PIPELINE ARRANGEMENT IN OIL TANKERS

( BOTTOM PIPELINE IN THE CARGO TANKS)

THERE ARE BASIC TWO SYSTEMS:
1. DIRECT
2. RING MAIN

PRINCIPLE OF DIRECT PIPE LINE SYSTEM:

DIRECT PIPE LINE SYSTEM IS VERY SIMPLE SYSTEM, IT IS CALLED DIRECT BECAUSE EACH LINE FROM CARGO OIL PUMP
(COP) GOES DIRECTLY INTO A PARTICULAR CARGO TANK

P/P RM NO 4 TANK NO 3 TANK NO 2 TANK NO 1 TANK

IN THE SKETCH ABOVE, WE HAVE

NO 1 COP BOTTOM LINE GOING INTO NO 1 CARGO TANKS
NO 2 COP BOTTOM LINE GOES INTO NO 2 CARGO TANK
NO 3 COP BOTTOM LINE GOES INTO NO 3 CARGO TANK AND
NO 4 BOTTOM LINE GOES INTO NO 4 CARGO TANK

SO IF YOU WANT TO DISCHARGE NO 1 TANK, YOU HAVE TO USE NO 1 COP.

WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE?

ADVANTAGE IS, SINCE THE COP AND THE TANK IS DIRECTLY CONNECTD, IT IS THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM,

THAT MEANS PIPE LINE RESISTANCE IS MINIMUM, IT GIVES MAXIMUM DISCHARGE RATE OF THE COP .

THIS ARRANGEMENT IS SUITABLE FOR CRUDE OIL TANKERS, BECAUSE, CRUDE OIL TANKERS CARRY MAXIMUM OIL, AND

ALSO IN SINGLE GRADE, SO THE REQUIREMENT IN CRUDE OIL TANKER DISCHARGE IS A VERY HIGH DISCHARGE RATE , RISK

TO CARGO CONTAMINATION IS NOT A PROBLEM.

YOU SEE, THE COP HAS SPECIFIC DISCHARGE CAPACITY, BUT PART OF THE CAPACITY IS WASTED IN OVERCOMING PIPE LINE

RESISTANCE. SO, IF THE LENGTH OF THE PIPE LINE IS LESS, ALSO, NUMBER OF PIPE LINE BENDS ARE LESS, PIPE LINE

RESTANCE ALSO WILL BE MINIMUM , ENABLING A VERY HIGH DISCHAGE PERFORMANCE.

THIS DRAWING AS YOU SEE BELOW IS NOT FOR ANSWERING IN THE EXAM, IT IS ONLY TO MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND THE
2. RING MAIN :

NOW I WILL EXPLAIN PRINCIPLE OF RING MAIN SYSTEM, FIRST I WILL DRAW A SIMMILAR SKETCH AND THEN EXPLAIN THE
PRINCIPLE.

P/P ROOM NO 4 TANK NO 3 TANK NO 2 TANK NO 1 TANK

PRINCIPLE:

YOU CAN SEE, THE RING MAIN IS, IN COMPARISON TO DIRECT SYSTEM, IS QUITE COMPLEX.

HOW IT WORKS, MEANS, HOW IT PREVENTS CARGO CONTAMINATION?

YOU SEE THE DIRECT SYSTEM IS OPEN SYSTEM, MEANS THE LINE FROM COP GOES INTO A PARTICULAR TANK AND ENDS THERE,

IT DOES NOT CONTINUE TO GO BACK INTO THE PUMP ROOM.

WHEREAS, IN RING MAIN THE LINE FORM MEACH COP GOES INTO A PARTICULAR TANK AND CONTINUES FURTHER TO JOIN THE
PUMP MSYSTEM, MAKING A LOOP OR A RING (THAT IS WHY IT IS CALLED AS RING MAIN SYSTEM.

