The Importance of Maintaining Stability during Loading and Unloading and In-Transit in

various condition
Handling ballast & maintaining safe stability - Self-unloading bulk carriers guideline

The Chief Officer is responsible to the Master for the safe loading or ballasting of the
vessel so that stability, stress and trim are acceptable throughout the voyage, and that
the vessel remains manageable in a seaway without excessive shear forces, bending
moments, pounding or vibration. This is particularly important when carrying grain
cargoes in the event of multiple port discharging, to ensure that grain moments are
within acceptable limits when proceeding between ports with partially filled cargo
compartments.

All ships are supplied with stability data, and loading and unloading instructions to
comply with statutory requirements. These instructions are to be carefully studied and followed. In order to ensure adequate
monitoring of the vessel’s stress and stability condition, calculations must be made and recorded, using the vessel’s loading computer,
on an hourly basis during cargo and ballast operations.

If any loss of stability becomes evident during loading or discharging, all cargo, ballast and bunker operations must be stopped and a
plan prepared to restore positive stability. If the vessel is at a terminal this plan must be agreed with the terminal representative, and
with respect to grain loading plant, the hoses are to be disconnected.

The Chief Officer must ensure that the loading or discharging sequence is such that the vessel’s stability is never compromised and
that permitted stress limits are never exceeded. The Master must check and approve all calculations for bending, stress and stability
moments of the vessel.

The most critical times are during loading and discharging, during which the bending and stress limits must be carefully monitored.
Care must also be exercised, to ensure that the shore installation personnel are adhering to the predetermined loading, or discharging
programme.

Caution must also be exercised when loading and discharging, in a way which requires any compartment to remain empty for any
stage of the voyage, such as multiple port loading/discharging or carriage of heavy cargoes which require one or more of the vessel’s
holds to be empty.

Stress monitoring system

Some vessels may be fitted with strain/stress gauges, which will automatically alarm at pre-set levels. Whilst this equipment provides
valuable information it is essential that an accurate cargo/ballast plan is calculated and that stresses will remain within acceptable
limits. The vessel must not be loaded/discharged purely on the strain/stress gauges. If during cargo/ballast operations the stress alarm
sounds, all operations must stop until the situation is appraised.

Ballasting and de-ballasting operations

Ensure that all ballast tank air-vents are open.

Re-check the soundings after closing the tank and overboard valves as accidental re-filling of tank which was de-ballasted may occur.

Ballasting and de-ballasting operations must be carried out under the supervision of the Duty Officer, and are to proceed as per the
ballast programme predetermined by the Chief Officer. When there is no ballast console provided in the Cargo Control Room, the
Duty Engineer is to control the ballasting operation from the Engine Room. When a ballast console is provided by the Cargo Control
Room, the Duty Engineer is to assist in setting the ballast lines, and assisting generally as requested by the Duty Officer. If any problem
is encountered which upsets the (de) ballast programme, the Master and Chief Engineer must be informed.

When compiling the ballast programme, the Chief Officer is to take the following into account:

Draft of the vessel, and the available depth of water.

Stresses and bending moments likely to be experienced by the vessel during the operation, and to comply with the builders
recommended limits.

Trim of the vessel. If de-ballasting, the vessel must have enough stern trim to facilitate good suction and efficient stripping. Trim must
not be excessive such that it may adversely affect the cargo operations, or place abnormal stress on the conveyor system, especially
the Boom or the hatch cover operating equipment. It must also be noted that when discharging, as any trim by the head will place
undue stress on the conveyor system. An excessive trim by the stern may cause the belts to mis-train/track; and also cause stress to
the Booms slewing mechanism.

Listing during any SUL operations must always be prevented and a list of up to 1 degree on either side, are the maximum tolerable
limits.

Rate of Loading or discharging the cargo.

