DRY CARGO
CHARTERING
On behalf of
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF LOGISTICS
COPY RIGHT © b y In dia n Institut e of Log istics
Printe d an d Pub lish e d on be ha lf of India n Instit ute of log istics,
Chen na i
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NO T FOR S AL E FOR PRI V ATE CI RCUL ATIO N ONL Y.
DRY CARGO CHARTERING INDEX
CHAPTER NO SUBJECT DETAILS PAGE
NO
CHAPTER NO 1 DRY CARGO SHIPS 4
CHAPTER NO 2
TO NN AG ES, LO ADL INES, DI EMNSIONS AND C ARGOES
51
CHAPTER NO 3 FREIGHT M ARKE TS AND M ARKE T PR ACTICE 69
CHAPTER NO 4 CH ARTE RI NG CONTR ACTS 107
CHAPTER NO 5 FIN ANCI AL E LEME NTS OF CH ARTE R P ARTIE S 149
CHAPTER NO 6 L AY TIM E 171
CHAPTER NO 7 VOY AGE ES TIM ATI NG 199
CHAPTER NO 8 BILLS OF LO ADING AND C ARGO CL AI MS 227
CHAPTER NO 9 WORLD TR ADE S 260
CHAPTER NO 10 DISP UTES AND PROFESSION AL INDE MNITY 299
MOCK EXAM 318
CH AP TE R- 1
DRY C ARGO SHIP S
T his Dr y Carg o Ch artering Course set s out t o e nsure th at a consc ient io us rea de r will f inis h up with a thoroug h b as ic k no wledg e of this s pec ia lize d se ctor of ship brok ing .It exp la ins in detail t he commodit ies in vo lved, their carr iag e req uirements an d the vesse ls ser ving this mark et. T he course co ver s in de pth the role of those partic ip ating in th e mark et – the Charters, Shipowners, Operators and Brok ers – as well as the freight markets themselves and their document atio n, char ter partie s, bills of lading , letters of credit, etc. T he mechan ics of off ers and count er -off ers are d ea lt with a s we ll as warn ing s reg arding the dang ers of f raud and un ethica l practic es. Clos e attentio n is pa id to as pects of f reights an d h ire s, wit h e xte ns ive exp lanat io n of ho w to p erf orm la yt ime ca lc ulatio ns a nd vo yag e estimates.
Fin ally, world trad e s and g eog raph y aff ecting the dry c arg o mark et in part icu lar are e xamin ed a s we ll as e xp la nations of ho w dr y -carg o chartering org anizat ions are o pe rated, the ir off ice techn iq ues, computer izat ion, the setting of disputes by re conc iliation, arbitrat ion and b y res ort to la w, and re le vant insuranc e protect ion . It is an ext ens ive u ndertak ing in just ten less ons, but the cours e has bee n des ig ned to he lp stu dents in a pract ica l f ashion, tak ing them le sson b y less on in a log ica l manner thr oug h the man y a nd varied f acets of this fascinating sector of the world‟s maritime industry.
T his f irst less on int roduces the stu dent to dr y carg o sh ip s . It does n ot set out to b e an e xhaust ive st ud y of the subject, som e of it has alre ad y be en co ver ed in the Introdu ction to Sh ip ping , and others are
dea lt with in s ubse q uent les sons. Bu t it e xp la in s man y e ver y -da y express io ns as the y are use d in co n nection with the vesse ls that partic ip ate in th is mark et and sho uld pro ve of va lue to those both relat ive ly e xperien ced and th ose n e w to the prof essio n. T he intern atio na l dr y -car g o mark et is immense, serve d b y numero us ships of all sizes, rang ing f rom g eneral -carg o and spec ia lized ve sse ls throug h to commonplace bulkcarriers, and from small „coasters‟ with a cargo capacity of a hundred or so tones upto enormous „cape -size‟ bulk carriers c apab le of carrying carg oe s in e xc ess of a q uarter of a million ton es of a bulk commodity su ch as iron ore. T here are still e lder sailing sh ips eng ag ed in th is most f ascin ating of mark ets, as we ll as th e latest, h ig hly so ph isticate d, f uel -efficient and „cargo-friendly‟ modern ve sse ls.
Some s hips are hig h ly s pec ia lize d a nd u nab le t o carr y oth er than a particu lar commo dit y – others are flexible in design and able to transport a variet y o f carg oes. In this Lesson, we will be e xamin ing of some of the s hip t yp es to be f ound in the dr y -carg o se ctor of the intern atio na l sh ip ping mark et, their basic des ig n an d co nstructio na l details a nd the ir su it abilit y f or certain car g oes and trades.
Ship T ype s A ppen d ix 1.1 sho ws the inter relat ion sh ip of va rious dr y
-carg oship t ypes, a n d it sho uld be n ote d that some ba sic des ig ns are adapte d to ena ble the vesse l to be com e in v olved in more than one trade. T hus modern desig ns of certain multi -d eck ves se ls – originally conce ive d to carr y genera l carg oes on a n ad vertised, reg ular lin er run – are no wa da ys cap able of carr ying a part of f ull tram p carg o of conta iners or, perh a ps, a bulk cargo, in addition to or instead of „break -bulk‟ parcels of various commodities. If they are additionally equipped with a high capacity derrick (termed a „heavy lift‟) capable, say, of saf ely lif ting f rom shore to c arg o ho ld and vic e vers a, an articl e we ig hing in e xcess of 100 tonnes, they ha ve yet a nothe r f acilit y of advantage to the vessel‟s owners/operators. Thus vessels with this carg o f lexib ilit y can intru de u pon t he s pec ia lized mark ets de ve lop ed
around th e marine t ransportat ion of con tainers, b ulk commodit ies an d „heavy lift‟ items, in addition to the carriage of bagged and baled goods.
Certa in b ulk carr iers – outwardly the simples design of dry cargo ve sse ls – are adapted by their owners and / or builders to engage in spec ia list trades wh en an o p portun it y ar ises; f or e xamp le, th e carriag e of lumber in carg o h old s and o n deck . Or the dimens ion s, des ig n and f itting s of the ship m ay perm it trad ing to particu lar g eog raphical r eg ions – e.g. The Great Lakes, or to ice affected areas of the world. T here are e ven vesse ls – „combination carriers‟ – capable of engaging in both „wet‟ markets and „dry‟. These large vessels (usually of 60,000 tonnes carg o capac it y p lus) are eq uip ped to c arry carg oes of crude -oil or dr y-bulk commod itie s, su ch as ores, co al or g rain.
In all cas es, ho we ver, the conc ept be hin d dr y -carg o mer chant ship des ig n has a lter ed dramatica lly in th e half -centur y s inc e W orld W ar II. Nowadays, vessels must be „cargo -friendly‟ basically designed and eq uipp ed wit h mod e rn con ven ien ces t o spe ed carg o h and ling at lo ad and discharg e ports within a minimum of time and with a minimum of shore lab our but wit h the cap ab ilit y of eff iciently carr ying the maximum amount of freig ht ea rning carg o. T he so aring cost of oil f uel (ref erred to as „bunkers‟) since the 1970‟s has also meant that modern main eng ines h a ve be en des ig ned to consum e cons idera bly les s during sea passages than was once the case, and this emphasis on „performance‟ has le d to hu ll d es ig n inn o vat ions, su ch as the wide -s pread des ig n introduction of the „bulbous bow‟ (see Appendix 1:2).