OPEN SYSTEM

CLOSE SYSTEM

NOW, HOW RING MAIN SYSTEM HELPS IN PREVENTING CONTAMINATION RISK. SINCE THE CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM, UNLIKE
DIRECT SYSTEM, CAN BE EFFICIENTLY FLUSHED WITH SEA WATER AFTER EACH GRADE OF DICHARGE THERE WILL NOT BE ANY
ADMIXTURE BETWEE TWO GRADE OF CARGO. THAT IS

THE DISCHARGING SEQUENCE WILL BE AS BELOW:

DISCH GRADE 1 SEA WATER FLUSHING DISCH GRADE 2 SEA WATER FLUSHING DISCH GRADE 3

INTO SHORE TANK INTO SHORE TANK

A GRADE SAY JET OIL DISCHRGED FIRST THEN FLUSHING THE LINE WITH SEA WATER INTO SHORE TANK IS DONE REMOVING
ANY TRACE OF JET OIL. THEN THE NEXT GRADE, SAY PETROL IS DISCHARGED. AND AFTER DISCHARGE THE LINE IS AGAIN
FLUSHED WITH SEA WATER INTO A SHORE TANK TO REMOVE TRACES OF PETROL. AND THE THIRD GRADE OF OIL SAY GAS OIL IS
THE DISCHARGED AND AGAIN AFTER FINISHING GAS OIL, WATER FLUSHING IS DONE AND FINAL GRADE SAY DIESEL OIL IS
DISCHARGED LAST. SO YOU SEE, THERE IS NO CHANCES OF ANY CONTAMINATION WHATSOEVER BETWEEN THE GRADES.ALSO
THERE ARE PROVISIONS OF DOUBLE VALVE SEGREGATION(IF YOU ARE WONDERING THAT PRODUCT GRADE WILL BE AFFECTED
BY MIXING WITH SEA WATER THAT WILL NEVE OCCUR BECAUSE OF THEIR DENSITY DIFFERENCE AND SHORE TERMINAL WILL
SEPARATE CARGO FROM WATER.) IN RING MAIN SYSTEM, REQUIREMENT OF DISCHARGE, UNLIKE CUDE OIL TANKER, IS CARGO
CONTAMINATION NOT HIGH DISCHARGE RATE, BECAUSE THERE ARE USUALLY 4-5 GRADES OF OIL, THEREBY RISK OF CARGO
CONTAMINATION IS VERY HIGH. THE AMOUNT OF EACH GRADE OF OIL IS USUALLY BETWEEN 3 – 10 THOUSANDS TON ONLY (
IN CRUDE OIL TANKER AMONT OF CARGO CAN GO TO 3-4 LAKHS TON, SO DISCHARGE RATE IS NOT A BIG CONCERN IN
PRODUCT CARRIER AS IT IS IN CRUDE OIL TANKER. SO THE DIRECT SYSTEM IS NOT SUITABLE FOR PRODUCT CARRIER. IN
PRODUCT CARRIER WHOSE TOTAL CARGO MAY BE 25000-50000TONS, WE HAVE RING MAIN SYSTEM TO PREVENT CARGO
CONTAMINATION RISK.

DIRECT PIPELINE SYSTEM

DESCRIPTION:

IN DIRECT PIPE LINE SYSTEM, WE HAVE GROUPS OF TANK USUALLY COLOURED SEPARATE FOR
IDENTIFICATION.

AS GIVEN IN THE SKETCH:

NO 1 COP - NO1 PORT AND STBD, NO5 PORT AND STBD (4 TANKS) –RED GROUP

NO 2 COP - NO 2PORT, CENTRE AND STBD, NO 1 CENTRE (4 TANKS) – BLUE GROUP

NO 3 COP - NO 3 PORT AND STBD, NO 5 CENTRE (3 TANKS)- YELLOW GROUP

NO4 COP - NO 4 PORT AND STBD, NO 3 AND NO 4 CENTRE ( 4 TANKS)- GREEN GROUP

TOTAL : 15 CARGO TANKS

NOW, THIS SYSTEM IS NOT SUITABLE FOR PRODUCT CARRIER, BECAUSE, EACH TANK HAS CERTAIN
CAPACITY,

FOR EXAMPLE,GROUP 1, CAPACITY = 25,000 CUB M ,LOADED WITH KEROSENE

GROUP 2 = 25,000 CUB M, LOADED WITH PETROL

GROUP 3 = 30,000 CUB M, LOADED WITH GAS OIL

AND GROUP 4 =30,000 CUB M ,LOADED WITH JET OIL

SO, THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY CONTAMINATION RISK.

