded we turn the handle to left.
2. MID LOCKS
They are only used in the case of 20 feet containers, Mid locks are not required when loading a 40 feet container. As the name suggests it is in the middle of the hatch cover. The image below shows the mid lock.
Mid lock on a container vessel . copyright imunotes.in Mid lock on a container vessel . copyright imunotes.in All you need to know before joining container vessel. Mid lock on a container vessel . copyright imunotes.in
3. TWIST LOCKS
Each tier of the container is locked with the other tier of the container with twist locks. If not loaded properly or if the container does not sit properly its because of a twist lock. So while loading the crew keeps a close watch and report if any twist lock problem is noted. The image below shows the use of twist lock.
Twist lock on container vessel copyright imunotes.in What are twist locks copyright imunotes.in
4&5 – LASHING BRIDGE, LASHING ROD & TURN BUCKLE
Crew member on container vessel greasing turnbuckle, imunotes.inLashing bridge without any containers, imunotes.inLashing bridge when containers are loaded, imunotes.in
Lashing rod design
The design of containership securing systems and weight should take into account the practical abilities of the workers to lift, reach, hold, control, and connect the components in all situations anticipated in the cargo securing plan.
The maximum length of a lashing rod should be sufficient to reach the bottom corner fitting of a container on top of two high cube containers
The head of the lashing rod that is inserted in the corner fitting should be designed with a pivot/hinge or other appropriate devices so that the rod does not come out of the corner fitting accidentally.
The rod’s length in conjunction with the length and design of the turnbuckle should be such that the need of extensions is eliminated when lashing high cube (9’6″) containers.
Lightweight rods should be provided where special tools are needed to lash high cube containers.
Turnbuckle design
Turnbuckle end fittings should be designed to harmonize with the design of lashing rods.
Turnbuckles should be designed to minimize the work in operating them.
Anchor points for turnbuckles should be positioned to provide safe handling and to prevent the bending of rods.
To prevent hand injury during tightening or loosening motions, there should be a minimum distance of 70 mm between turnbuckles.
The turnbuckle should incorporate a locking mechanism which will ensure that the lashing does not work loose during the voyage.
The weight of turnbuckles should be minimized as low as possible consistent with the necessary mechanical strength.
6. Storage bins and lashing equipment stowage design
Storage bins and lashing equipment stowage design, imunotes.in
Bins or stowage places for lashing materials should be provided.
All lashing gear should be stowed as close to its intended place of use as possible.
The stowage of securing devices should be arranged so they can easily be retrieved from their stowage location.
Bins for faulty or damaged gear should also be provided and appropriately marked.
Bins should be of sufficient strength.
Bins and their carriers should be designed to be lifted off the vessel and restowed.
The most commonly used shipping containers. Comes in various dimensions standardized by ISO. They are used for shipping dry materials and come in the size of 20ft, 40 ft.
2. REEFER CONTAINERS
Reefer container, copyrights imunotes.in
Reefer containers looks same as the Dry storage container, The only difference is the face of the container which looks like the white container in the above image.
These are temperature-regulated shipping containers that always have a carefully controlled low temperature. They are exclusively used for the shipment of perishable substances like fruits, vegetables, meat etc.
3. TANK CONTAINERS
TANK CONTAINER – TYPES OF CONTAINERS, copyrights imunotes.inTANK CONTAINER – TYPES OF CONTAINERS, copyrights imunotes.in
Tank containers come in both sizes 20 feet as well as 40 feet, above image is a 20 feet tank container.
Container storage units are used mostly for the transportation of liquid materials, they are used by a huge proportion of the entire shipping industry. They are mostly made of strong steel or other anti-corrosive materials providing them with long life and protection to the materials.
4. GEAR BOX
Gear box of container vessel, copyrights imunotes.in
Gear box contains twist locks of container vessel, once the vessel arrives at port these gearboxes are lowered to the jetty and used by shore team to fit on the loading containers.
They are not a type of container which is used to transport clients good but it is used to carry ships gear.
5. SPECIAL PURPOSE CONTAINERS
SPECIAL PURPOSE CONTAINERS, http://www.armpol.com/
Not the ordinary containers, these are the container units, custom-made for specialized purposes. Mostly, they are used for high-profile services like the shipment of weapons and arson.
6. CAR CARRIERS
Car carriers are container storage units made especially for the shipment of cars over long distances. They come with collapsible sides that help a car fit snugly inside the containers without the risk of being damaged or moving from the spot.
7. FLAT RACK CONTAINER
7. FLAT RACK CONTAINER , copyrights imunotes.in
With collapsible sides, these are like simple storage shipping containers where the sides can be folded so as to make a flat rack for shipping a wide variety of goods. They are also called OOG (Out of Gauge Cargo).
Transporting out of gauge cargo can be a costly affair as it involves additional costs. The out of shape cargo eats into space that could have been used for other cargo.
When an OOG cargo is loaded on the deck or below-deck of a cargo carrier, neither can another container be placed and secured to the twist-locks on the adjacent sides of it nor can containers be placed on top of the OOG cargo, as in flat racks and platform containers.
8. Double doors container
They are a kind of storage unit that is provided with double doors, making a wider room for loading and unloading of materials. Construction materials include steel, iron etc in standardized sizes of 20ft and 40ft.
9. Half-height containers
image credits – https://www.271-containers.com/
Another kind of shipping container includes half height containers. Made mostly of steel, these containers are half the height of full-sized containers. Used especially for good like coal, stones etc which need easy loading and unloading.
10. Tunnel container
image credits – https://www.qubecontainers.co.uk/
Container storage units are provided with doors on both ends of the container, they are extremely helpful in quick loading and unloading of materials.