As ports ha ve bee n enlarg ed, de epe ne d, de ve lop ed an d, in the richer cou ntries, eq uip ped with re lat ive ly sop hist icat ed c arg o -hand ling eq uipment, so merc hant s hip n a va l arc hitects ha ve bee n r eq uired to inc orporate g enera l port ne eds int o vesse l d esig n, a nd t o p lan yet larg er vesse ls, ca p able of maxim izing earning s potent ia l f or their o wner s and of transporting g oods wor ld wide at the lo we st unit prices f or the commod ities in volved. S o let us no w stud y the bas ic dr y-c arg o ship
typ es, broa dly divid e d into th e common c ateg ories of : -
1) General Carg o
2) Bulk carr iers
3) Conta in ersh ips
4) RO/RO Ships
5) Spec ia lise d
6) Short Se a
1.General Cargo Commonly referred to nowadays as „multi -purpose‟
ve sse ls, g enera l -c a rg o ships f ulf il th e same f unctions as the ir predec essors hun dr eds of years ag o – the ability to adapt to world trades and deman ds and to carr y a var iety of carg oes. T hese vesse ls were f irst mass -pro d uced during W orld W ar II, when t he f amous 10,0 00 tonnes deadweight „Liberty‟ type ships were built. Later, many of these ve sse ls were so ld to sur viving and asp iring ship o wners a s th e bas is of modern post -war fleets, and their „three -island‟ design (i.e. forecastle, midsh ips - loc ated br idg e accommo datio n, and stern s upe rstructure) remained in vogue until the 1960‟s (see Appendix 1:2) when new des ig ns – principally the British „SD14‟ (see Appendix 1:3) and the American designed but Japanese produced „Freedom‟ (Appendix 1:4), as well as the German „Liberty Replacement‟ (the GLR) – first appe ared. T here st ill r emain a f e w e ld erly ve sse ls (se e A pp end ix 1:2), but these are b eco ming rare, the tren d be ing to ward s sh ips with af t -superstructure, bridge and engines, and with „cargo -friendly‟, unobstru cted hatch ways a nd h olds b et we en thes e a nd th e f orecastle (as with the „Freedom‟ illustrated in Appendix 1:4); and without the inconvenience of a „shaft-tunnel‟ covering a lengthy propeller shaft linking the „midships‟ main engine and the vessel‟s propeller, being expos ed to p otent ia l damag e f rom poorl y – operated „cargo-grabs‟ when disc harg ing a bu lk carg o, or f rom heavy u nits of carg o (e.g . scrap
metal) be ing care le ssly lo ade d. (T hose eng ag ing in the ch artering of g eneral – cargo ships will still encounter Charter Party clauses placing the onu s of dam ag e to a ships sh af t -tunne l on th e Sh ip o wner, if that tunne l is not adeq ua tely prote cted).
Carg o Lin ers a nd T ramps Mu ltip urpos e vesse ls oper ating in the d eep
-sea markets tend to be fairly small by today‟s standards, most being in the 10/25,0 00 dea d weig ht size cat eg ory. T hose emplo ye d on sched uled routes are n ormally more soph isticated and somet imes ar e bu ilt to custom -serve that operation, being termed, perhaps, „cargo -liners‟, but such vess els are dec lining in numb ers, lin e -op erators f req uently charterin g -in conveniently placed and priced „tramp -vessels‟ from the intern atio na l dr y -car g o mark et; vess els wh ich p ly th e o cean s vo yag e b y vo yag e, the ir o wners /operators s eek ing c arg oes in the vic in it y of where their ves se ls ha ppe n to be a va ilab le.
Liquid Ca rgo With the introduction of containers and of „parcel‟
tank ers, there is no wada ys le ss deman d f or small q uantit ie s of liq uid cargoes to be carried in the „deep -tanks‟ of cargo-liners, but there is incre ased deman d for ve sse ls with h old s and de ck s capab le of ca rrying se vera l tiers of contain ers. T hus, the interna l as we ll as the e xtern a l des ig ns of g eneral carg o -multi-p urpos e ve sse ls ha ve a ltere d in rec ent ye ars an d these c h arg es can perh aps best be e xplained b y stu d ying var io us as pects ap plica ble an d, in so me cases, pecu liar to these ve sse ls.
Dr y Carg o S pace s Mo dern g ener al -c arg o ship s are ne arly alwa ys
constructe d with t wo (ver y occ as ion ally t hree, see A ppe nd ix 1:2) deck s and can thus be termed „tweendeckers‟ the upper deck being the „main‟ or „weather-deck‟, and the lower deck the „tweendeck‟. Most tweendeckers have just one „tweendeck‟ located somewhat closer to the weath erdeck o verhe ad tha n to the botto m of the carg o ho ld ben eath – about t wo -th irds up the h eig ht of the h old s (see A ppen dic es 1:3 and 1:4) (see NB:1 be lo w).
T he Carg o area e nclosed b et we en the t wee ndeck and the weatherdeck is, logically, referred to as the „ tweendeck space‟, and the area ben eath the t weend eck do wn to the bottom of the cargo area, the „hold-space‟. These vessels are ideal for th e carriage of bagged, baled and drummed comm odit ies, the su pport of the tween deck mean ing that a hig h t ier sto wag e of these g oods can b e saf ely acco mmodated; where as th e same n umber of tiers in a bulk carrier, f or e xa mple, m ig ht we ll lead to sp litting of lo wer sto wed bag s or crump ling of drums due to the sh eer we ig ht pre ssing d o wn f rom abo ve. It is true to s a y, ho we ver, that this is les s of a f actor than was p revio us ly the cas e, g iven the impro veme nt in th e q ualit y of the carg o bag s and the subseq uent tenden c y to larg e s ized bag s (e.g. one tonne „jumbo‟ cargo bags ).
T he relat ive ly larg e number of in divid ua l carg o space s (the SD1 4 sho wn in Ap pen dix 1:3, f or examp le, ha s eig ht sep arate, va rious s ized carg o compartments ) is a nother ad va nt ag e whe n f aced wit h se v er al commodit ies to b e carrie d at the same time, yet k ept separate f rom each other – e.g. to avoid „tainting‟ by smell, etc. or to enable loading and d isc harg ing at se vera l p orts dur ing a vo yag e, with out e xtra -hand ling of carg oes. W here a modern g eneral -c arg o twe en deck er is built with the carr ia g e of bulk commodities a nd cont ainers in mind, in addition to conventional „tweendeck -cargoes‟, the vessel can more accurately be termed a „multi-purpose‟ ship. An example of such a ship-a Fr eed om Mk II – will be f ound in Appendix 1:4, being equipped with conta in er f itting s and wit h retractab le t wee ndeck s that f old ag a inst the s ide s of the ho lds to f acilitate t he load ing an d d isc harg e of bu lk commodit ies.
T he bottom of a carg o hold is not t he bottom of a ve ssel. Between the cargo hold and the ship‟s bottom will be located various tank s, desig ne d to carry wat er ba llast or bunk ers. T hes e are termed „double-bottom‟ tanks and the top of these tanks – their „ceiling‟ forms the bottom of the carg o hold loc ated d ir ectly ab o ve an d, conseq uent ly, usually referred to as the „ tank-tops‟ – see Appendix 1:3, where the
doub le-b ottom tank s are cle arly sho wn.
Carg o Fittings In order to carr y g oods ef f icient ly, g enera l -carg o
ve sse ls nee d bu ilt -in f acilities to han d le s af ely a wh ole var iet y of commodit ies, as we ll as eq u ipment to loa d, sto w, secur e a nd disc harg e those g oods. Most hold spac es will b e pro vide d with f ire -smothering eq uipment – e.g. CO2 fittings – used to contain outbreaks of fire, certain c ommodit ies being prone to s po ntan eou s combus tion (e.g . bag g ed f ishmeal) a nd/or e as ily comb us tib le (e.g . ba le d jut e) . Some ships will b e add it iona lly eq uip ped wit h mechan ica l or, more lik e ly ele ctrica l vent ilatio n in the ir carg o c arrying spa ces; u sef ul p articu lar ly f or commodities that „sweat‟ heavily (e.g. bagged rice). Older tweendeckers may have „coamings‟ around tweendeck hatchways, des ig ned a s a saf ety f eature to pr otect those work ing in th e t wee ndeck spaces from the danger of falling into the holds below (see the „Cargo liner‟ in Appendix 1:2). Since the 1960‟s, however, with the widespread introd uction of f ork lif t truck s used to facilitate carg o hand ling , these tween deck coaming s have bee n almo st universa lly dispe nse d with, the tween deck hatchc o vers f itting le ve l with the surro u nd ing tween deck f loor and pro viding a c le ar, f lat u nob structed area. S u ch ve sse ls, unobstru cted b y t ween deck hatc h -coamings, are termed „flush‟ tween deck ers‟, (Appendix 1:5).