BUT PRACTICALLY, IT IS NOT GOING TO OCCUR LIKE THAT.

BECAUSE, THE CHARTERER WILL NOT PROVIDE CARGO AS PER SHIP’S TANK CAPACITY, HE WILL PROVIDE
CARGO AS PER MARKET DEMAND. SO IF MARKET DEMAND IS MORE FOR PETROL, SAY 35000 CUB OF
PETROL IS REQUIRED TO BE CARRIED, THEN 35,000 CUB M OF PETROL CAN NOT BE PUT IN ONE GROUP
ALONE, SOME OF IT HAS TO ANOTHER GROUP TANK, WHICH WILL BE NOT AVAILABLE FOR ANOTHER
GRADE OF OIL. THAT MEANS YOU CAN ONLY LOAD 3 GRADES OF OIL. THAT IS THE MAIN PROBLEM OF
DIRECT SYSTEM FOR MULTI GRADE CARGO HANDLING.
 SKETCH FOR DIRECT SYSTEM

PORT CENTRE STBD

NO 1 TANK

NO 2 TANK

NO 3 TANK

NO 4 TANK

NO 5 TANK

V/V Symbol:

Tank suction:
Master :
Cross over :

1 cop 2 cop 3 cop 4 cop

cop
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DIRECT PIPE LINE SYSTEM

A. ADVANTAGES:
1. IT IS A VERY SIMPLE PIPE LINE ARRANGEMENT, IN FACT MORE BIGGER IS THE OIL TANKER SAY
ULCC (ULTRA LARGE CRUDE OIL CARRIER) MORE SIMPLER IS THE PIPE LINE SYSTEM.
2. THE DISCHARGE RATE IS QUITE HIGH IN THIS SYSTEM, BECAUSE PIPELINE RESISTANCE IS LEAST
BECAUSE LEAST DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TANK AND COP AND ALSO NUMBER OF PIPELINE
BENDS ARE LESS.
3. MAINTENACE OF LINES AND VALVES, BECAUSE OF LESSER LENGTH AND NUMBERS, IS LESS.
B. DISADVANTAGES:
1. THIS LINE SYSTEM IS NOT SUITABLE FOR MULTI GRADE CARGO HANDLING I.E PRODUCT CARRIER
3.FREE FLOW SYSTEM:

THIS IS NOT AN INDEPENDENT SYSTEM. NO SHIP WILL HAVE ONLY FREE FLOW ARRANGEMENT. IT WILL
BE SUPPLEMENTING THE DIRECT SYSTEM. LET US STUDY THE SYSTEM

COP IN P/R
 FREE FLOW SYSTEM

FREE FLOW SYSTEM HAVE NO PIPE LINE , EXCEPT BULK HEAD VOLVE FITTED ON THE LOWST PART OF
THE BULKHEAD AND A GATE OR BUTTERFLY V/V IS FITTED ON IT. SO IF YOU OPEN THE V/V THEN CARGO
WILL DRAIN FROM FORWARD TANK INTO AFT TANK, SINCE THERE IS NO PIPE LINES, RESISTANCE IS NOT
THERE ENABLING VERY HIGH DISCHARGE RATE.

NOW, THE LAST TANK WILL OBVIOUSLY HAVE A TANK SUCTION ALONG WITH LINE CONNECTED TO COP
IN P/P ROOM SO THAT CARGO CAN BE PUMPED OUT FROM THE LAST TANK.

