Pre-Loading Information and

Stowage Planning

P re-loading information from the shipper to the carrier helps in the preparation of the stowage
plan. The following scenario describes the flow of information in relation to the transportation of
cargo:

The illustrated cargo loading plan was initially assigned to a ship, which was inbound to Houston from
Asia. She was loaded at Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Osaka for Long Beach, Lazaro Cardenas,
Cartagena, and Houston. The ship at Houston was to be empty, except for a small shipment of cast
iron valves in crates, bound for New Orleans and stowed in the forward half of Hold No. 4.

The booking list for the ship’s outbound voyage from the US indicated the shipments of a knocked
down oil rig to Surabaya, electrical generating sets for Darwin, large diameter boilers to be loaded in
Baltimore for Mombasa, as well as a yet to-be-nominated tonnage of baled and unitized wood pulp
from Baltimore for Sheerness in the UK.

These pre-bookings indicated the ship’s next schedule. Cargo was booked for Sheerness, Mombasa,
Surabaya, and Darwin with loading at Houston, New Orleans (to discharge cargo in crates), and
Baltimore.

The marketing team at the head office instructed the sales team to solicit cargo accordingly and to
accept any other cargo headed for the general geographic area that was already indicated. The sales
team was successful in obtaining a group of wheeled motive units to load in Houston to Surabaya,
provided they would accept a similar shipment from the same shipper to Port Moresby. This added
another discharge port - Port Moresby.

The cargo scheduled for Darwin was increased by the addition of a large shipment of steel pipes and
this lead to a booking of steel drill collars to Honiara from the same Houston cargo broker.

Further negotiation for the loading at New Orleans and Baltimore yielded more cargo for Mombasa,
Surabaya, and Darwin, which fitted in with the itinerary. Cargo was also booked for Antwerp where
the vessel was already booked to receive further loading to the designated discharging ports.

Additionally, cargo brokers in London offered a shipment of cloves in bags at Zanzibar to go to

Surabaya. This was ideal to replace the ‘below-deck’ space vacated by the Mombasa cargo and was
accepted, Zanzibar being only an overnight passage from Mombasa in east Africa.

During the process of cargo procurement, a constant tally was kept on the tonnage obtained, space
utilized, and the revenue to be received. This was carried out by the line manager and his team with
the marketing and sales groups in attendance.

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 ON DECK ON DECK ON DECK ON DECK ON DECK
B altim ore / S heerness B altim ore to S heerness B altim ore to M om basa B altim ore to A ntwerp H ouston to H oniara
C ontainers C ontainers H /L B oilers H /L K D W ell H ead C hem ical D rum s
N o .5 H atch N o .4 H atch N o .3 H atch N o .2 H atch N o .1 H atch
Cargo Stowage Plan

H ouston to S urabaya H ouston to P ort M oresby R o-R o V ehicles N ew

H ouston O rleans B altim ore
STERN N ew O rleans B altim ore B altim ore
Ro Ro to E ngine to B altim ore to M om basa to to to to BOW
S heerness R oom S heerness A ntwerp
C ontai iners W ood pulp M om basa S urabaya S heerness
W ood pulp U nits W ood pulp
V ehicles Ro Ro H ouston to P ort M oresby V ehicles R esin T ractors W ood pulp
R o R o R am p Ro Ro P allets

; N ew O rleans
N ew O rleans ; to N ew
to ; N ew D arwin O rleans
STERN A ntwerp H ouston ; O rleans H ouston H ouston M achinery to
E ngine to ; to to to P arts B altim ore D arwin
C ontainers R oom A ntwerp ; S heerness D arwin S urabaya H ouston M achinery BOW
; H /L to to P arts
R esin ; W oodpulp E lectric E quipm ent H oniara H ouston
H ouston to pallets ; U nits K nocked D own O il R ig S heerness to
H oniara ; H /L P ort
D /T ; H ouston to H oniara H ouston to D arwin R ice W ood M oresby
B ulk Lube ; D rill C ollars bags P ulp
; S teel P ipes R ice bags

© 2008 The Breakbulk Institute and IMU. All right reserved

D isch arg e P lan L o ad in g P lan
H atch #5 H atch #4 H atch #3 H atch #2 H atch #1 H atch #5 H atch #4 H atch #3 H atch #2 H atch #1
S h eern ess X X X H o u sto n R oR o/P um p X X X X
An tw erp X X X N ew O rlean s X X X
M o m b asa X X B altim o re X X X X
S u rab aya R o-R o X X An tw erp X X X X
D arw in X X X Z an zib ar X X X
P o rt M o resb y R o-R o X
H o n iara P um p X X

2
 Following is the description of the stowage plan for the respective ports of loading and discharging :

Houston Loading
Hatch No.1 Rice in Bags from Houston to Port Moresby
This cargo is hand stowed at the forward end of the lower hold. This space is designated for clean cargo and
foodstuff.