Ships stability. The Duty Officer is to closely monitor the operation, and keep in close communication with the Duty Engineer, ensuring
that all is going according to the predetermined programme. Any abnormalities are to be reported immediately to the Chief Officer.
Soundings are to be taken on commencement of pumping a tank, in or out, to ensure that the correct valves have been opened and
the correct tank is being pumped. Soundings are also to be taken at regular intervals throughout the operation, to ensure that all is
proceeding at the correct rate, and that ample warning is obtained before the need to cease operation or change tanks.

All ballast tank vent/air pipes must be opened and verified before any ballasting / deballasting operations.

Filling of double bottom tanks, hopper-side tanks, or wing tanks, is when possible to by gravitating, to avoid overflow and stress. When
topping up a sounding must be taken and the pump stopped, before the water level reaches a maximum.

Ship stability as part of seaworthiness

For a vessel to be considered seaworthy, she needs to have an intact stability therefore all parties involved in operating a ship should
be well informed on this matter and provide the proper necessary conditions for the ship to have satisfactory level of stability making
sure in this way that both the ship and those on board will be safe in all conditions. In order to maintain a ship in a seaworthiness
condition all the time, basic technological knowledge is necessary on the following aspects: trim, stability, ship's construction and
stress. We consider a ship to be seaworthy when it comes to stability
if the following two conditions are fulfilled:

1. While at sea, the ship shall never be unstable when upright at the beginning or at the end of any given voyage.

2. The worst conjunction of wind and waves that can possible be encountered during the given voyage shall not cause the ship to roll
beyond the safe effective range of heel.

Two of the most relevant reasons which endanger the initial stability of a ship are:

1. When under the action of wave and wind pressure, the ship is very easily heeled.

2. When a certain course is maintained and is a great tendency for cargo to shift so that the angle of heel is continuously increasing
and tends to become greater. The ship needs to have a sufficient margin of metacentric height for any loss of stability situation to have
a solution as in maintaining the limit level of safety. Even so, practically before starting the voyage, many situations are identified in
which the metacentric height is quite accurately known. Moreover, there are cases in which the metacentric height is more accurately
determined, but still no reassurance may be given about the ship’s stability for the whole voyage.

During the voyage, the ship should be verified at all times, because sometimes it might be necessary to commence voyage with a
higher metacentric height, in order to counteract conditions which arise at later stages.

The safe limit of ship’s intact stability depends mainly on three very important factors:

1. Nature of the carried cargo.

Properties of cargo limit the safe effective range of the ship such as angle of response in case of liquefaction and shifting of bulk
cargoes.

2. Environmental factors.

Extreme weather conditions are the dominant environmental factors that can affect the intact stability of a ship. Some effects of
such weather conditions are the rolling angle, water on deck and shifting of cargo which are actually effects of both wind and waves.
This is why weather is considered one of the most determining factors influencing safety at sea. Ship’s behaviour is also influenced by
the forces of wind and sea which sometimes have a strong effect, but in spite of these effect a ship which is properly built with the
necessary strengthening shall not be affected by ravages of the open sea. Even so, a problem which is not yet properly solved on the
international level is the issue of rolling movement of the ship in rough seas.

3. Human factor should also be considered as one of the most important influencing factors for ship’s safety. Sometimes the
master makes right decisions but unfortunately applying them leads to failure affecting the ship equally as an inappropriate
design does. A seaworthy ship may be easily turned into an unseaworthy one by an improperly trained officer, while an
unseaworthy ship to failures in design may not be turned into a safe one even if crew members are both properly trained and
having the necessary experience.

Good seamanship in heavy weather is not something which one can learn just by reading books. Itis, however, expected for someone
who learns a lot from his/her own experience to also gain a little from the experience of others, and to be able to combine experience
with knowledge acquired through ModTech International Conference. This may prove useful in make the proper decisions when
confronted with particular sea conditions needing to develop the adequate strategy.

