MODULE 2

What is Stevedoring
Stevedoring is an occupation which involves the cargo operations
such as loading and unloading of cargoes on ships. It also includes
the other various dockside functions. Those involved in this
occupation are known as stevedores in the UK & Europe, however in
America can also be known as longshoremen.
The Role of Stevedores :
Ships can make money at sea when it is carrying cargo between
ports, but when it is alongside a port it is essentially costing money
to its owner. Therefore, ports and terminals need to be efficient to
minimise port time and get the ship back on its journey as soon as
possible. The role of stevedoring companies, or companies who offer
this as a service will organise the cargo-handling in ports. This is very
important as it can make a great difference to the profitability of the
voyage. Stevedoring companies and their skilled personnel will also
operate a selection of expensive and sophisticated cargo handling
equipment in ports all around the world. Stevedores might be
thought of as the interface between land and sea, but both the
speed of cargo handling and the efficiency of voyage depends upon
their skills. If the cargo is put into the ship in the wrong order, it
might be subject to double handling before it gets to its final port..
LIGHTERAGE
Lightering, also at times called ‘Lighterage,’ is an operation that
primarily deals with the transfer of wet and dry cargoes which
typically includes but not limited to crude oil, liquefied gas (LPG or
LNG), bulk cargo, and various petroleum products. This transfer
between ships of differing sizes, or as a cargo transfer operation at
sea between the Mother Vessel and Daughter Vessel. The receiving
ship is called the daughter vessel and the delivering vessel is called
STBL (Ship to be lightered) or Mother vessel.

PORT TRUSTS
In civilian and maritime law in India, a Port Trust Board is the
statutory authority responsible for managing shipping and trade
through a commercial seaport. India's first Port Trust Board was
established for Calcutta Port in 1870, following passage of the
Bombay Port Trust Act in 1879. Similar Boards were set up in Madras
in 1905. The administration of Port Trust Boards were brought under
national government in 1963 with legislation to enable the
declaration of "major ports" with ownership of adjacent public land
on the foreshore and seabed. All ports previously established under
different Acts were brought within the purview of this newly enacted
law.
The Importance of Port Security
Port security in simple terms refers to the security and law
enforcement measures employed to safeguard a shipping port from
terrorism and other unlawful activities and activists. It also refers to
the measures employed to see that the treaties entered into with
other countries are also enforced appropriately. In addition, port
security also deals with maritime security – security of the marine
commercial areas, coast lines, and beaches.
Port security, a part of the maritime security, comes under the
purview of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and
the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code that was
introduced in the year 2002 as a part of the Safety of Life At
Sea (SOLAS) convention. Apart from these two organisations, a lot of
port security measures are incorporated from United Nation’s own
marine security enforcement agenda.
Port security is vital because marine transport is a very thriving and
extensively used form of conveyance, especially for cargo
transportation. Since the cargo containers could be used
inappropriately, it becomes important that proper monitoring and
inspection of the transferred cargo is carried out. The importance of
maritime security can be further elaborated as follows:

• Ports are busy areas and are spread over a very large area. This
would mean that certain areas of the ports can be inaccessible
all the time as far as patrolling is concerned and therefore
could lead to stealing of cargo from the cargo containers. It
could also involve the smuggling of weapons and arsenal into a
country and issues of stowage and illegal immigration. Port
security helps to solve these problems of inaccessibility and
thereby reduces the cargo pilferage that takes place.
• Since maritime security is also included in port security
measures, it will help to safeguard the interests of ships in
dangerous and conflicted waters. This factor is extremely
important when ships enter into water areas where piracy
abounds. Effective maritime security thus accounts for
adequate counter piracy measures
• Oil cargo is carried extensively in the oceanic areas. If attacks
from pirates and terrorists cause oil spill or even worse, light up
the entire oil tanker, it could cause a major disaster with
respect to the environment, resources, and security of
countries. Maritime security attempts to block any such
activities that could be carried out.
The Coast Guard along with a number of other government agencies
helps to enforce port security in respective countries. This is because
the Coast Guard is responsible primarily for enforcing marine
security.
The requirement of maritime security has increased in recent times.
Since terrorists and pirates have started using the marine route to
cause greater levels of damage to the society, it becomes necessary
that the countries try and incorporate a systematic law that will help
to preserve the security of ports and overall marine areas.

Sea port-security threat;

Whether in the airport or seaport there is a very strict security
protocol to follow the security staff and the employees designated to
protect the national critical infrastructures. The breach of security
protocol end in serious consequences from small theft to the large
deliberate sabotages of the container cranes and warehousing.