Other obstruct ions poss ib le in a t wee n -decker‟s cargo compartments are c olumn s or p illars su pporting overhe ad d eck s. It is essent ia l to che ck on the locat ion of such obstruct ion s if in tending to use a ves se l f or larg e, bulk y carg o. So me tweend eck ve sse ls are f itted with „cargo-battens‟ – sometimes called „ gratings‟, strips of timber fixed at inter vals (usu ally horizonta lly but ver y occas io na lly vert ic ally) a long the sid es of hold s a nd t wee nde ck space s, and des ig ned to k eep bag g ed and ba le d commod ities f rom being damag ed by touc hing the sides of a ship whic h are in var ia bly we t throu g h conde nsat ion a nd/or s lig ht seepag e throug h microscop ic f aults in the plating . Carg o -battens also incre ase ve ntilat ion and reduce d ama g e f rom moisture o r swe ating .
Ho we ver, the y are f req uently dam ag ed and ha ve to be remo ved entir el y and stor ed e lse wh ere wh en h and ling a b ulk commod ity. S inc e the y ar e expen sive to mainta in in g ood cond ition and it is labour int ens ive to k eep repa iring and removing carg o -batt ens, it is no wad a ys unus ua l to f ind tramp g eneral -c arg o ships f ully eq uipped with th is f aci lit y. Instea d carg o-nets mig ht be used, b ut more com monly c arg o is pr ote cted wh en necess ar y b y a c ombin atio n of k raft -paper and other d unn ag e materia l f itted sometimes b y the cre w but more c ommonly b y shor e s tevedore s as load ing prog ress es. Du nnag e c an b e of vario us mater ia l b ut, is usua lly loos e wood of various k inds an d sizes la id at the bottom of a carg o hold to k eep lo wer -sto wed g oods clear of bilg e wate r and f rom obstructing drainag e , and a ls o wedg ed bet we en p arts of the carg o to k eep the sto w s ecur e and s af e (e.g . f or the carriag e of drums). Certain trade, trad itiona lly use other, loc al m ateria ls f or similar purp oses, „cargo-mats‟ and bamboo, for example, being utilized as dunnage materia l f or the exp o rt of bag g ed rice f rom South -Ea st As ia.
It may a lso b e ne cessar y to secur e some commodit ies with lashings. In these cases „pad-eyes‟ may need to be welded to tank -tops and / or ho ld s id es , so to pro vid e saf e anc horag es f or the lash ing materia l. T he cost and time of we ld ing a nd remo ving these p ad -e yes is usua lly f or the accou nt of the Charter wit h Charter Part y c lau ses draf ted accord ing ly perh aps add ing that, if not re moved f ollo wing dis c harg e, the Shipo wner is to b e r eimburs ed b y p a yme nt of a set rate, s a y US $10.0 0 per pa d-e yes lef t in situ. Natura lly , care must be tak en with an welding work in the vicin ity o f oil bunk er ta nk s lo cated ben eath tank -tops. Su ch a Charter Part y c lau se ma y g o on to list the la sing materia ls supp lied b y the loa ding Ste ved o res/Charterer s) stipu lat ing that the Shipo wner is to ensure th at h is Off icers tak e care of these a nd h and th e m over to Charteres‟ representatives in good condition at the end of the voyage.
Bulk Car goe s W ith s ome g ener al -c a rg o ship s of certa in des ig ns,
add itio na l s pec ia l f it ting s mig ht be req uired bef ore a bu lk g rain carg o can be carr ied saf ely protecte d f rom the carg o shif ting dang erous ly
when at se a. Mo st modern t wee ndeck er s and multi - purpo se ve sse ls are des ig ned to carr y g r ain wit hout s pec ia l f itting s, some b eing f itted with permanent „partial centre -line bulkheads‟, preventing the sideways shift of carg o. Older ve ssels eng ag ing in this trad e mig ht re q uire the construct ion of temporar y wood en centre -lin e b ulk he a ds b ef ore permiss io n wo uld be g ive n to set out to s ea.
As we sha ll see in the rele vant sect io n of this paper, bu lk ca rriers are commonly fitted with „self-trimming‟ facilities for high stowing bulk carg oes suc h as g rain. It is not u sua l f or twee ndeck ers t o ha ve th is f acilit y a ltho ug h attentio n to this def ic ien c y has be en g iven b y the des ig ners of some modern mult i -pur p ose vesse ls. T he Prin ciple of hing ed, ho ista ble t weend eck s has als o been ut ilized in modern mult i -purpos e vess els, s uc h as the Free dom Mk II sho wn in Ap pen d ix 1:4.
Contai ners: W ith the re vo lut ion in c arg o -hand ling s inc e W orld W ar II,
the des ig n of g eneral -carg o sh ips h as h a d to ada pt and c onf orm to ne w methods. Conseq u ently, the carg o sp aces of modern mu lti -p urpos e ve sse ls tned to be a s sq uare as is poss ible, so as to ass ist the sto wag e of containers an d pa lletized -carg o, wh ilst on th e weath erdeck s, modern des ig n a llo w f or storag e of conta iners, of ten two or more tiers h ig h, bear ing in mind ve ssel st ab ilit y, visibilit y f rom the bridg e, and de ck streng ths.
Ballast an d Bilges : Older g eneral -car g o vesse ls were d esig ned to
carry q ua ntit ies of liq uids – e.g. palm oil – and many had small „deep-tank s‟ fitted with heating coils for this purpose. Occasionally cargo holds, c apab le of b eing f loo ded to pr o vid e e xtra stab ilit y when the ve sse l is in ba llast o r partly -laden condition may be termed „ deep-tanks‟ although it is better to refer to them as „ floodable-holds‟ to distinguish their purp ose. An examp le of a f lood able -hold‟ in a general cargo ve sse l ca n be f ound by r ef erence to carg o -ho ld No.3 of the S D14 s ho wn in App end ix 1:3. A ver y f e w mo d ern multi-p urpos e t yp es ha ve be en eq uipp ed with o lder - style d eep -tank s, bu t g enerally th is trad e has be en
taken over almost totally by „ parcel-tankers‟. After washing cargo spaces, dirty water is drained away from the hold bottoms into „ bilges‟ through „strum-boxes‟ which act as filters and prevent solid matter from blo ck ing bilg e pip e s and damag ing pumps. Prior to lo ading bulk commodit ies, thes e bilg e open ing s mig h t be intent io na lly c o ver ed o ver f or the same reason s.
Shelter Deck er An o ther term that mig ht be enco untere d – especially it
seems in the sh ort -sea mark et sector – is that of „shelter-decker‟. The „shelter‟ refers to a design specifically adapted to overcome stringent tonnag e reg ulat ion s, by which vess e ls c ould ma xim ize carg o capac it y and intak e (an d th us ma ximise earn in g s potential) yet r estrict the reg istered ton nag e a ssesse d ag ainst the ve sse ls a nd th us red uce thos e expenses and liabilities which are based on the ship‟s registered tonnag e (eg port co sts and certa in lia bilities as to cr e w num ber s). T he tonnag e reg ulatio ns creating these inn o vat ive des ig ns h a ve long be en altere d an d ther e is no w no nee d f or cle ver n a va l arc hitecture to overcome this leg is lation. Ne verthe less , the term ling ers o n in c ertain market sectors, and where the term „she lter-decker‟ is used today it should be taken to mean „tweendecker‟.
Carg o Gear T he mo st obvio us e xter ior c arg o f itting on a g eneral -c arg o
ship is her „gear‟ – her derricks or cranes.
Derrick s may b e old in des ig n, but the y rema in imp ortant eq uipment;
their us e (and d ang ers) being readily u nderstoo d throug hou t the world, relat ive ly s imple, as they ar e, to rig and to mainta in, and be ing reason ab ly ine xpen s ive. T here are b as ica lly three parts to a derr ick (see Ap pen dix 1:6): -
1) A vertic al s upport in g pillar – a „samson post‟ – sunk into the ship‟s weatherdeck, to the base of which is attached : -
2) T he boom, and
3) Rig g in (e.g . wire rop es, blo ck s and tack le).
