Cargo Stowage: Techniques, Objectives, and Safety

Posted on Feb 5, 2025 in Other subjects

Stowage: The art of placing cargo to be transported aboard a ship to ensure maximum security for the ship and crew. It aims to occupy the least amount of space, prevent breakdowns, and minimize delays in unloading at the port.

Objectives of Good Stowage

  • Protect the ship and crew from breakdowns and damage.
  • Maximize the use of the vessel’s volume.
  • Ensure cargo protection.
  • Enable orderly stowage for speed in ports.
  • Facilitate stevedoring schedules for quick rotation and unloading.

Stowage Basic Elements: Economy and Security

Economic Factors:

  • Knowledge of the ship’s cargo spaces.
  • Cargo planning.
  • Preventing indigestion (inefficient use of space).
  • Accounting for access to various items and manipulation.
  • Preparation of the cellar (hold).

Safety Issues:

  • Ship safety.
  • Integrity and security of goods.
  • Crew and stevedores’ safety.

Ship Safety Criteria:

  • Stability of the ship.
  • Heeling.
  • Drafts and efforts.

Integrity Factors of Goods:

  • Aggressive Factors: Internal and external factors that proactively and aggressively affect goods, such as air temperature, chemical, or biochemical action.
  • Opposite Factors: Factors that resist the aggressive action of the environment and shipping conditions.
  • Prophylactic Factors: Factors that facilitate dockers and ensure the integrity of goods in preparation for wineries, ventilation, etc. These take into account packaging, tooling, and the nature of goods.

Endowment Integrity:

Ensuring the correct manipulation, stowage, and integrity involves elements such as:

  • Circulation: Movement of people, covers, and wineries.
  • Access: Access to goods stowed in the hold and ‘tween-decks must be guaranteed and planned for suitable lashing, especially when available for download.

Dangerous Goods

Must be clearly marked to ensure proper handling.

Cargo Characteristics:

Property protected by appropriate packaging to guarantee its condition, classified by:

  • Physical State: Liquid, pasty.
  • Presentation: Units or in bulk.
  • Nature: Perishable (requiring ventilation or cooling), homogeneous, brittle, and susceptible to theft.
  • Hazards: Flammable gases, radioactive materials, heavy loads, and excess weight.
  • Tax Regime: Can be cabotage goods, import, export, customs warehouse, free port, transshipment, transit.
  • Value: Susceptible to normal or extra-long handling.

Types of Ships

  • General Cargo: Slip, conventional vessels.
  • Multipurpose: Multipurpose cargo slip.
  • Refrigerated Cargo: Reefers, Ro-Ro (Roll on/Roll off).
  • Container: Full container ships (Panamax and Post-Panamax).
  • Bulk Carriers.
  • Tankers: Crude oil tankers, gas tankers, and chemical tankers.

Stowage Records

Croquis longitudinal distribution and location of the wineries are records of the stowage and the items shipped, mercanciay partidass class for each port.

Stowage Factor

The relationship between the volume occupied by a unit weight of a given product.

Angle of Repose

The bulk mound formed between the crown and the horizontal base. Factors that decrease the angle include:

  • Largest particle size.
  • Smaller surface roughness of particles.
  • More spherical the particle.
  • Less moisture.
  • More uniform cell stack.

Load Units

Grouping of one or more items to mobilize palletization and containerization.

Palletized

The action and effect of having goods on a pallet for storage and transport. Pallet types include timber, plastic, cardboard, chipboard, and metal.

Wrapping

Operation to secure loads on a pallet by using film for products with greater protection against dust and other agents.

Module

Dry van, reefer, open top side open flan rack, and tank or flexi tank.

Container Dimensions

The most common are 20-40 ft with an internal volume of 32.6-66.7m3, regulated by ISO 6346, loading 29T for 40′ and 32t for 20′.

Cranes

Porch, scope, and stacker port (used to lift and move down load).

Baskets

Dispositivelevador baskets to collect loads without eyebolts.

Towers

Dispositio elevator with a mast held at the top with straps.

Hoists

Q disp Hoists lift up vertical forces exerted to lift and lower loads (Aguillon, of portable crane, elevated, portable cantilever.

Types of Tools

Lifting devices, slings, hoists pedestals feathers …