The turning effect of a vessel will take effect about the ship’s pivot point and this position, with the average design vessel, lies at about the ship‟s center of Gravity, which is generally nearly amidships (assuming the vessel is on even keel in calm water conditions). As the ship moves forward under engine power, the pivot point will be caused to move forward with the momentum on the vessel. If the water does not exert resistance on the hull the pivot point would assume a position in the bow region. However, practically the pivot point moves to a position approximately 0.25 of the ships length (L) from the forward position.
Similarly, if the vessel is moved astern, the stern motion would cause the Pivot Point to move aft and adopt a new position approximately 0.25 of the ship‟s length from the right aft position.
The pivot point at anchor :- It should be noted that when the vessel goes to anchor the pivot point moves right forward and effectively holds the bow in one position. Any forces acting on the hull, such as from wind or currents, would cause the vessel to move about the hawse pipe position. Use of the rudder can, however, be employed when at anchor, to provide a ,sheer’ to the vessel, which could be a useful action to angle the length of the vessel away from localized dangers.
All ships of 100 gross tonnage and above, every ship certified to carry 15 persons or more and every fixed or floating platform must carry a garbage management plan on board.
Which includes written procedures for minimizing, collecting, storing, processing and disposing of garbage, including the use of the equipment on board (regulation 10.2).
The garbage management plan must designate the person responsible for the plan and be written in the working language of the crew.
Resolution MEPC.220(63) provides the 2012 Guidelines for the development of garbage management plans.
An approved garbage management plan must consist of the following-
Ships details.
Overview of Annex V of MARPOL.
List of Equipments for handling garbage on ship.
Placards to be posted for disposal criteria.
Possible local recycling arrangements.
Written procedures for Collecting Garbage.
Garbage segregation description to avoid intermixing of garbage which includes Identification of suitable receptacles for collection & separation.
Garbage processing methods available on the ship.
Garbage storing methods and garbage station.
Garbage disposal methods.
Entry to be made in garbage record book.
Emergency and accidental discharge criteria.
Needs of the reception facilities.
Identify the available operating & maintenance procedures of collecting equipment on board.
Describe the training or education programs to facilitate the processing of garbage.
Regulation 17 of MARPOL Annex II makes similar stipulations that all ships of 150 gross tonnage and above carrying noxious liquid substances in bulk carry an approved shipboard marine pollution emergency plan for noxious liquid substances.
The latter may be combined with a SOPEP, since most of their contents are the same and one combined plan on board is more practical than two separate ones in case of an emergency. To make it clear that the plan is a combined one, it should be referred to as a Shipboard Marine Pollution Emergency Plan (SMPEP).
The purpose of the Plan is to provide guidance to the Master and officers on board the Ship with respect to the steps to be taken when an oil or marine pollution incident has occurred or is likely to occur. The appendices contain communication data of all contacts referenced in the Plan, as well as other reference material.
SHIPBOARD MARINE POLLUTION EMERGENCY PLAN – SUMMARY FLOWCHART
All cargo vessels where MARPOL Convention is applicable must have an oil record book in which the officer responsible will record all oil or sludge transfers and discharges within the vessel. This is necessary for authorities to be able to monitor if a vessel’s crew has properly disposed of their oil discharges at sea.
REQUIREMENT
Each oil tanker of 150 gross tons and above, ship of 400 gross tons and above other than an oil tanker, and crewed fixed or floating drilling rig or other platform shall maintain an Oil Record Book Part I (Machinery Space Operations).
An oil tanker of 150 gross tons and above or a non-oil tanker that carries 200 cubic meters or more of oil in bulk, shall also maintain an Oil Record Book Part II (Cargo/Ballast Operation).
CONTENT OF OIL RECORD BOOK PART 1
The Oil Record Book Part I shall be completed on each occasion, on a tank-to-tank basis if appropriate, whenever any of the following machinery space operations takes place in the ship:
1
Ballasting or cleaning of oil fuel tanks;
2
Discharge of dirty ballast or cleaning water from oil fuel tanks;
3
Collection and disposal of oil residues (sludge and other oil residues);
4
Discharge overboard or disposal otherwise of bilge water which has accumulated in machinery spaces; and
5
Bunkering of fuel or bulk lubricating oil.
In the event of such discharge of oil or oily mixture as is referred to in regulation 4 of this Annex or in the event of accidental or other exceptional discharge of oil not excepted by that regulation, a statement shall be made in the Oil Record Book Part I of the circumstances of, and the reasons for, the discharge.
Each completed operation shall be signed by the officer or officers in charge of the operations concerned and each completed page shall be signed by the master of ship.
OIL RECORD BOOK PART 2
The Oil Record Book Part II shall be completed on each occasion, on a tank-to-tank basis if appropriate, whenever any of the following cargo/ ballast operations take place in the ship:
1
Loading of oil cargo;
2
Internal transfer of oil cargo during voyage;
3
Unloading of oil cargo;
4
Ballasting of cargo tanks and dedicated clean ballast tanks;
5
Cleaning of cargo tanks including crude oil washing;
6
Discharge of ballast except from segregated ballast tanks;
7
Discharge of water from slop tanks;
8
Closing of all applicable valves or similar devices after slop tank discharge operations;
9
Closing of valves necessary for isolation of dedicated clean ballast tanks from cargo and stripping lines after slop tank discharge operations; and
Bridge Procedure Guide:- The Bridge Procedures Guide (BPG) is an International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) publication that aims to reflect Best Practice aboard Merchant Ships embracing standards and recommendations promoted by the IMO. This includes the concept of ‘continuous improvement’ as described in the ISM Code and the watchkeeping requirements of STCW Chapter VIII.