PROBLEM:

AFTER DISCHARGING START, MORE CARGO WILL GO FROM ONLY FORWARD NO 1, NO 2 TANKS. NO 4,,
NO 5 WILL REMAIN FULL, THIS WILL CAUSE MASSIVE TRIM

AS A REMEDY, MORE NUMBER OF BULKHEAD VALVES WILL FITTED AS FROM FORWARD TO AFT TANKS.
IN THE SKETCH, WE OBSERVE BETWEEN NO 1 AND 2 TANKS ONE VALVE IS FITTED, BETWEEN 2 AND 3
TANKS TWO VALVES ARE FITTED, BETEWWE 3 AND 4 AND BETWEEN 4 AND 5 TANKS THREE VALVES ARE
FITTED. THIS ARRANGEMENT WILL ENSURE ALMOST EQUAL AMOUNT OF CARGO WILL DRAIN FROM ALL
TANKS AVOIDING EXCESSIVE TRIM.

ADVANTAGES:

1. SINCE NO PIPELINES ARE USED, THE DISCHARGING RATE WILL BE VERY HIGH.
2. THERE IS NO NEED FOR TANK STRIPPING IS REQUIRED AS CARGO WILL DRAIN AUTOMATICALLY
INTO NEXT AFT TANK NATURALLY (A GOOD TRIM IS REQUIRED TO BE MAINTAINED

DISADVANTAGES:

1. USEFUL ONLY IN CASE OF SINGLE GRADE CARGO.

2. CANOT BE USED INDEPENDENTLY. DIRECT PIPELINE SYSTEM HAVE TO BE FITTED FOR COW
OPERATION.
 RING MAIN SYSTEM

Description:

In the Ring main system, as shown in the sketch, one line is drawn from no 1 COP straight forward into
no 1 port tank and then passing into starboard across 1 center then drawing it back to pump room
joining no 4 COP, forming one loop. Then across lines are added from port to starboard in no 2 and 3
tanks. Tank suction valves are fitted on these across lines.It is very important to put cross-over valves
between port and centre tank suction line and between centre and starboard tank suction line for grade
separation. Also, master valves are fitted on fore and aft line (port and starboard) behind inter tank
athwart ship bulk head just behind. This valves helps in isolating the forward part from aft part. Both
cross over and master valves are very important for Ring Main system.

Similarly, another smaller loop is formed drawing lines between no 3 and no 4 tanks. The outer and
inner loops are connectd through cross over lines and valves.

The working principle discussed earlier part.

ADVANTAGES:

1. RING MAIN SYSTEM IS VERY SUITABLE FOR MULTI GRADE PRODUCT CARGO OPERATION.
BECAUSE IT AVOIDS CONTAMINATION BETWEEN VERY EFFECTIVELY BY WATER SEPARARION.
DISADVANTAGES:

1. IT IS A VERY COMPLEX SYSTEM. IF THE NUMBERS OF CARGO TANKS ARE MORE , MORE
COMPLEX WILL BE THE LINE SYSTEM. IN FACT SMALLER IS THE PRODUCT CARRIER, MORE
COMPLEX WILL BE ITS LINE SYSTEM
2. SINCE THE NUMBER OF PIPELINE BENDS ARE MORE, THE DISCHARGE RATE IS NOT VERY HIGH IN
COMPARISON WITH DIRECT SYSTEM
3. THE MAINTENANCE OF LINE AND VALVES, BECAUSE OF MORE COMPLEX LAYOUT AND NUMBER
OF VALVES WILL BE MORE DIFFICULT.
4. SINCE SEA WATER IS BEING USED IN SEPARATING THE GRADES DURING DISCHARGING, THERE IS
CHANCE OF WATER QUANTITY BEING HIGH IN THE GRADE.( although the terminal ensures that
water is removed totally before sending into market)
 SKETCH FOR RING MAIN SYSTEM

PORT CENTRE STBD

NO 1 TANK

NO 2 TANK

NO 3 TANK

NO 4 TANK

NO 5 TANK

V/V Symbol:

Tank suction:
Master :
Cross over :

1 cop 2 cop 3 cop 4 cop

cop