– George Radu, Thomas Miller (Americas) on behalf of the UK P&I Club
In a recent case an entered vessel pressed up its ballast tanks in order to optimize trim and to satisfy mandatory stability criteria. The operation resulted in the unexpected flooding of a cargo hold causing extensive damage to cargo.
An entered containership was carrying out ballast exchange operations mid voyage and pressed up one set of double bottom ballast tanks. On arrival it was observed that one of her holds had significant water inside and considerable damage to bottom stow cargo.
The vessel had recently opened up several manhole covers for routine inspection of her ballast tanks.
After the incident it was noted that the high level bilge alarms in the hold were not functioning.
Whilst investigations are still continuing into this particular case it maybe timely to remind Members that poorly secured manhole covers are still a frequent cause of water ingress into holds, many, but not all, arising after drydocking where shore staff have not secured covers properly.
If double bottom manhole covers are removed for whatever purpose it is recommended a note be made of where and when, this not only acts as an aide memoire but also helps in defending claims should water ingress occur
Good maintenance should also be in place, the manhole covers/gasket arrangement and like should be routinely checked, if not already included as part of the routine inspection / maintenance programme associated with the ship’s ballast tanks
Hold high level bilge alarms should be tested on a regular basis, logged and defects, if any, rectified immediately.
According to records from the public ship safety database Equasis, MV Dali – the ship that collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge this morning – was cited by port...
By Josh Saul (Bloomberg) The collapse of a major Baltimore bridge Tuesday is likely to shut down the port’s coal exports for as many as six weeks and block the transport...
By Brendan Murray (Bloomberg) The bridge collapse Tuesday that shut the Port of Baltimore and closed a major highway will cause weeks or months of transportation disruptions in the Mid-Atlantic region...
1 hour ago
Total Views: 411
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.