Derrick s are o per ated b y winche s, usu ally e lectrica lly or hydrau lica lly dr iven (see Ap pen dix 1:6) . All parts o f the c arg o lif ting eq uipment must be rig orous ly and reg u larly ch eck ed with c ertif icates issued attesting to the „safe working load‟ – „sw1‟ of each unit. These ins pect ions ca n b e c arried out b y Clas sif icat ion S ocieties or by certa in other inter nat iona lly recog nize d author ities spec ia lizing in th is act ivit y. Certa in ly, it is a lwa ys best to en sure t hat a Ch arter Part y conta ins confirmation be the Shipowner that a vessel‟s gear certificates are up to date and will rema in so during the curre nc y of the vo yag e / timecharter in volved. Fa ilure to attend to this asp ec t could caus e shor e work ers to ref use to handle a vess el or, wors e, injur y or death res ult ing f rom def ective or un cer tif icated g ear cou ld rend er to t hose in vo lved enormous f ina ncial p ena ltie s in c ert ain ar eas of the world.
T he bas ic derrick can b e e xtr emely ver satile and is ca pab le of adoption for certain trades. „ Union Purchase ‟ is a method of joining derrick booms t o a particu lar rig g ing method, s imple to us e and f ast in operat ion, s o that loads c a n b e mo ved speed ily f rom shore to carg o hold, or vice versa. T he prob lem wit h the s ystem is t hat once the rig g ing is set up it has to be altered to adjust the pla ces of lif ting and setting do wn of ea ch load. T hus c ar g o has to be mo ve d an e xa ct pos itio n p r ior to lif ting and t ak en a wa y f rom another e xact pos itio n at the end of each movement c yc le. It is theref ore a labou r intens ive method (a lthoug h th is is n ot a pro blem in c ertain are as of the less -de ve lop ed wor ld). Add itiona lly, h o we ve r, the un io n of -der r ick s in th is wa y re duc es the s w1, so th at t wo 5 -ton ne s w1 derrick s mig ht ha ve a union purc hase ca p acit y of less than h eld the ind ividu al s w1 – say 2 tonnes. Ho we ver, for bag g ed g oods, this ma y well n ot be a prob lem, and the s ystem ha s its advantag es f or the disc harg e of bagged g oods in less- de ve lo ped reg io ns.
W here hea vy loa ds are in vo lved, un ion purchas e is ob vio us ly not the ans wer. T he winc h arrang ement of certain vess els en ables t wo para llel d errick s to be link ed tog ether with t wo a djacent car g o winch es in a system termed „swinging derricks‟ (see Appendix 1:6). Swinging derrick s maintain th e spee d of operat io n of union purch ase, but ena ble lif ting s up to th e m aximum c apac it y of the sma llest d erric k or carg o winch in vo lved, us in g in p lac e of a th ird cargo winch a „deadman‟ – a suspe nde d de ad we ig ht on one lin e (e.g . a mass of old wire) th e purp ose of which is simply to provide tension. One winch is used to „swing‟ the boom f rom over th e hatch wa y to th e q u ayside, a s eco nd winch b eing used to „swing‟ the boom back to its original position.
A variation is the „self-swinging derrick ‟, or „crane-derrick‟, a sing le derrick syste m that work s in th e same f ashion as a crane, b y using only its o wn immediate ly as soc iat ed winch es an d ther ef ore does not interf ere wit h car g o-handling at adjac ent hatc h wa ys. Suc h a derrick is norma lly to be f ound in iso lat ion at a h atch wa y and, just lik e a crane, is c apa ble of e xtre mely f ast op eration b y on ly one, sk illed dr iver utilizing a jo yst ick control. A commerc ial e xample of a s elf -swing ing derrick is the „Velle‟ type. Typically cargo derricks lift between 5 and 15 tonnes s w1, but it is not unus ua l f or conve ntiona l – type derricks to be adapte d f or lif ts of up to 50 t onne s. Some g ener al -c arg o sh ips are equipped with „Stulcken derricks‟ (see Appendix 1:6) which, in some cases, c an saf ely lif t weig hts of up to 450 ton nes, h a ving the add ed ad vant ag e of servin g two h atch wa ys im mediate ly f ore an d af t of the loc atio n of its Samson posts. (Natur ally, when ch artering g enera l -carg o, multi purpo se sh ip s, the locat ion, s af e work ing load s an d ca pab ilit ies of the vessel‟s derricks may be of paramount importance, and the broker acting f or a Charter shou ld e nsure th at he or she is ent irely f amiliar wit h the req uireme nts of his prin cipa l an d c an p rop erly e va lu at e the sh ips propos ed f or the bus ine ss with reg ard to their carg o g ear pote ntia l).
In a Chartering sense, the term „ double-rigged‟ means that two derrick s ser ve eac h hatch wa y. Moder n mult i -purp ose vesse ls are a lmost
alwa ys eq u ipp ed wit h crane s. T hese ar e usua lly electrica lly p o wer ed, ha ving the ad vant ag e over most derrick s of being more ver satile an d capab le of accur ate ly plac ing an d p ick ing up c arg o f rom a var iet y of adjacent po sit ion s. Cranes are, ho we ver, more soph isticate d and expen sive to ma int ain, a ls o req uir ing more eff icient h a ndling than derrick s. Fe wer cra nes are nee ded tha n derrick s, thoug h, and they are self -contained in t h eir o wn u nits, not req uir ing sup porting Samson posts, etc. T yp ic al lif ting capa cit ies of shipborn e cran es r a ng e f rom 5 to 25 tonn es s w1, with most mod ern vess els tend ing to wards the h ig her capac it ies, p erha ps ha ving the f acilit y to un ite th e lif ting cap acit y of two adjacent cra nes, the reb y sub stantially in creas ing the ma ximu m capac it y – e.g. 2 x 25 tonnes cranes equating to 1 x 50 tonnes. To recap, most ne w bu ild ing s are f itted with cra nes of around 25 ton nes s w1, derrick s still b eing used to pr ovide a he a vy - lif t f acilit y, where req uir ed.
Carg o Hatche s S o me elderly ves se ls – particularly those engaged in
the short se a trade s – will be found to have wooden hatch covers, which are co vered b y tar pau lins and the n c leane d to sec ure th em and to ensure that the y a re weather a nd waterproof . Naturally, this is extreme ly har d wor k and lab our -intens ive. Most dee p s e a ves s e ls, ho we ver, are f itted with ste el h atch co vers of what is k nown as „Macgregor type‟ Macgregor‟s being an organization which pioneered and p atented hatchc over des ig ns in the period f ollo wing W orld W ar II, and wh ich still p la ys an important ro le in the d es ig n of cargo -hand ling eq uipment.
Most hatc hco vers ar e open ed an d close d b y electric or h ydr aulic po wer and some b y winch es an d ch a ins. Compare d wit h wo ode n hatchco vers th e y are relat ive ly la bour -f ree but, lik e d errick s a nd cran es, are subject to string ent testing b y Cla ssif ication S oc ieties to ensure th at the y remain s ae an d watertig ht. Carg o damag e by moist ure may well be f ound to resu lt f rom water ing ress throug h hatchc o vers a nd, as with carg o-hand ling eq uipment, Ch arter P arty clause s us ua lly st ipulate th at Own ers will ma inta in hatchco vers in eff icient, whatert ig ht con dit ion.
Depe nd ing u pon the des ig n of the vess el, t wee deck s an d c arg o holds ma y be ser ve d b y one or more h atch wa ys. In the case of the Freedom ( App end ix 1:4) Carg o Ho ld/T we endeck No.1 ca n b e seen to be ser ved b y Hatch wa y No.1, wher eas Carg o Ho ld/T ween de ck No.2 is ser ved b y Hatch wa ys 2 and 3, Hatch wa y No.2 locate d abo ve the f orward part of the carg o hold/t ween dec k and Hatch wa y No .3 locat ed abo ve t he af ter apar t. A similar pattern will be obs er ved o ver Ho lds 3 and 4. T he Chart er Part y d escriptio n of a Freedom Mk I should therefore contain the expression 4 holds/6 hatches‟, whereas an SD14 (Appendix 1:3) would be described as having „5 holds/5 hatches‟.