Specific security threats at ports;

• Stowaways and illegal immigrants
• Theft of cargo during loading and unloading
• Smuggling of drugs, weapons or other prohibited items
• Hazardous materials transport
• Terrorist attacks
• Organized crime rings
• Importation of radiological (dirty) or biological weapons
Specific safety hazards at seaports;
• Container loading and unloading
o Crush or impact hazards
o Overhead cargo loads
• Slips and trips on cabling, ropes, and wet surfaces
• Falling off docks into water
• Spillage of oils and petrol (flammable)
• Noise and vibration of heavy machinery
• Shared space with vehicles and plant machinery

General duties of the port security officer;

• Supervise parking areas outside the main port entrances
• Inspect trucks and light vehicles for authorized personnel and
cargo
• Foot patrolling of various security areas within the port
• Clearance of passenger terminals after last ship or ferry departs
• Escort and monitoring of work crews on-site at the port,
including verification of permits to work
• Direct and guide external agencies such as Police and CID to the
appropriate locations
• Report and record health and safety incidents and near misses
• Inspection of port ID for incoming personnel and vehicles
• Completion of port visitor and contractor logs
• Liaise with the control room in event of emergencies
• Opening and closing of daily use facilities e.g.
o Office and administration areas
o Training facilities
• Inspection of cruise ship ID for passengers coming on board or
departing the ship
• Vehicle patrols of port facilities
• Control room duties including radio operator, CCTV operator,
and key holding
• Reporting and recording incidents and occurrences in the daily
occurrence book
• Incident response: The police and supporting agencies respond
to the critical incident in the port because of the critical nature
of the infrastructure. In case of a serious incident, the security
staff will respond according to the site policy.
Automated container handling.

Since, shipping containers are standardised, container terminals are

easier to automate than other cargo terminals. This is why almost all
the fully-automated port facilities are container terminals.
In a conventional container terminal, trucks or trains deliver
containers to the yard. Special vehicles take the containers to the
stacks where cranes stack them in a predetermined order. When the
ship arrives, stacking cranes move the containers off the stacks,
vehicles transport them to the quay, and gantry cranes lift the
containers onto the ship. It’s a finely tuned operation, and a delay in
any part of the operation holds up the whole chain

Pros and cons of port automation

Pros
When they’re working well, automated container terminals are
faster, safer and more efficient than conventional ports. Automated
terminals like Rotterdam operate 24/7 without worrying about
human operators becoming tired and distracted. Truck drivers face
frequent delays at conventional ports, so it’s no surprise that they’re
in favour of automation as well. It’s not just about turnaround times.
Optimised, automated cargo handling reduces emissions while
increasing the number of ships the port can handle.
They can handle higher stacks, increasing capacity by a third without
increasing the land use. As well as saving on labour costs, Port of
Auckland expects the automated straddle carriers to save fuel, need
less maintenance and repair, require less lighting (and therefore
electricity), be quieter, and provide greater safety by separating
people and machines.
Cons
But it’s not all sweetness and light, especially for port workers. While
automation can create jobs supervising and maintaining the
equipment, they come at the cost of existing jobs. This is why labour
unions usually object to automation. With planning, ports can help
staff to upskill and retrain, retaining staff and maintaining a positive
atmosphere.
In addition to potential job losses, automated systems need a high
initial investment and ongoing maintenance costs, putting full
automation out of reach of ports in less developed areas. Even in
these areas, partial automation is still a viable option.
Cybersecurity is a growing concern for all computer-based systems.
Nowhere is that more true than operational technology. If they gain
control of straddle carriers or cranes, malicious actors could kill
people. A cybersecurity breach is a serious threat to an automated
port.

Barriers to port automation

the major barriers to port automation are:
▪ A shortage of specialised engineers;
▪ Poor data quality and a lack of data standards
▪ Siloed operations
▪ Exception handling
Even starting with experienced engineers, it takes up to five years to
train them to fill the specialised technical positions in an automated
port. Port and terminal operators of automated ports have difficulty
filling these positions.
A data silo is a block of information that’s only accessible to a part of
an operation. Data silos and a lack of data standards are common
problems in automation, regardless of the industry; port automation
is no different. Automated systems rely on the ability to
communicate with other parts of the system; and data silos work
against this. Poor quality data, incompatible formats and fragmented
systems impede automation.
Conventional ports separate each step of the cargo-handling process.
Conversely, the integration of the whole process chain is a basic
principle of automation. The siloed operations of conventional ports
work against automation.
When ports automate manual processes without simplifying them
first, the processes are likely to go wrong. Dealing with these
exceptions is time-consuming and requires trained and experienced
staff who are familiar with the equipment.