Wet Damage To Cargo
Wet Damage To Cargo
Wet Damage To Cargo
IRCA-cases starts
at page 12
2013
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Contents
Introduction 3
Statistics 3
Executive summary 4
P&I Wet Damage 2008 – 2012 6
Bulker and Container vessels, Immediate causes 6
Bulker and Container vessels, Type of damaged cargo 7
Water ingress detection system 8
Leaking manhole covers 8
Cargo bilge system 9
Cargo hatch covers 10
Maintenance 11
Interactive Root Cause Analysis — IRCA cases 12
Leaking bilge valves 12
Cargo hold flooding 14
Prevention 16
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Introduction
Statistics
Analysis of wet damage claims from 2008-2012
Vessel types: Bulker and Container vessels
Claims: 122
Average claim cost: USD 55.000 (excess of deductible)
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Executive summary
Recurring issues
`` Damaged valves and lines
`` Leaking cargo hatch covers
`` Coamings/rubber seals in poor condition
`` Leaking manhole covers
!
Main areas of concern
`` Ignoring procedures such as risk assessment, work permits etc
`` Insufficient maintenance routines for valves and lines
`` Bilge alarms not maintained and tested properly
`` Crew ignoring bilge alarms
!
`` Location of the bilge alarm panel
`` Lack of due diligence and adequate checks
`` Insufficient experience
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Wet Damage to Cargo
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Wet Damage to Cargo
8% 7%
4%
Blocked bilges
Leaking lines
Leaking ventilators
51%
Blocked bilges
Leaking ventilators
26%
140000
120000
Average cost per claim
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Container reefer
Dry bulk
Paper
Steel products
51%
Container reefer
Container unitised
Dry bulk
32%
Paper
100000
90000
80000
Dry bulk claims are both the most frequent and
Average cost per claim
70000
have the highest total cost of all wet damage
60000
claims. There is no surprise that steel products
50000
are the most expensive claims because of the
40000 high value compared to bulk cargo.
30000
20000
10000
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Preventive measures for leaking manhole covers
`` All nuts and bolts should be in place and tightened evenly
`` It is important that the gasket is clean and that there is no debris or dirt causing leaks when the
manhole cover is refitted
`` The ventilators into the cargo holds should be in good operating condition and capable of being
closed and made watertight
`` A two-person check should be carried out for closing the hatch and manhole covers
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Wet Damage to Cargo
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Chalk test
Tests the compression of the rubber packing but will not
test the integrity of the cargo hatch.
Ultrasonic test
A much more effective method is to use an ultrasonic
device, which is designed for this purpose and can pin-
point the area which is leaking and if the compression
of the gasket is sufficient. The advantages of using this
type of equipment are evident, since ultrasonic tests can
be carried out during any stage of the loading without
risking cargo damage. The test can also be completed in
sub-zero temperatures.
Cargo hatch cover packing
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Maintenance
It is becoming more difficult to carry out maintenance as corrode which weakens the integrity of the cover itself and
vessels are becoming larger and the crew is getting fewer. also affects moving parts, like wheels, rails, hinges and cleats.
What the crew can do is to ensure that the paint is intact, A prudent shipowner will instruct the crew to inspect the
which will give good protection against corrosion, and to cargo hatches, gaskets and coamings during every loading
ensure that gaskets and coamings are in good condition. and discharge. It is usually best to arrange complicated
A gasket can be maintenance through
expected to last for the manufacturers,
about four to five who can often
years. This short offer professional
lifespan might be service and provide
further shortened by the correct rubber and
over-compression and packing materials.
contact with abrasive
materials. If the gasket Prevention for
is damaged the af- cargo hatches
fected area should not
It is essential that
only be repaired but
cargo hatch covers
the entire section also
are inspected and
needs to be replaced.
tested at regular
It is also important
intervals to ensure
to monitor the con-
that the watertight
dition of cleats and
integrity is maintained
replace them when
Corroded cargo hatch cover and that the vessel
they are in a poor
is in a cargoworthy
condition and to keep
and seaworthy condition. If complicated repairs are required,
spare cleats onboard. There should also be specific jobs in the
professional specialists should be employed.
PMS for the seals, coamings and pads.
It is important that records are kept about what mainte-
To prevent inadequate maintenance of the cargo hatches it
nance and service has been completed in the PMS. It is also
is important that there are SMS procedures in place address-
important that the SMS addresses how the maintenance
ing what tests and inspections should be carried out. These
should be done and which areas need to be inspected and
tests and inspections should also be included in the PMS.
tested.
Lack of maintenance will eventually cause steel covers to
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Wet Damage to Cargo
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Preventing recurrence
`` The manager has submitted a Safety Alert email to the bulker fleet relating to the incident, including
instructions to onboard personnel about promptly checking the bilge system in the cargo hold (including
non-return bilge valves, hand operated and hydraulically remote controlled butterfly bilge valves), undertaking
all necessary repairs (if required) and reporting any findings to the Superintendent.
