London P&I Club issues loss prevention guide for coal cargoes

THE London P&I Club has published a loss prevention guide on risks associated with the carriage of coal cargoes, with particular emphasis on gas monitoring and ventilation.

The guide, written by Paul Willis, Senior Associate with UK-based forensic investigation and root cause analysis specialist Hawkins, notes that the management of coal cargoes and the proper use of gas detection equipment are key elements in the prevention of coal fire claims. It details the fundamental requirements relating to the installation, use and maintenance of gas detection devices and the different types of sensors involved in their operation. It also includes a checklist of good gas monitoring techniques, and recommendations on the use and care of this specialist equipment.

Despite the risks associated with the transportation of coal, the majority of ships carry such cargoes without incident. “Ultimately,” says the London Club guide, “the key to proper and efficient use of gas detection and monitoring equipment is the crew’s full understanding of how the unit works, and their familiarity with its functions and proper, prescribed maintenance routines. Adhering to the requirements and recommendations in the IMSBC Code greatly reduces the risk of fire and helps prevent incidents from becoming major casualties.”

The guide concludes, “If the master only allows cargo below 55˚C to be loaded, and regularly checks it during passage, then problems can be identified at an early stage and prevented from escalating to the point where the ship and its crew are potentially in danger.”

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London P&I Club warns of dangers arising from carriage of Indonesian coal

The London P&I Club has issued a warning about continued problems associated with the carriage of Indonesian thermal or ‘steam’ coal, following a number of recent incidents involving owners and charterers.

Indonesian coal has a propensity to self-heat and/or emit methane. If uncontrolled, self-heating can lead to serious cargo fires, and an accumulation of methane can explode. The IMSBC Code states that coal with such characteristics should not be loaded if the temperature of the cargo exceeds 55ºC, and that the atmosphere in the holds is monitored at least daily on passage. The oxidisation process that can lead to self-heating can be detected by checking the hold atmosphere for rising levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and falling oxygen (O2) levels. Methane levels can be measured directly.

The IMSBC Code recommends that the ship carries a means of measuring cargo temperature, and requires that the ship is fitted with gas sampling ports (normally on the side of the hatchcovers), and carries an instrument capable of measuring O2, CO and methane.

Cases recently reported to the club have highlighted the need for thermometers and gas sampling equipment to be regularly serviced and calibrated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. In one case in which the club was acting for charterers, the club-appointed surveyor arrived on board more than a week after the commencement of loading, only to find that a dispute over safety to load had in part been based on readings from equipment which did not have a valid calibration certificate.

London Club Loss Prevention Manager, Carl Durow, says, “Care should be exercised in interpreting methane measurements carried out in the low O2 concentrations often found in unventilated cargo holds. Typically, manufacturers advise that methane readings will be meaningless if the O2 level falls below 10 per cent. But the club has seen evidence of ships’ staff relying on methane readings even when O2 levels have fallen to negligible levels (one per cent or less).

“In order to obtain meaningful information, measurements should be made via an approved sample point. The club has seen samples drawn through hold access hatches, which undermines the reliability of the measurements.

“The atmosphere in the space above the cargo should be regularly monitored – and this may mean that measurements continue after arrival at the discharge port, particularly when discharge is slow. The club has seen problems with both self-heating and methane release worsening markedly during interrupted unloading.”

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London P&I Club issues recommendations on bauxite cargoes

London P&I Club issues recommendations on bauxite cargoes

The London P&I Club has issued a list of recommendations to owners contemplating the carriage of bauxite cargoes in the wake of renewed concerns about the dangers of cargo mis-declaration and potential liquefaction.

In the latest issue of the club’s StopLoss Bulletin, Dr Martin Jonas, of international marine consultant and surveyor Brookes Bell, notes that grades of bauxite containing a high proportion of fines capable of retaining significant moisture are potentially at risk of liquefaction, resulting in cargo shift which may cause the capsizing of the carrying ship. Such cargoes are classed as Group A under the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code and should only be loaded if their moisture content is less than their transportable moisture limit (TML). The IMSBC Code does not explicitly identify bauxite as a potential Group A cargo, with the result that shippers may wrongly declare Group A bauxite as Group C, and may not provide the required TML and moisture certification.

Emphasising that shipowners should be alert to potentially mis-declared bauxite cargoes, the club has made a number of recommendations to its members. These include a warning that any cargoes which possess flow properties when wet, or which contain a high proportion of fine particles, should be considered as Group A. Moreover, any wet or damp cargoes which appear on visual inspection to contain a significant proportion of fine particles should be tested for flow properties prior to loading, even if shippers have declared them as Group C.

The club recommends that masters, officers and crew should conduct frequent and regular can-testing in accordance with the method set out in the IMSBC Code, and says that, in the event of a failed can test or the presence of splatter marks on bulkheads and/or pools of free water, loading should be suspended until the cargo has been properly tested in a laboratory for flow characteristics.

Among other things, the club also recommends that Group A bauxite cargoes should only be loaded with prior authorisation from the applicable competent authority, and in compliance with the detailed IMSBC Code regulations for sampling, testing and declaration of such cargoes.

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London Club says owners must not accept exemptions from IMSBC code for DRI cargoes

THE London P&I Club has urged shipowners to be alert to any attempt by shippers and other cargo interests to claim exemptions from the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code in connection with the carriage of DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) cargoes.

Long-standing concerns about the carriage of DRI - involving the possibility of a chemical reaction between the cargo and water, leading to the risk of fire and explosion - prompted the introduction of specific provisions for the carriage of DRI in the IMSBC Code. Under these provisions, DRI cargoes should have a maximum moisture content of 0.3 per cent and be carried under an inert gas blanket, and ships carrying DRI should be capable of maintaining oxygen levels of below 5 per cent throughout the voyage. Attempts to allow certain grades of DRI – principally those shipped from Venezuela and Trinidad – to be carried with significantly higher moisture contents and/or without the need to deploy inert gas, have been rejected by IMO.

The London Club says that, despite this, it is aware that attempts have been made by a Trinidadian company to ship HBI Fines (now known as DRI C) without complying with the mandatory requirements of the IMSBC Code. The Trinidadian shipper apparently relied on a provision in Section 1.5 of the code, which contemplates the possibility of alternative carriage arrangements by stipulating, “Where this code requires that a particular provision for the transport of solid bulk cargoes shall be complied with, a competent authority or competent authorities (port state of departure, port state of arrival or flag state) may authorise any other provision by exemption if satisfied that such provision is at least as effective and safe as that required by this code.”

The Trinidadian shipper offered an exemption certificate from the competent authority in Trinidad for the carriage of DRI C with a moisture content above 0.3 per cent and suggested that the cargo could be carried safely if the holds were mechanically ventilated to prevent the build-up of hydrogen. But Ian Barr, a Claims Director with A Bilbrough & Co, the London Club’s management team, says the club doubts whether mechanical ventilation can ever be regarded as being ‘at least as effective and safe’ as the use of an inert gas blanket.

Writing in the latest issue of the club’s StopLoss Bulletin, Barr says, “As most bulk carriers likely to carry DRI will have only ‘natural’ ventilation, hold fans would have to be fitted at the load port. The club has seen documents suggesting that, on at least one occasion, the fans proposed were not certified ‘explosion-proof’, meaning that they had not been specifically designed for use in flammable atmospheres and could be a possible source of ignition. Also, the fans appeared to be too small and were badly sited, limiting their ability to prevent the accumulation inside the hatch coaming of any hydrogen given off by the cargo.”

The club has advised its members that any suggestion that an exemption from the requirements of the IMSBC Code will be invoked should be reported to it immediately.

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