HATCH COVER AND ITS TYPES

CONTENTS:
 Types of hatches, opening and closing of chain-pull and hydraulic
hatch covers. Closing arrangements. Battening down a hatch.

 Maintenance of hatch covers.

 Procedures to check weather tightness of hatch covers.

 Securing of hatch pontoons

 Maintenance and use of side cleats and cross-joint wedge

mechanism.

 Importance of clear drainage channels and drain holes.

 Importance of compression bars and sealing gaskets.

 Need to check hydraulic system for leakages

 Procedure for securing hatches in open position to guard against

accidental movement.

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 CREATED BY: AFSAR.M

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Purpose of Hatch Cover:

Cargo holds are fitted with hatch covers to prevent the contact of cargo with outer
atmosphere i.e. air, moisture, weather and water and to avoid cargo from getting
wet.
Another important function of hatch cover is to maintain the weather-tight
integrity of the ship at all sea going condition by not allowing any ingress of water
inside the cargo hold and disrupting the stability of the ship.

The conventional hatch (tween deck and lower hold (L/H)

An example of the conventional hatch in a general cargo ship. This type of hatch
was previously covered by wooden hatch boards or slabs but these have been
superseded by steel hatch covers. Operated by mechanical means (single pull
chain types) or folding ‘M types’ (hydraulic operation).

In the picture in previous slide General cargo is seen at the after end of the L/H,
while the pontoon tween deck covers are sited stacked in the fore end of the
tween deck.
Exposed dunnage lies at the bottom of the hold where cargo has been discharged
and cargo battens can be seen at the sides of the hold.
Safety guard wires and stanchions are rigged around the tween deck in
compliance with safety regulations.

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 Weather deck hatch covers

Steel weather deck hatch covers now dominate virtually all sectors of general,
bulk and container shipping. Conventional wooden hatch covers have been
eclipsed by the steel designs which are much stronger as well as being easier and
quicker to operate. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages in that
continuity of strength of the ship is maintained throughout its overall length.
Better weather-tight integrity is achieved and they are labour saving, in that one
man could open five hatches in the time it would take to strip a single
conventional wooden hatch. The disadvantages are that they are initially more
expensive to install, and carry a requirement for more levels of skilled
maintenance.
Once cleated down, a hard rubber seal is created around the hatch top perimeter
providing a weather-tight seal, on virtually all types of covers. Hydraulically
operated covers cause a pressure to generate the seal, while mechanical cleating
(dogs) provide an additional securing to the cargo space below. The engineering
department of the ship usually cater to the maintenance of the hydraulic
operations and the draw back is that a hydraulic leak may occur due to say a burst
pipe, which could cause subsequent damage to cargo.

Extreme caution should be exercised when opening and closing steel covers, and
adequate training should be given to operators who are expected to engage in the

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opening and closing of what are very heavy steel sections. Check wires and
respective safety pins should always be applied if appropriate, when operating
direct pull types. Hydraulic folding ‘M types’ incorporate hydraulic actuators with
a non-return capacity which prevents accidental collapse of the hatch tops during
opening or closing. Whichever type is employed, they are invariably track
mounted and such tracks must be seen to be clear of debris or obstruction prior to
operation (Figure 2.5).
Strong flat steel covers lend to heavy lifts and general deck cargo parcels and have
proved their capability with the strengthened pontoons which are found in the
container vessels. The pontoons having specialized fittings to accept the deck
stowage of containers over and above the cargo hold spaces. Similarly, specialized
heavy-lift vessels have adopted strengthened open steel decks in order to
prosecute their own particular trade sector (Figure 2.6).
An alternative arrangement is possible when space is not available outboard of
the hatches for the deck mounted closing pedestal, e.g. between twin hatches.
With this alternative the closing arm operates above coaming level. A wheel ramp
is necessary to assist in the initial self-closing action of the covers

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Fig 2.5-Folding hydraulic operated, steel hatch covers, seen in the vertical open
position. Securing cleating seen in position prevents accidental roll back.

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Direct pull (Macgregor) weather deck hatch covers
Figure in next shows a direct pull weather deck hatch cover operation. In this
diagram, all hatch top wedges and side locking cleats removed and the tracks are
seen to be clear.

The bull wire and check wire would be shackled to the securing lug of the trailing
edge of the hatch top.

(Note: The bull wire and check wire change function depending on whether opening
or closing the hatch cover.)

The eccentric wheels are turned down and the ‘stowage bay’ is sighted to be clear.
The locking pins at the end of the hatch would be removed as the weight is taken on
the bull wire to open the hatch.