`` The manager has sent a Safety Alert email to the bulker fleet regarding the limitation of the Water Ingress
Monitoring System (WIMS) and the use of the alarm’s overriding function (interlock).
`` The manager will write about the casualty in the company’s own safety publication.
`` The manager will include a guideline about hold preparation and cleaning, in the ship’s electronic library.
`` The manager will publish a Technical Fleet Circular about handling cargo hold bilge systems onboard bulk carriers.
`` The manager has now identified that the entire bilge and ballast system must be included in the PMS.
`` The manager will implement periodic checks and tests of all valves for the cargo hold bilge system.
`` The manager should include periodic checks and pressure tests of the bilge system in the PMS.
`` It would be advisable for the manager to evaluate the PMS and see if there are critical jobs missing.
`` The manager should include testing high-level alarms in the PMS.
`` The manager should ensure that all flooding alarms appear on the engine control WIMS panel.
`` It would be advisable to have a WIMS slave panel in the cargo control room.
`` The manager should be more specific about what equipment and systems should be inspected before cargo
operations commence.
`` It would be advisable to install bilge alarms in the bilge wells of the cargo holds.
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Wet Damage to Cargo
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Preventing recurrence
`` The manager recognised that there was inadequate assessment of operational readiness, inadequate monitoring,
lack of supervisory/management job knowledge, inadequate enforcement of work standards.
`` The manager has informed all vessels in the organisation about the casualty and reminded the vessels that there
were breaches as per the SMS that were unacceptable and needed to be rectified at once.
`` All vessels were required to carry out an unscheduled inspection of the cargo hold bilge alarm system.
`` The casualty has been discussed during safety meetings on all other vessels.
`` The Risk Assessment for Enclosed Space Entry has been revised and a new section has been introduced called
Hazards/Control Measures to be Taken, which addresses the risks of pollution, flooding and cargo contamination
and what preventive measures should be implemented.
`` A new logbook for recording cargo hold bilge alarms has been introduced, and is maintained onboard. When a
cargo hold bilge alarm is activated all action taken should be recorded in this log.
`` The manager has MRM, but it would be beneficial to train more officers about MRM.
`` The manager should ensure that the procedures are more specific when a detailed risk assessment should be
completed.
`` The manager should implement specific training for senior officers about the importance of following the man
ager’s SMS and what the consequences of disregarding procedures can lead to.
`` The auditor should, during internal audits, verify the crew’s knowledge of work permits and risk assessment.
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Prevention
The importance of the crew following procedures is for seaworthiness. This could also be implemented after a tank
imperative. Unfortunately it is not unusual that procedures inspection, as it is a recurring issue that manhole covers are
are ignored. The consequences of ignoring procedures need not refitted correctly.
to be explained. The master must ensure that there is a There are many important issues presented in this study
culture onboard that follows safety. The Master must have but the main issue is that the root cause to these casualties
the full support from the manager that safety most be needs to be addressed. It needs to be understood why mistakes
adhered to at all the time and should be the top priority. are being made and why the crew is disregarding procedures.
It is imperative that the manager verifies this during internal It is hard and time-consuming to address these issues.
audits. It is also essential that cargo handling procedures To implement an effective safety culture is a difficult task
are comprehensive. for any company. The problem is that if this is not addressed
Many companies have implemented two-person checks it is likely that the incident will happen again.
for critical operations such as navigation and key operations
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Wet Damage to Cargo
Loss Prevention
The Loss Prevention unit is placed within Risk & Operations and provides active loss prevention support, analysis, reports as well
as advice to members.
Lars A. Malm
Director, Risk & Operations
Joakim Enström
Loss Prevention Officer
Anders Hultman
Loss Prevention, Project Coordinator
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Contact
Head Office Gothenburg
Visiting address: Gullbergs Strandgata 6,
411 04 Gothenburg
Postal address: P.O. Box 171,
SE-401 22 Gothenburg, Sweden
Tel: +46 31 638 400, Fax: +46 31 156 711
E-mail: [email protected]
Emergency: +46 31 151 328
Piraeus
5th Floor, 87 Akti Miaouli, GR-185 38 Piraeus, Greece
Tel: +30 211 120 8400, Fax: +30 210 452 5957
E-mail: [email protected]
Emergency: +30 6944 530 856
Hong Kong
Suite 6306, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road,
Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2598 6238, Fax: +852 2845 9203
E-mail: [email protected]
Emergency: +852 2598 6464
Tokyo
2-14, 3 Chome, Oshima, Kawasaki-Ku,
Kawasaki, Kanagawa 210-0834, Japan
Tel: +81 44 222 0082, Fax: +81 4 4222 0145
E-mail: [email protected]
Emergency: +81 44 222 0082
Oslo
Tjuvholmen Allé 17,
NO-0252 Oslo
Tel: +47 9828 0514
E-mail: [email protected]
Emergency: +46 31 151 328
Produced inhouse by The Swedish Club, Corporate Communications
1310TLR
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