Bulk carriers: the English of the ship
Bulk carriers carry loose cargo poured into big holds: iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite, fertiliser. Their English is about holds and hatches, loading sequences, moisture and the stresses on a long hull.
A bulk carrier is a row of holds under a row of hatch covers. Cargo comes in from a shiploader or a grab, thousands of tonnes an hour, and the ship's job is to take it in the right order so that the hull is not bent, the stability is right and the draft ends exactly at the mark. Loading is planned on the loading computer and talked through with the terminal, hold by hold, pour by pour.
Some bulk cargoes can kill a ship. Fine ores and concentrates with too much moisture liquefy and shift; coal heats and gives off gas; grain shifts unless it is trimmed and calculated. The IMSBC Code sorts cargoes into groups and tells the crew what to check before the first tonne comes on board.
The daily English of a bulk carrier is short and physical: sound the bilges, cleat the hatch, trim the cargo, hold inspection passed or failed. Tests for bulk carrier positions go straight to the IMSBC words: Group A, TML, can test, water ingress alarm.
Words you will use every day (26)
- Hold
- One of the large cargo spaces, numbered from forward; a typical Panamax has seven.
- Hatch coaming
- The raised steel rim around the hatch opening that the hatch cover sits on; people fall over it, so it is guarded.
- Hatch cover
- The steel cover that closes the hold: side-rolling, folding or lift-away; it must be weathertight and cleated before sailing.
- Topside tank and hopper tank
- The sloping tanks in the upper and lower corners of the hold that self-trim the cargo and carry ballast.
- Ballast hold
- A cargo hold strengthened and fitted to be filled with ballast water on the empty passage.
- IMSBC Code
- The International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code: the rules for what may be carried and how.
- Group A cargo
- A cargo that may liquefy if its moisture content is above the transportable moisture limit: fine ores, concentrates, nickel ore.
- Group B cargo
- A cargo with a chemical hazard: it may heat, give off gas or corrode; coal and some fertilisers.
- Group C cargo
- A cargo with neither hazard, such as most stone and sand; still needs care for dust and structure.
- Transportable moisture limit (TML)
- The maximum moisture content at which a Group A cargo may be carried safely; the shipper must certify it.
- Can test
- A quick on-board check of a Group A cargo: a half-filled can is banged on the deck; if the surface goes wet or fluid, the cargo may be over the limit.
- Liquefaction
- A fine wet cargo turning liquid when the ship moves, shifting to one side and capsizing the ship.
- Trimming
- Levelling the cargo in the hold so that it cannot shift; required for grain and other cargoes that flow.
- Angle of repose
- The steepest slope a loose cargo will hold; cargoes with a low angle flow easily and need more trimming.
- Shiploader and grab
- The terminal machines that pour cargo in and dig it out; the grab hits the tank top, so the hold structure is checked afterwards.
- Loading sequence
- The planned order and quantity of pours per hold, with ballast steps, so that the hull stresses stay within limits.
- Shear force and bending moment
- The stresses along the hull calculated by the loading computer; alternate-hold loading of ore is a classic case.
- Draft survey
- Calculating the cargo weight from the ship's drafts and tank soundings before and after loading; the commercial figure.
- Hold inspection
- The survey of the holds before loading: clean, dry, free of the previous cargo, rust scale, paint flakes and insects.
- Hold cleaning
- Sweeping, washing and drying the holds between cargoes; residues are handled under MARPOL Annex V.
- Water ingress alarm
- The SOLAS XII sensors in each hold and the forepeak that alarm when water rises; a hull leak is found early.
- Cargo hold bilge
- The well at the aft end of each hold where water collects; sounded every watch and pumped as needed.
- Sweat
- Condensation on the cargo or the hull when warm moist air meets cold steel; controlled by ventilating according to the dew point.
- Fumigation
- Treating a grain cargo with a toxic gas against insects; the holds are sealed and no entry is allowed until cleared.
- Grain Code
- The rules for carrying grain in bulk: trimming, the grain heeling moment calculation and the document of authorisation.
- Geared and gearless
- A geared bulk carrier has its own cranes; a gearless one depends on the terminal.
Ten things you will hear
Loading sequence: hold three, then hold one, then five, one thousand tonnes per pour.
Chief Officer to the terminal at the loading meeting.Stop loading, we are two centimetres over the mark on the port side.
Chief Officer watching the draft at the end of loading.Hold number four inspection passed, ready for grain.
Surveyor's result reported to the Master.Sound the bilges every watch; the cargo is coal, check the gas as well.
Chief Officer's standing order at sea.Hatch covers closed and cleated before we leave the berth.
Master to the Chief Officer before departure.The moisture certificate is above the TML, we do not accept the cargo.
Master to the shipper and the charterer.Water ingress alarm in hold two, check it now and report.
Bridge to the deck watch.Trim the cargo level before the grab finishes, the surveyor wants it flat.
Chief Officer to the Bosun during the last pour.Ventilate hold six, the dew point outside is lower than inside.
Chief Officer applying the dew point rule.Fumigation in progress, no entry, holds gas-tight for forty-eight hours.
Notice and announcement after the fumigators leave.
Numbers are said digit by digit on board: "one decimal five", "channel one six", "zero seven three zero". Train your ear in listening practice.
Safety on bulk carriers
- Liquefaction: Group A cargoes need a moisture certificate below the TML; if the can test looks wet, stop and call the Master. Ships have capsized in minutes.
- Enclosed spaces: holds with coal, grain or timber lose oxygen and give off gas; nobody enters a hold or a stair trunk without a test and a permit.
- Hatch covers are heavy machinery: cleats off, people clear, drive slowly, stop halfway; a hand on the coaming while a panel moves is a lost hand.
- Hull stresses: follow the loading sequence and the ballast steps; do not let the terminal pour faster or in a different order without a new calculation.
- Falls: open hatches and coamings, ladders in the holds, dust and mud on the tank top; harness where there is no guard rail.
- Dust and fumigation gases: masks for dusty cargoes, and a sealed ship after fumigation until the gas is measured clear.
- Water ingress alarms are tested; a bulk carrier that floods a forward hold can sink quickly, which is why SOLAS XII exists.
What recruitment tests ask
- IMSBC Code groups A, B and C, and what TML and the can test are.
- Why grain is trimmed and what the Grain Code requires.
- Loading sequence, shear force and bending moment, and the loading computer.
- Draft survey and hold inspection.
- SOLAS XII water ingress alarms and enclosed space entry in holds.
Sit the bulk carrier knowledge test: 30 questions for your rank
The full test mixes up to eight questions on bulk carriers with the STCW areas for your rank group, under a 30-minute clock. The names of commercial tests are used on this site only to describe what our training prepares you for.
Quiz: 10 questions on bulk carriers
One question at a time, feedback after every answer, score at the end. Keys 1 to 4 answer, Enter goes on.
Sources: IMSBC Code and the International Grain Code (under SOLAS VI), SOLAS XII (bulk carrier safety), MARPOL Annex V (cargo residues), IMO BLU Code (loading and unloading).