Some mult i -purp ose vess els, ho we ver, ha v e what are ref erred to as „twin-hatches‟ – i.e. hatchways located by side rather than fore and af t as in the case of the Freed om Mk I. T he object of twin -h atches is to provide easy access to the sides of a vessel‟s holds and tweendeck spaces to f acilit ate t he ha nd ling of hea vy and bu lk y artic les – such as conta iners or, p erh aps, ra ilwa y wag on s. T he ma in dis ad va ntag e of twin- hatch wa ys, h o wever, is th e ne ed f or a supp ortive centre -line b eam runn ing long it ud ina lly bet wee n the t wo hatch e wa y op en ing s, (and som etimes an ent ire centre - line b ulk head), hamper ing bulk carg o hand ling .
T he term „openhatch‟ is more commonly associated with short -sea vess els and c on tainers h ips, ap plying where the h atch wa y stretches virtua lly f rom one side of the watherd ec k to the othe r and f rom one en d to the other. In its open pos ition it e xposes a lmost the en tire under -deck area, en ab ling e xtremely f ast and unob structed c arg o hand ling , usua lly b y shore eq uipme nt. T he s yst em creates inh erent structural weak ness es f or larger ve sse ls, however, and „open-hatch‟ systems are more or less c onf in ed to smaller ton na g e operating in the short -sea sector, or to de e psea conta in ersh ip s spec ia lly constr ucted wit h compensating „double-hulls‟ – see later in this Lesson.
In most cases „tweendeck -hatchways‟ are located more or less exactly ben eath weatherd eck hatch wa ys, there b y f acilita ting carg o hand ling . T hey usu ally a lso h a ve the s ame dimen sions. Ho we ver, this may not be the ca se, espec ia lly with old er vesse ls, and it is g ood practic e to check thi s aspect when c hart ering t wee ndeck ers.
Self Ass essm ent Question s
A) Define a nd ex plain the terms: -
1) SW 1
2) Flu sh-t we end eck ers
3) Pad-e yes
4) Centre- line b ulk hea d
5) Bilg es
6) Samson p ost
8) Doub le -rig g ed
9) O pen-hatch
10) Shaf t -tunnel
B) Your princ ipa ls are seek ing to ch arter a t wee ndeck er f or the carriag e of bag g ed carg o, but none of the cand id ate ves s els ar e carg o-batten f itted. Inf orm them of alternatives to carg o -batt ens an d ad vise a bout who, (in your o pinion), sho uld 1) sup ply an d 2) f it these altern atives.
2. Bulkc arriers S ome of the items co ver ed und er g enera l -car g o vess els
abo ve – items concerning for example, gear and hatchways, can apply eq ually to bu lk carrie rs and bu lk carriers can als o – especially since the introd uction of stro ng er synthet ic carg o -bag materia l - be f ound eng ag ed carr ying co mmodities that were once t he ma in pres erve of the tween-d eck mark et. Bulk carr iers, ne verth ele ss, ha ve d ist inct ive f eatures (see App end ix 1:2). T hey are s ing le d eck vesse ls, thos e eng ag ed in deeps ea mark ets an d up to 50,0 00 to nn es d ead we ig ht s ize f req uently (yet not alwa ys) eq u ipp ed wit h cra nes or , occas io na lly in old er des ig ns, with derr ick s. T he majorit y of bu lk carriers o ver th is s ize, h o we ver, (as we ll as man y mode rn short -sea „tulkers‟), are „gearless‟, having no carg o-hand ling eq uipment themse lves a nd re liant on s hore f acilit ies t o be lo ade d and dis ch arg ed.
T hey rang e in appr o ximate size f rom co astal craf t of around 100 tonnes to vesse ls of over 25 0,000 t o nnes d ead we ig ht a nd, as the ir name imp lies, are in tended pr imarily f or the trans portat ion of bu lk dr y -carg o commodities, altho ug h the y can b e adopte d f or the carriag e of other g oods -carg oes such as lumber, st eel pro ducts, conta iners, and even motor cars. L arg er bulk crarriers of betwe en ab out 6 0,000 a nd 70,000 to nnes d ead we ig ht are usua lly c ontrasted with a b ea m and draf t suita ble f or lim itatio ns imp osed on th e mark et by the dime n sio ns of the
Panam a Canal – an important waterway for this type of vessel, giving
Typical dimensions of a „panamax builkcarrier‟ would be: -
LOA (leng th o ver all) : 224 metres (73 5 f t.) Beam ( width) : 31.8 metres (104.5 f t.) Draf t : 13.35 metres (43.8 f t.) Summer Dea d weig ht : 64,500 to nnes
Cub ic Capa cit y of : 73,625 c ub ic metre s
Carg o Ho lds (2,6 00, 000 cu bic f t.)
Ho lds : 7
Hatch wa ys : 7 (each a bout 14 me tres long b y 13.5 metres wide)
Vessels too wide to transit the Panama Canal are termed „cape -size‟ and usually this term is taken to mean vessels in excess of 100,00 0 to nnes de ad we ig ht, there be ing f ew bu lk carrier s bet wee n 80,000 and 10 0,0 00 tonn es d ead we ig ht size. (Ap pe ndix 1:7). Bulk carr iers of between, s a y, 20,00 0 and 50,0 00 ton nes dead we ig ht size are frequently loosely termed „ handy-sized‟ whereas there is a spec if ic cla s s of bulk carrier aro und 2 0,000/30, 000 ton nes dead we ig ht des ig ned with mea surements enab ling transit of the St. La wr ence Sea wa y, an d thus a ccess to the Great L ak es system of North Americ a, these ma ximum dime nsions be ing : -
Leng th : 730 f eet Beam : 75 Ft. 6 inc h. Draf t : 26 Ft. f reshwater
He ig ht abo ve water le vel n ot to e xcee d 117 f t.Vessels tran s iting the Pan ama and S ue z Ca na ls an d tho se trading to the Great Lak es req uire sp ec ia l f ittin g s in a dd ition to be ing dimens io na lly su itable, and
such req uirem ents w ill b e dea lt with in g reater deta il in Less o n 9.
Carg o Spa ces B ulk carriers h a ve a bas ically s imple des ig n, as can be
seen f rom Appe nd ix 1:2, wh ere su perstr ucture, br idg e an d e ng ines are loc ated af t in nearly ever y ca se, le a ving relatively u nob struc ted acce ss to carg o hatch wa ys. T o avo id the e xp ens ive nec ess it y of emplo ying shore lab our to ens ure that b ulk carg o saf ely f ills e xtrem ities of the holds – i.e. it is safely „trimmed‟ – most bulkcarriers are constructed with „upper wing tanks‟ (see Appendix 1:5), sometimes termed „topside tanks‟, providing „self -trimming‟ facilities on their underside. These upper wing tank s are used to carr y b a llast water when the ves se l is empty at sea or on ly partly lade n, othe r areas u sed f or this purpo se being tank s loc ated forward and aft („fore -peak‟ and „after -peak‟ tanks) and, perhaps, a midships located „floodable -hold‟, as discussed in the g eneral-c arg o ves se l sectio n.
As some bu lk carg oes are relatively lig ht (e.g . bulk barley) and thus a vessel‟s hold can be filled be fore she comes down in the water to her permissible loadline marks, some „handy -sized‟ bulkers utilize the space in the se u pp er wing tank s f or c ertain commod ities ( ag ain bu lk barle y mig ht b e a n e xam ple) that ar e re la tive ly f ree -f lo wing . B y loa ding throug h open ing s in the weath erdeck abo ve th e upp er wing tank s, these spaces can be dra ined of ba llast wate r at the load ing p o rt, wa she d throug h, cle ane d a n d dried, the carg o t hen f ed into th e vac ant spa ces, thereb y u sing other wis e wasted d ead weig ht cap acit y. At disc harg ing ports, the cargo is „bled‟ into the cargo hold immediately beneath throug h open ing s wh ich are se aled wh en all carg o has been d isch arg ed and prepar atio n made to t ak e on b alla st water. T he
……… by no means universally
employed ……… difficulties of satisfactorily cleaning and drying out the wing tank spaces – especially in cold or humid conditions – and the incre as ing expen se in human lab our terms of the entire opera tion.
bulkcarriers‟, since such a vessel would require slopping areas located f ore and af t of the h atch wa y op en ing s, a s we ll as to port an d starboard and t hat, ther ef ore, the e xpress io n is m isle ad ing . In rea lit y one is f ully aware of the limitations of „self -trimming‟ vessels although, to be fair, there ma y be leg a l p roblems when utilizing this e xpres sion, with certa in commodit ies in rare situat io ns g iving rise to ser io us d isp u tes. T hus some owners prefer to use the less onerous expression „ easy-trimmer‟ when desc r ib ing their vess e ls.