Once the hatch lids are open and stowed vertical into the stowage bay, the sections
would be locked into the vertical position by lock bars or clamps, to prevent
accidental roll back.

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Single pull fixed chain hatch covers
These are automated covers with self drive by built in electric motors
(see inset, Figure in next slide).
All operations for open and closing the hatch are by push button
control.
Inclusive of raising the lowering of the covers and operation of the
cleating.

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If desired, these covers can be supplied with sufficient strength and the
necessary container location sockets to permit the load on top of
deck-mounted containers.

Folding (hydraulic operated) hatch covers

The more modern method of operating steel hatch covers is by hydraulics, opening
the sections in folding pairs, either single, double or triple pair sections (refer NEXT
DIAGRAMS).

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Multi-folding weather deck hatch covers

There are several manufacturers of steel hatch covers and they all generally achieve
the same function of sealing the hatchways quickly.
Operationally, one man could close up five or six hatches very quickly by switching
on the hydraulic pumps, releasing the locking bars to the stowed sections and
operating the control levers designated to each set of covers.
The main disadvantage of hydraulic operations is that the possibility of a burst pipe
is always possible, with subsequent cargo damage due to hydraulic oil spillage.

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Lifting type Hatch Covers
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Lift away type hatch covers can be classified into two types –
a) Single panel covers,
b) Multi panel covers.
Single panel cover consists of a single cover for each opening, these can be seen
mainly on bulk carriers.
In case of multi panel covers, a single hold is covered via multiple number of covers,
these are most commonly observed in cellular container ships in the case of
longitudinal joints, and for multipurpose cargo ship in case of transverse joints.

Rolling type:

Rolling type hatch covers consists of two covers at the end of the hatchway. Wheels
are fitted which help in the sliding of the panel either athwartship in case of side
rolling or longitudinally in case of end rolling. These type of hatch covers are usually
fitted on large ships. Hydraulic rams are required to raise them to rolling position as
they are extremely heavy and have very large dimensions.

Side-rolling hatch covers are popular for use on the weather decks of larger bulk
carriers such as Panamax and Capesize vessel types. For ore bulk oil carriers (OBOs)
and ore oil (OO) carriers, hatch covers are designed to withstand internal liquid
loads. They are used whenever deck space allows, when there is no such space,
folding-type hatch covers are used.

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A traditional side-rolling cover consists of two panels per hatch, each panel rolling
sideways on a pair of transverse ramps. This minimises obstacles to be considered
by the shore crane or other loading/unloading device operator when loading and
unloading.

PIGGY-BACK HATCH COVERS

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 The piggy-back hatch cover system enables every part of the hatch opening to be
exposed and is achieved by a lift and roll movement of the cover panels. In
operation, one panel is horizontally lifted by hydraulic jacks, enabling the other
panel to be driven beneath it by built-in electric motors. The hydraulic jacks are then
retracted, lowering the upper panel onto the motorised one below it. Both panels
can then be moved by the electric motors to a position where they provide the
required access to the hatch. The system is also adapted for use on coasters with
long hatches but with no stowage space for the hatch covers. This was achieved by
employing a multi-piggy-back system allowing up to five panels to be stacked, and
moved on top of the motorised panel.
System advantages
• Lifting of one panel by four hydraulic cylinders.
• If required, more than one panel can be stacked by hydraulic cylinders in
combination with semiautomatic hatch cover operation.
• Driving of motorised cover by:
a) built-in geared electric motors.
b) hydraulic motors and endless chain drive.
• For partial opening of the hatch, the cross joints may be fitted with either a
vacu-seal or hydraulically-operated seal flaps.

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Maintenance for Hatch Covers :
Hatch covers of cargo hold are generally made from light weight steel or
high tensile steel. They are fitted over a steel bar of the hold with a
rubber packing inserted in between them to avoid water ingress.
A proper routine maintenance to be performed by qualified officer on
ship which must includes-
 Examination of hatch cover, hatch beams for corrosion, cracks and
material failure.
 Keep Cleats, hauling wire, rollers, chains and wedges in operational
condition at all time.
 Keep clean hatch cover tops and all drainage holes to be kept clear.
 Look for any broken or missing gasket and replace it immediately.
The length of renewed gasket must be minimum 1 m.
 Before renewing rubber gasket, check and rectify steel to steel fault.
 Gasket rubber to be of approved type by class.
 Grease all the moving parts.
 Check for any hydraulic system leakage if hatch cover is hydraulic oil
operated.
 Oil test to be performed for hydraulic system.
 Call surveyor after any major repair in the cover and its concerned
parts.

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