12. CARGO

Cargo and Its Handling

(1) The carriage of cargo by sea is the principal reason for the existence of ships.

(2) The officer in charge of the loading, stowage, and safe delivery of cargo is the first mate.

(3) Before the cargo arrives at the quay or "ship's side", he will have had information about the cargo to be loaded.

(4) Mixed cargo, such as bags of cement, crates of machinery, boxes of electrical equipment, motor car tyres, and crates of cotton goods, is known as general cargo.

(5) Cargo which is not in crates, boxes, bundles or bags, such as coal, iron ore and grain, is known as bulk cargo.

(6) The first mate draws up a cargo plan based on the information he has received of the cargo to be loaded.

(7) It is important that if the ship is to discharge at more than one port, the cargo for the first port of discharge is stowed in the upper part of the hold.

(8) In other words, cargo which is to be discharged at the first discharging port should be loaded last.

(9) The first mate considers the stability of the ship when cargo is loaded.

(10) The ship must not be too stiff nor too tender to ensure that she will be safe in rough seas.

(11) The cargo must be securely stowed in the holds so that there is no possibility of the cargo shifting.

(12) Any movement of cargo in the ship might affect the ship's stability and seaworthiness.

(13) The handling of cargo into and out of the ship's holds requires great skill.

(14) It is the work of the stevedores.

(15) The stevedores work in gangs.

(16) Each gang is under the charge of a gang foreman .

(17) He usually stands on deck at the hatch when cargo is being discharged.

(18) When loading cargo the gang foreman usually supervises in the ship's hold.

(19) The gang member who stands on deck near the hatch to advise the crane driver or winch-man is called the hatchway-man.

(20) The winch-men operate the winches on board the ship.

(21) The cargo is checked as it is loaded by a tallyman and if it is necessary to measure the volumes of the separate items of cargo, this is done by a checker.

(22) When loading general cargo as many as eight stevedores work in the hold and six on the quay-side or in the lighter alongside the ship.

EXERCISE

A. Are the following statements True or False?

1) The principal reason for the existence of ships is the carriage of passengers.

2) The Second Officer is in charge of loading, stowage and delivery of cargo.

3) Un-bagged or uncrated cargo is known as bulk cargo.

4) Cargo to be discharged at the final discharging port should be loaded last.

5) Cargo shifting in the holds does not affect the ship's stability.

6) A gang foreman is in charge of a gang.

7) Winches on board a ship are operated by the hatchway-men.

8) Tallymen check cargo as it is loaded.

B.

1) In sentence 17, 'he' refers to:

(i) a stevedore

(ii) a gang foreman

(iii) a tallyman

2) In sentence 14, 'it' refers to:

(i) cargo shifting

(ii) handling of cargo

(iii) discharging cargo

3. In sentence 3, 'he' refers to:

(i) second mate

(ii) first mate

(iii) third mate

C. Re-arrange the following groups of words to form meaningful sentences:

1) checks, is, the, loaded, checker, it, cargo, as, the.

2) the, advises, hatchway-man, near, crane-driver, hatch, the.

3) winch-men, winches, board, ship, the, on, operate, the.

4) first, the, mate, in, of, loading, is , change, stowage, and, safe, cargo, of, delivery.

5) stevedores, cargo, and , handle, out, holds, into , of, the , ship's , the.

D. Give brief answers to the following questions:

1) Who is in charge of the safe delivery of cargo?

2) Give examples of mixed cargo.

3) What is bulk cargo?

4) Which cargo is stowed first?

5) Why must the cargo be securely stowed in the holds?

6) What is the work of the stevedores?

7) What is the work of a gang foreman?

8) Who measures the volumes of cargo?

E. What kind of cargo is each of the following:

1) Boxes of electrical equipment

2) Bales of cotton

3) Petroleum

4) Coal

5) Boxes of clothing

6) Wheat

Tanker Terminal

Packaging and Marking of Cargo

The general plan in packing all goods is to make them secure for the kind of journey they have to make. The following are the more common packages for goods.

Bag

May be made of paper, linen, canvas or rubber.

Sack

A large bag usually made of jute.

Carton

Light but strong cardboard box.

Case

Strong container made of wood. The inside of the case may be 'lined' with material such as damp-resisting paper or tinfoil, to prevent damage by water, air or insects.

Crate

This is a case, but one not fully enclosed. It has a bottom and a frame, sometimes open at the top. Crates are often built for particular goods.

Drum

A cylindrical container for carrying liquids, chemicals or paint. It is usually made of metal. Certain dry chemicals or powders are sometimes packed in wood or cardboard drums,

Cask

A wooden container, in the shape of a cylinder, used essentially for packing liquids.

Keg

A small cask.

Hogshead

Large cask

Bale

A package of soft goods such as cotton, wool or sheepskin, tightly pressed together and wrapped in a protective material. May be strengthened by metal bands.

Can (or tin)

A small metal container for packing small quantities of paint, oil, or certain foods.

Barrel

A cask of medium size (capacity 36 gallons).

Carboy

A very large glass container protected in metal or basket with soft packing between glass and basket. It is used for chemicals.

Bundle

Various goods packed without a container. A number of small cartons fixed together is also called a bundle.

There are three principal types of mark which are used on export packages. These are:

1. The consignee's own distinctive mark.

2. An official mark required by authorities.

3. Special directions or warnings.

SAMPLES OF MARKS

Handling Mark

Handling marks are visual icons that draw attention to handlers and provide instructions when un/loading, moving, or storage. The mark indicates your product traits, such as fragile, deterioration…etc.

Clear icon and visualization are extremely important because your cargo will be handled by people in different countries who do not understand your language.

All warning and handling shipment marks must be permanent and extremely legible. When producing shipping marks, it is strongly suggested that try to avoid materials that are not waterproof.

Dangerous Goods Markings

If you are transporting any of the 9 classes of dangerous products, you must ensure that your boxes are appropriately labeled with the hazard symbols.