Four basic elements are considered to be part of the ship’s stability system: ship, environment,

cargo and operations. Analysis of accidents caused by loss of the ship stability results in the following causes which may be attributed
to such accidents:

1. Functional aspects determined by stability characteristics,[3]

2. Operational aspects determined by the action of human elements handling the system (crew members, ship management, cargo
handling, marine administration and owners company organizations),

3. External causes, such as environment, resulting from independent factors which beyond the control of designers, builders and
operators. The necessary level of safety may when it comes to ship’s stability may be reached only by considering all elements which
contribute to the stability system. Nowadays safety regulations do not provide full guarantee concerning safety, especially for newly
designed ships, and this is because part of the maritime accidents happen due to a faulty or bad design of the ship. This is why it is
considered to be almost impossible to design a perfect ship as in one which would not be affected by any dangers caused by bad
weather or any other statistically probable dangerous situations. Therefore, the three main components mentioned above are able to
reduce the probability of a disaster. Even so, another important aspect here is identifying the main causes which affect stability.

Thus, the main methods used in order to identify the possible hazards affecting a ship are:

1. Analysis of loss of stability data casualties;

2. Statistical analysis of cause of casualties available in various sources;

3. Detailed description of ship stability casualties.

The effect on Trim and Stability of a ship in the event of damage and consequent flooding
of a compartment and counter measures to be taken
Early assessment of ship’s hull damage - disaster & countermeasures

Ships of the general bulk carrier form have experienced a relatively high disaster during the late 1980s and early 1990s giving rise to
concern as to their design and construction. Throughout the 1990s bulk carrier safety has received considerable attention in the work
of IMO, the classification societies and elsewhere.

Based on experience of accidents with lesser consequences it was concluded that the casualties occurred through local structural
failure leading to loss of watertight integrity of the side shell followed by progressive flooding through damaged bulkheads. The
flooding resulting either in excessive hull bending stresses or excessive trim, and loss of the ship.
Much of this work has concentrated on the structural hull details, stresses experienced as the result of loading and discharging
cargoes, damage to structure and protective coatings arising from discharging cargoes, poor maintenance and subsequent inadequate
inspection of the ship structure.

The outcome of this work has been the introduction of a new Chapter XII of SOLAS covering bulk carrier ship safety and enhanced
survey procedures for bulk carriers. The chapter highlighting strengthening of hatch covers in the forward part of the ship, structural
requirement, adequacy of bow heights provide additional security against cargo damage, damage stability guideline and other
requirements.

Guidance on early assessment of hull damage and possible abandonment

There have been cases in the past where ships carrying bulk cargoes
have been lost due to a loss in hull integrity. This, combined with the
lack of prompt action, has resulted in lives being lost. Early assessment
of the situation is therefore imperative, combined with alerting a
maritime rescue coordination centre, alerting all personnel onboard and
making preparations for evacuation. This is of particular importance for
single skin bulk carriers which may not be capable of withstanding
flooding of any cargo hold.

Heavy cargoes such as iron ore or heavy break bulk cargoes, such as
steel, make a ship particularly vulnerable. This is due to the relatively
small volume of cargo compared to the large volume of unoccupied space that provides the potential for large volumes of water to
destroy the ship’s buoyancy, stability or structural integrity.

Assessment

Where flooding occurs, or is likely to occur, the master must rapidly assess the damage by being alert to water ingress and its
consequences. Such an assessment may be carried out by the following:

Unusual Motion or Attitude:

If a ship takes on an unusual trim or heel, or if her motions become changed, breach of the hull envelope should be suspected
immediately. Signs may include:

Unusual collections of water on decks maybe indicating trim or heel abnormality.

Sudden changes of heel or trim will indicate flooding or in smaller ships with lighter cargoes, it may indicate cargo shift.

Jerky lateral motions can be indicative of large scale sloshing as would be the case if a hold were flooded.

On smaller ships, slowing of the ship’s roll period may indicate excessive water within the hull – a serious threat to stability. Ships fitted
with GM meters should be able to identify any unexpected changes in GM.

Increases of water boarding forward decks may indicate flooding of a forward compartment. Trim and freeboard changes are
notoriously difficult to assess from an after bridge.
Methods of Detection

Hatch covers may be dislodged by pressure and/or sloshing from within a hold if flooding occurs through side shell or bulkhead.

