Page 15 - INTERCARGO - Annual Report Report 2021 - 2022

Cargoes

The safe carriage of cargoes
is the cornerstone of the bulk
carrier industry and yet not all
stakeholders are fulfilling their
obligations to ensure that Masters

and crews are provided with the
necessary information to enable
cargoes to be shipped safely.

The International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code,
stipulating the carriage requirements for cargoes, clearly lays
out the responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the distri-
bution chain, including the specific information about the car-
go that should be provided to the Master. It is INTERCARGO’s
firm belief that some shippers/receivers continue to, either de-
liberately or due to lack of competence, mis-declare cargoes
with tragic consequences
INTERCARGO is particularly concerned with Group A car-
goes, these being cargoes that may undergo a moisture re-
lated cargo failure mechanism such as liquefaction and dy-
namic separation. Our recent Bulk Carrier Casualty Report
highlights the impact that liquefaction has on bulk carrier
losses and seafarer deaths.
A general cargo vessel, loaded with ball clay from Lamut, Ma-
laysia, was lost in December 2021 when its cargo liquified
while on passage. Additionally, there have been cases of ves-
sels loaded in SE Asia with cargoes declared as “ball clay” or
“clay” where the cargo has undergone liquefaction, or anoth-
er moisture related failure mechanism such as dynamic sep-
aration.
Within the IMSBC Code clay is designated a Group C cargo
(cargoes that don’t liquefy). However as the incidents above
illustrate, the importance of providing the Master correct in-
formation cannot be over-stressed.
INTERCARGO takes an active role at the IMO and other fo-
ra to highlight the dangers of liquefaction and to promote the
safe carriage of cargoes. To assist the Association’s work,
INTERCARGO’s Cargo Panel considers various cargo relat-
ed matters including liquefaction and advises the Technical
Committee accordingly. Members who wish to participate
in this group should contact the Secretariat

For more information on this topic please visit:
https://www.intercargo.org/topics/cargoes-liquefaction/

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