In the bottoms of the cargo holds are „ tanktops‟ covering „double bottom tnak s‟, just as for general-cargo ships, and in some cases (see Appendix 1:5), bulkcarriers have „side‟ and/or „ lower wing tanks‟. The upper s ide s of lo we r wing tank s in the carg o holds g ive rise to the expression „hoopered holds ‟, although some bulkcarrier designs have virtua lly sq uare bo ttomed, f lat ho ld f loors, particu lar ly spec ia lized „conftainer-bulkcarrriers‟ – con-bulkers‟ – designed to perform in both the bulk carg o and conta iner mark et sectors, and nee ding this f acilit y f or the con ve nient and saf e sto wag e of conta iners an d, perh aps pallet ize d carg o. (se e Ap pend ix 1:8). Fo r other bu lk carrier t ypes – e.g. colliers – hoppered holds are desirable to assist t he safe security of bulk carg o and to minimize its mo vement at sea.
Carg o Stow age Bulk carg oes can ver y considera bly in th eir sto wing
propert ies – e.g. iron ore stows around 12 cubic feet for every tonne, whera s cok e ma y st o w as hig h a s 90 c u bic f eet per t on ne. Obviou sly, in th e c ases of iro n ore, f ull dead we ig ht will be reac hed with c arg o holds litt le more tha n a th ird f ull, whilst a carg o of cok e will f ill carg o holds to capa cit y a nd the vess el ma y t heoret ica lly be los in g potentia l revenu e earn ing s b ecau s e of lack of space in carg o co mpartments. (Unlik e f ree -f lo wing bulk b arle y, cok e ca nnot be lo ade d in u pper wing tank s, because it wou ld n ot only be extreme ly d if f icult and time -consum ing , if not impossible, to load it throug h the r estricted deck open ing s to the wi ng tank s, it wou ld probab ly cont in ua lly block the „bleeding‟ apertures when it came to discharge).
For h ea vy carg oes o f iron ore, it is impo rtant that bu lk carrier s be loaded so they do not become too „stiff‟ and dangerous in their handling at sea. Conseq ue ntly, carg o is norma lly loa ded in adjace nt h old s – say Ho lds 2, 4, 6 an d 8 of a 9 x h old bu lk ca rrier (see App end ix 1:7) – the vessel being especially „ hold-strengthened‟ during the building process of f acilit ies the dem ands of this trade. The facility of carrying cargo in adjacent holds with others empty is particularly useful for loading or discharging at more than one port when carrying commodities other than heavy ores.
Carg o Gear Some bulkcarriers are fitted with „self -discharging‟
f acilit ies . T hese m ay be a s imp le arr ang ement b y wh ic h the vesse l carriers its o wn c arg o -grabs which can be fitted to the ship‟s derricks or cranes a nd use d to disch arg e or perha ps e ven to loa d car g o. Some vessels have a „gantry‟ arrangement, by which a „travellin g‟ crane moves long itud in ally the le ng th of a bulk carrier a lo ng a g antry ra il, and is thus ab le to o pera te o ver an y part icu la r hatch wa y. Other bu lk carriers, perhap s des ig ned f or a partic ular trade, may b e f itted with so phistic ated disc harg ing a pparat us tha t op erates on a co n ve yor be lt and / or s cre w system (e.g . Siwert ell S ystem), load in g being lef t to shore base d eq uipment. Su ch ma chiner y is u sua lly ta ilored f or a specif ic carg o type and trade – e.g. bulk cement – and is not normally suitable for a tramp bulk carrier.
W ith certain bulkcarrier sizes, however, ship‟s gear is a definite dis ad va ntag e, trade s ha ving d e ve lo pe d aro und sop histic ated a nd speed y s hore - eq u ip ment which ne eds c lear, unh ind ered acc ess to carg o compartments. Con seq uently, mo st pan ama x an d a lmost a ll cape -s ize bulkcarriers are „gearless‟ and close attention must be paid by their operators, charters and brokers alike, that each vessel „fixed‟ for a particu lar trade ca n ph ys ica lly f it beneath s hore loa ding and/or disc harg ing app arat us, not on ly when la den but, pr ior to com mencement of loading and f ollo wing disch arg e, in b allast co nd itio n. T he dimens io n that determines a vessel‟s suitability is the distance between the water line s urroun din g the vess el and the top of her hatch wa y coam ing s
– frequently referred to as the vessel‟s „ air-draft‟, and not to be confused with that other „air -draft‟ being the distance from the waterline to the top of the h ig hest f ixed p oint o n a ves se l (s ee th e G reat Lak es dimen siona l restrictions ear lier in this L e sson) .
Carg o Fittings Unlik e g eneral c arg o vesse ls it is u nusua l f or
bulk carriers (es pec ially o ld er on es) to b e f itted with e lectr ic ve ntilat ion, but man y ha ve f ire s mothering (e.g . Co2) f acilities s er ving ca rg o -holds. Most h a ve st ee l hat ch -co vers, ope ning for e an d af t on the majorit y of hand y-s ized ves se ls, whilst the larg er ve sse ls, f rom panama xes up war ds, are f req uently f itted with h atch -co vers ope nin g side wa ys when, in the ope n p osit ion the y c o ver th e deck between co a ming s and the ship‟s rail, supported by a steel framework to allow ship‟s crew and shore workers to pass underneath when moving about the vessel‟s deck s. T his en ab les a b ig g er open hatch wa y sp ace t han wo uld other wise be the c a se, the better to ac commodate larg e sh ore -base d carg o han dling eq u ipm ent a nd s pee dier carg o han dling . T his hatc h -cover system is known as „side -rolling hatch-cover‟ (see Appendix 1:7).
Speci alised Bul kca rriers W e have a lre ad y e xamined some spec ia lized
bulk carriers, f or e xample, thos e d esig ned to trans it th e Great Lak es Sea wa y an d the Pa nama Can al, an d a lso thos e eq uip ped with se lf -disc harg ing a pparat us a nd th us ab le t o trade to areas where port eq uipment ma y be in adeq uate. W e ha ve a ls o e ncou ntered t he „conbulker‟ equipped to cross the boundaries of the container and the bulk carg o mark ets. T here are oth ers, ho we ver, a nd a brief descriptio n of some wou ld be us ef ul: -
Logg ers Us ua lly ar ound 1 5/30,00 0 dea d we ig ht, these bu lk carriers of
particu larly h ea vy c onstruction are of ten f itted with d erric k s or wit h cranes in the reg io n of 15/25 tonnes s w1, cap ab le of loading and sustain ing hea vy lo g s in add itio n to other, con ve ntio na l b ulk carg oes. Logs may also be loaded on deck, secured by „stanchions‟ alongside „bulwarks‟ (rails or steel sheeting running alongside the edges of the weath erdeck ), and by h ea vy ch ains an d securing tack le. Stanch io ns may be of the „permanent‟ steel variety – or „collapsible‟ along bulwarks adjacent to c arg o ha tches so th e y ca n b e lo were d to lie hor izo nta lly on the deck an d a llo w c lear unh in dered acces s bet we e n shore and hatch wa ys – essential when cargo equipment is used for loading or
disc harg ing . W here a log g er is not f itted with stee l stanch ion s, ho we ver, temporar y wood en st anch io ns are somet imes us ed by sha ving do wn su itab le log s from the carg o, to enab le them to f it int o stanch io n sock ets in the edg e of the weath erdeck adjacent to the bulwark s. T he substant ia l c onstruct ion of log g ers is a ls o of use wh en c arr ying hea vy carg oes such a s ore s, cement or cement clink er.