Sudden pressurisation of compartments adjoining those that are damaged or flooded will indicate failure of internal subdivision, most
notably bulkheads.

Spaces may be monitored, either using gauging or water ingress alarms. Forward store spaces can also be monitored audibly using
“talkback” telephones that may be fitted in forward spaces. Anchor impacts and water in the space can be detected using telephones
of the type that remain active until switched off from the bridge.

Hull Stress Monitors, where fitted, may be able to detect unexpected longitudinal hull girder bending. Torsional stresses may also be
detected through differential changes between port and starboard strain gauges.

Visual monitoring from the bridge using binoculars, where fitted, by closed circuit television, can give indication of abnormal water on
deck and local damage. However, assessment of trim or freeboard using this method is difficult.

Assessment of trim changes can, in certain conditions, be detected by noting the level of the horizon, when visible, against a known
reference point on the foremast.

Draught and trim can be assessed using draught gauges. Changes are much more discernible using this method than by visual means
from above decks.

Early Readiness for Evacuation

In the event of identifying, or even suspecting, that the ship may have sustained damage, the ship’s personnel should immediately be
called to their emergency stations. A HIGH PRIORITY SHOULD BE PLACED ON PREPARING EQUIPMENT FOR EVACUATION.
Abandonment should, however, only be invoked on the spoken orders of the Master following assessment of the risk.

Contact with a Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) and the management office should be made early if the Master has any
suspicion that the ship is damaged. An URGENCY (Pan-Pan) signal is justified and this should be upgraded to DISTRESS (Mayday) if the
ship is confirmed as damaged.

Training

Masters should place a strong emphasis on evacuation training so that donning of protective suits and lifejackets, launching of survival
craft, and operation of EPIRBs and SARTs is a familiar process to all ship’s personnel. Also included should be shutdown procedures for
main and auxiliary machinery, which can, if left running, hinder launching of survival craft.

Investigation

Masters may wish to investigate any suspected water ingress more closely but preparations for evacuating the ship should be made
WITHOUT DELAY and concurrent with any investigation. Remote methods of observation are preferable to sending personnel onto
decks, particularly in bad weather and / or at night. Deck floodlights should be used if necessary to try and identify abnormalities.
Detrimental effects on watch keeper’s night vision are of secondary importance in such circumstances.
When a loss of hull integrity is known or suspected, personnel should not be sent onto decks that are being regularly submerged or
deeply awash. In such circumstances the ship should be regarded as in imminent danger and priority should be given to preparations
for evacuation

Where water ingress alarms are fitted, full instructions must be posted by the alarm panel which will normally be located on the bridge.
All officers are to be made aware of the alarm settings, correct operation and testing of this equipment.

Trim- is defined as the difference between the draft forward and the draft aft.

List-“Listing” is a nautical term to describe when a vessel takes on water and tilts to one side. A ship can list either to port (left) or
starboard (right). By contrast, a ship is said to be “trimming” when she tips forward or backward

Dynamic stability- The dynamic stability of a ship is the area enclosed within its static stability curve. It gives us the magnitude of
external heeling energy that the ship can absorb before capsizing.

Rolling period test- is how quickly a vessel return to upright position while rolling. So it is the time a ship takes from upright position to
going to a particular angle on port side and then going to angle on starboard side and then again returning back to upright position
(zero list position) during natural rolling.

Inclining test- is a test performed on a ship to determine its stability, lightship weight and the coordinates of its centre of gravity. The
test is applied to newly constructed ships greater than 24m in length, and to ships altered in ways that could affect stability.

Test correction- is the testing phase of a watercraft It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually
the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and it can last from a few hours to many days.
 Research/Output
In
Seam 6
Submitted by: Group 4 BSMT 2-1
Members:
Ibaya, Renz Siegfried
Geroy, Ralf Anthony
Gilo, Leodel
Guillen, Wejen
Ignacio, Ersatz

Submitted to:
C/M Ruberto Tajanglangit