Lumber Carriers T he aim of the des ig ne r of a lumber (or t imber) carr ier
is to creat e suf f icie nt space in h o lds a nd on d eck and hat chco ver s f or the ma ximum amou nt of this h ig h -sto wing carg o to be carr ied. Once ag ain stan ch ions are essent ia l an d th e same remark s above un der „loggers‟ applies to „ lumber carriers. W ith the latter vessels, however, the cha ins and tack le are of a lig hter co nstructio n so a s not to damag e the carg o. Sh if ting of lumber carg oes at sea is a r isk tha t all thos e eng ag ed on t his tra de dre ad, a nd it is essent ia l th at no sh or tcuts are tak en wh en sto wing and se curing the c arg o, wh ich must a lwa ys be to the Master‟s absolute satisfaction. Timber carriers have clear, unobstru cted and sq uaris h h olds and wid e / long h atch wa ys, sometime s f itted with lo ng itud in al an d / or transvers e supports as a co n struction al saf ety f eature.
Beca use of the nature of this commodity, wh en a f ull carg o of lumber is carried, s pec ia l reg ulat ions r eg arding lo ad lines a re app lied, which means that an alternative „ lumber loadline ‟ can be used, permitting de eper lo ading . T his is o n the bas is that with a f ull and secure lumber d eck carg o, vess el b uo yanc y an d inhere nt saf ety has increased, and the effective „freeboard‟ (the distance from the waterline to a promine nt po sition on the ve ss el – usually the top of the weath erdeck – which governs the position of a vessel‟s loadline) can in f act be adjusted to increase c arg o intak e of this particu lar co mmodit y.
Wood-chi p Carrier s T hese vesse ls c an be as larg e as 40/50,00 0
tonnes dea d we ig ht a nd are s pec ia lly de s ig ned f ro the carriag e of hig h -sto wing woo d - ch ip products dest ine d f or use in pu lp mills . T hey are
usua lly of lig ht co n struction an d u nsu it able f or the c arriag e of hea vy, dense carg oes suc h as ores. Ne ve rtheles s, wh ere th ey can b e emplo yed on a reg ular run - e.g . f rom the W est Coast of the Un ited States and Can ada to the Far East – they have in the past been adapte d f or the pr of itable carriag e of motor cars on th e other wis e va lue less b allast le g (return journe y), thus obta in ing f reig ht -earn ing abilit y on b oth pa s sa g es.
Ore-Carriers At the other extreme from wood-chip carriers, cre-carriers
have small, compact cargo spaces because the nature of their trade is concerned with heavy-dense mineral commodities. Not so many years ago there was an international fleet of these gearless vessels around 20,000 tonnes deadweight, but the introduction of the more versatile logger offered stiff competition at the time that ore -terminals worldwide were gearing up capacity to take cargoes in excess of 100,000 tonnes. No w ore -carr ier s tend to b e in e xcess of 100,000 to nnes d ead we ig ht and th e larg est dry carg o vess els in t h e world ( in e xce ss of 250,00 0 to nne s ) are ore -carriers, d esig ne d for a partic ular carg o -run, eq uip ped wit h spec ia lly streng thened ho ld s and tank -tops and with no need f or the self -trimming f acilit ies of other bulk carriers.
Bulk Cement Carri ers T here are a f ew sop hist icat ed mec han ica l an d
pneumatic bulk cement carriers, and even those that act as „mother‟ or „factory-ships‟, off -loading from other vessels and storin g or even bag g ing bulk cement abroad. Of ten these vesse ls are co n verted f rom suita bly d imens ion e d bu lk carriers, a nd s erve a p articu lar tra de route or are station ed in a particu lars area, the better to meet the cement demands of a near by mark et. Other wise , f or odd carg oe s, ordin ar y bulk carriers c an be read ily ad apte d f or the c arriag e of bulk cement or cement clink er (part manuf actured cement wit hout the sett ing ag ent, g ypsum), b y the cutting of small ho les in hatch co vers to f acilitate loa ding and / or disc harg e witho ut creating unaccepta ble dus t pollution, these ho les be ing made g ood to Cla s sif ication S oc iet y s atisf action bef ore the ves se l le aves port. T his ope ration is usu ally co v ered b y an
appropr iate Charter Part y Claus e, un d er the terms of which Charte rs usua lly re imburse t he Sh ip o wner f or the cost of the hold - cutting and re we ld ing o perat ion , with t ime s o u s ed to co unt a s layt ime, if emplo ym ent on a vo yag e b asis is in volve d.
Self Ass essm ent Question s
A) Define a nd ex plain the terms:
1. Gearles s
2. T op-side ta nk s
3. Hopp ered h olds
4. Gantry cra nes
5. Air -draf t
6. Stanch io ns
7. Sid e-ro lling
8. Self -trimming
9. Cape- size
10. Conb u lk er
B) W hat ideal s w1 c ap acit y a nd t ype of g ear shou ld b e f itted on a ve sse l to b e use d e xte nsive ly in the he avy log s trade, an d what d eck eq uipment is ess ential?
3. Cont ainers hips T hese are sh ip s sp ec ia lly de sig ne d f or the carriag e
of contain ers an d ar g uably, th e moder n eq uiva lent of the car g o -lin er of the immed iate po st -war years. T hese lar g e vess els te nd to b e emplo yed
on sched u le d vo ya g es on f ixed route s, trave ling at hig h speeds of around 20 k nots or more. T hey norma lly s er ve so ph istic ate d conta iner termina ls where e xt ens ive sh ore eq uip ment is a vaila ble a nd f or this reason, most of the m are g earless. T heir tur n -roun d time in p ort is ver y s hort -perh aps o nly a matter of hours rather than da ys.
Conta in ers ar e sto wed be lo w th e we atherdeck in a s e cure, cellular steel framework („ cell-quides‟), in heights of eight to ten tiers, with u p to three to four tiers on de ck . Just as f or con vent iona l carg o -liners, however, the old stability rule of „heavy weights at the bottom, light on top‟, holds good for containerships. These modern vessels have larg e hatc h wa y o pen ing s of the same wid th and leng th as t he holds th e y ser ve, an d the ha tch -co vers are frequently steel slabs („ pontoon hatches‟) lifted on and off by shore gear.
Usua lly there is long itud ina l f raming alo n g the main ho ld with in a double hull; this double „skin‟ being required to compensate for the loss of vesse l stre ng th o wing to lar g e ho ld a reas an d op en hatch wa ys. (se e Appe nd ix 1:9). Whilst the size of almost all other merchant ships is normally described in tons (or the metric counterpart – tones), the capacity of container ships is usually expressed in terms of the number of containers it is designed to carry. As the standard container sizes are almost invariably either 20 feet or 40 feet long, you will encounter the expression TEU meaning „twenty-foot equivalent units‟. Sizes can range from a few hundred TEU‟s to over 4000 and there is even a tendency now to describe the largest of these ships in terms of FEU‟s (forty-foot equivalent units). Chara cterist ics of typic al c onta iners hips are: -
Short S ea Middle Sea Medium Large Dee p
Sea
Loa 76.0m 104.0m 168.0m 208.0m
Draf t 3.7m 4200mt 1620 0mt 3500 0mt Spee d 13 k ts 15 k ts 17 k ts 8 k ts
The smaller container vessels are used as „ feeder‟ ships, feeding the h inter la nd aroun d major c onta iner te rmina ls wit h loa ded conta iners inb oun d f rom abroa d, bef ore f eeding co ntain ers f or e xp ort back to the conta iner term ina l o n the return jo urne y. Beca use th ese ves sels ser ve less so ph istic ated c ontainer ports th e y may we ll be g eare d – probably with g antr y cra nes – enabling them to load and to dis charge containers with th eir o wn sh ip b oard eq uipment.
Rele vant co ntainer terms are: -
Fully Cellular : A Containership fully fitted with cell guides.
Fully F itted : A Co ntainersh ip f ully f itted with carg o se curing with carg o sec urin g eq uipment, e.g . twister lock s, las hing s, etc. with streng the ned d eck s. Shipta iner : A ship-born e g antry- crane.
4.RO/RO Ves sels The concept of RO/RO („Roll on / Roll off‟) ships
being su itab le on ly for short -se a s er vice has a ltered rad ic ally o ver the past t wo dec ade s, desp ite s ome dra matic sh ip - los ses blame d o n inh erent weak nesse s in the d esig n of the deck la youts an d bo w a nd stern do ors. For areas of the world posse ssing on ly limited p ort facilities, the RO/RO ship with its „self -sustaining‟ ability to load and disc harg e pro v ides a n ide al mo de of transport.
Appe nd ix 1:10 s ho ws the prof ile, pla n and data f or a typ ic al deeps ea RO/RO ve ssel wh ich, u sua lly eq uipp ed with its o wn f ork -lift truck s and tractors and, perhap s a crane or two, is ca pab le o f handling f rom along side a wh ole ra ng e of whe ele d veh ic les as we ll a s pallet ize d and c onta in erized g oods. Acc ess to th e interior of RO/RO vesse ls is usually via a stern „ramp‟ which, in modern ships is capable of
sustain ing ver y he avy loads of up to se vera l h undre d tones, and sometimes of being „slewed‟ around and raised or lowered to suit whate ver berth acce ss ma y be a va ilab le. Once inside a RO/RO vesse l, ramps or lif ts lead up or do wn to var io us de ck le vels wher e a who le var iet y of g oods may be sto wed, deck s an d tank -tops be ing streng t hened to tak e hea vy load ing s. E very commo dit y that lends its elf to transportat ion via a RO/RO or a LO/LO („Lift On/Lift Off ‟) system may be carried o n this t ype of vess el, wh ich can susta in all k ind s and most size s of rolling stock and mercha nd ise th at ca n be p lac ed o n whee ls.
Beca use RO/RO ve ssels f orm an exte n sio n to the nat ural road transportat ion en vir onment f or whe eled ve hicles, part icularly f or articu late d lorr ies whic h can unh itch a n d depos it the ir traile r on board, certain RO/RO s hips are som etimes referred to as „trailer-carriers‟, their capac it y f or the carr iag e of thes es tra ile rs be ing d escribed in terms of length of available „lane meters‟. The width of a „lane‟ varies according to the co nstruct ion of an in divid ua l s hip, th oug h thes e must be a minimum of just over 2.5 meters (8 f eet), to suit standar d conta iner dimen sions. T o a llo w ad eq uate s pace for la sh ing and sec u ring carg o, ho we ver, the rea listic minimum of a lan e shou ld b e 3 meters (10 f eet).
The „family‟ of IO/RO vessels can be expanded to include ferries wh ich f req uently ca rry a mixture of passeng ers as we ll a s whee le d cargo, and vessels such as „railway‟ or „train -ferries‟ complete with rail truck s, eq uipped wit h a so ph isticated an d sens it ive ba llastin g system to enab le t he sh ip s ra il tra ck s to be saf ely and s ecure ly c onn ec ted to the shore ra il s ystem. Another variety of RO/RO is the Car Carrier, „ Pure Car Carriers‟ (or „PCC‟s‟ as they are usually known) being specially des ig ned wit h f ixed deck s and so ph istic ated ventilat io n s yst em f or the carriag e of motor cars and noth ing else. A development f rom this bas ic design is the „Pure Car and Truck Carrier ‟ – the „PCTC‟ – in which the cle arance of some deck s can be adj usted to ac commod ate larg er ve h icles as we ll as cars. All len d themselves to hig h ly eff icie nt carg o -hand ling , during wh ich an entir e carg o of perhaps 5,00 0 motor cars can
be dr ive n on or of f in a matter of hours . (Ap pen dix 1:1 1 illustrates a „PCTC‟ with typical particulars).
5. Specialis ed S hip s
Hea v y Lift Ship s W e ha ve a lre ad y re a d of g eneral -carg o ve ssels f itted
with he a vy- lif t derrick s. But ther e ar e certa in artic les mo ve d b y s ea that are f or too h ea vy f or e ven he a vy - lif t derr ick s cap ab le of sustain ing we ig hts of up to 450 tonne s. T o me et th is deman d, the last decad e or so h as s een the des ig n an d introd uction of a ne w c lass of ve ssel – the Hea vy – Lift ship. There are basically two types of heavy -lift vessel, the smaller cap ac it y un it reliant on lif ting carg o on and of f wit h its o wn g ear, and capa ble o f sustaining lif ts of arou nd 500 ton nes unit weig ht, similar in some wa ys to its RO/RO co us in. T he f ar larg er, second t ype is the „semi-submersible‟, equipped with a powerful ballasting system by wh ic h tank s are f looded a req uir e d, suff icie nt to su b merg e the vessels‟ cargo area, which can be located beneath the object to be transported – e.g. an oil drilling platform or another ship. Once all is secured in the carriag e pos itio n, the ba llast tank s are pump ed dr y and the mother vesse l – the semi-submersible itself – emerges from the water bear ing the we ig ht of the carg o. T o discharg e the carg o, the proced ure is re verse d. A typ ica l sem i -s ubmersible vess el is illustrate d under A ppe nd ix 1:12 .
Barg e Carr yin g V essels Cous ins of hea vy -lif t vesse ls are barg e
carrying s hips, of whic h there are several designs. In fact barges can be readily compared with containers, in that they are self -contained units capable of being loaded and discharged at the places of origin and destination of their cargoes, being transported between the two by mother conveyances. However, the capacity of a barge is much greater than that of containers and these larger, floating units lend themselves to the carriage of large unit commodities. The barge units are „dumb‟ (unable to self -porpel) but are d esig ne d f or ease of transport under o ne of se ver al carr ying systems.
LASH („Lighter Abroad Ship‟) and SeeBee They both employ a system
by wh ic h lig hters ar e lif ted on a nd of f mother vess els, be ing collecte d and d istribute d a lon g water wa ys b y to wing craf t. BACO use s a s ys tem of f loating barg es into the mother ship through large bow doors. The USSR has a particularly extensive LASH and SeeBee system, with mother ships capable of carrying individual barges of over 1,000 tonnes deadweight. Frequently, a combination of barges and containers can be handle d.
Livesto ck Carriers : Livestock carriers can be divided into two
categories- those designed to transport sheep, and those for larger animals such as cattle. The obvious design difference is the extra deck height required for the larger animals, but both require fodder storage, extensive water supply, excellent ventilation, suitable methods of animal waste disposal, non -slip decks, carefully designed ramps, and accommodation for those tending the animals. Most livest oc k carri ers ha ve be en c on verte d f rom exist ing ve ss els, nota bly sh eep c arriers f rom oil tank ers, but oc c asiona lly spe cialize d ships are constru cted f ro the larg er an ima ls. S he ep carr iers te nd to b e f ar larg er than catt le c arriers, as can b e seen f rom Appe nd ix 1:1 3 .
Refriger ated Ve ssel s T hese ves se ls are spec if ically de sig ned and b uilt
to transport the ma ny g oods (n eats, f ruits, f ish a nd veg et ables, f or examp le) wh ich wou ld rap id ly det erior ate in ord in ar y ho ld cond itions. Modern „reefers‟ are built with holds and d ecks providing good access f or standard s ized p allets a nd f or f ork lift truck s, and are u s ually f itted with „side-ports‟ – openings in hull sides permitting immediate access to carg o deck s, the f lo ors of which line up wit h q ua ys ide s. T he la yout of these ves se ls (se e Appe nd ix 1:1 4) a lso mak es them suita b le f or the carriag e of motor -ca rs wh ich f it b eneth t he restr icted deck -heig hts, as we ll as f or other no n -ref rig erated and p allest ise d carg o, a lt houg h man y of these ves se ls tra de e xclusive ly in t h e ref rig erated mark ets on lo ng -term contract emplo yme nt. Certa in r eef er trades are los ing out t o the conta iners hip mark et wit h the ad vent o f ref rig erated conta iners, but there remains a sub stantia l an d lu crativ e reef er mark et f or those with spec ia list k no wledg e and ves s els.
Combin ation Carrie rs There are basically two types of „combination carrier‟
capable of transferring successfully from the distinctive dry -bulk market to what might be termed the „wet-bulk trades‟. Both tend to be large ships in excess of 60,000 tonnes deadweight, frequently more than 100,000 tonnes deadweight. The most common (and usually the smaller) type is the „0B0‟ („Ore/Bulk Oiler‟) which unlike the impression given by its name, has sufficient