The rice is contained in 50 kilo sacks, as it will be distributed directly to the market place in Honiara.

Rice in Bags from Houston to Honiara

Similar to the Port Moresby stow but in the after end of the hold, leaving a broad open floor space across the
mid-length of the hold.

Sacks are loaded on top of each other with a locking stow to keep the stack from falling down

The drums of chemicals scheduled for Honiara, require an ‘on deck’ stow because of their hazardous nature.
Such stow should be well secured and not obstruct the passage around the block for normal port or ship activities.
‘Hazardous’ placards and warning signs should be posted.

Hatch No.2
The pipes scheduled for discharge at Darwin, 45 feet in length, are loaded flat in a fore and aft direction all over
the floor of the hold and are finished off with flooring over wood dunnage and plywood to take the next cargo.
Handling is by means of the overhead cargo gear.

The knocked down (disassembled) oil rig for Surabaya is stowed all over the temporary floor with the lighter
pieces around the perimeter of the space and the heavy or large items in the center.

There may be as many as 50 individual pieces of cargo weighing from 3000 kilos up to 40 tonnes. Some structural
items may be 45 feet in length. There is little opportunity for stacking units on top of each other. Items are moved
into stow by means of the overhead cargo gear.

The pallets of resin for Mombasa are pelletized in heavy cardboard boxes with wooden protection on the edges
and a wooden 4-way pallet to which each box is secured. Each palletized unit weighs about 1000 kilos. These are
stowed by means of fork lift trucks in the tween deck with the units being brought into the space by means of the
ship’s overhead cargo lifting equipment.

Hatch No.3
Drill collars are made of steel and are used to extend the drill head down through the well. These must not be
bent, so care is to be taken to stow these individual 35 feet units in a fore and aft direction all across the hold floor.
They are placed there by means of the ship’s overhead cargo lifting gear, or else by the use of a shore-based
dockside crane. The flooring over these are similar to the pipes in Hatch No.2

© 2008 The Breakbulk Institute and IMU. All right reserved 3

 The electrical units for Darwin are very large pieces of machinery each weighing up to 60 tonnes. There are eight
sets in all each comprising a diesel engine and a generator. Each of the 16 pieces is swung into place by using
the ship’s onboard cargo crane and carefully positioned and secured.

The wheeled units for Port Moresby are loaded aboard using the starboard quarter roll-on / roll-off, ramp at
the aft end of the ship and are wheeled into place in the tween deck, using both port and starboard spaces,
and secured taking care to use hardened parts of the chassis and securing points on the ship’s structure.
Care should be taken such that the units don’t chafe together as a result of the ship’s movement at sea or the
vibration of the ship’s engine. Access around the units should be provided so that securing arrangements can
be inspected and tightened up if necessary while the ship is at sea.

Hatch No.4
Pallets of resin to Antwerp are to be stowed in the after half of No.4 hold. These units are lifted into place by
means of the ship’s cargo lifting gear and stowed in layers, but should the layers exceed three, then a temporary
plywood floor should be laid over tier three before proceeding to tier four. This will avoid crushing of the lowest
tiers by the weight of the cargo. Since the hold is very deep (40 feet) every third tier should result in a floor.

Hatch No.5
The bulk lube oil for Honiara indicates that the ship has to shift berths in Houston to a bulk liquids terminal to
load this commodity by pipeline This can be accomplished at night and will not materially impede the loading of
the general cargo during the day. Loading of bulk liquids entails the measurement of the commodity in the shore
tank and again when it is loaded into the ship’s cargo tank. Temperature and specific gravity of bulk liquids are
necessary measurements for this purpose. A sample may be delivered to the care of the Chief Officer.

The ro-ro wheeled cargo for Port Moresby and Surabaya will be made over the starboard quarter ro-ro ramp.The
ro-ro space on the ship is a continuous space around the engine room casing and up to the tweendeck bulkhead
between hatches two and three.

New Orleans Loading

Hatch No.1
The machinery parts for Darwin are stowed over the rice in the forward and after sections of the hold. These
machinery parts are free of oil and grease and contained in full skidded wooden crates or skeleton wooded skids
and are lifted into place by the ship’s overhead lifting gear. Since the rice below will be subject to “breathing”,
plastic sheeting should not be used to protect it from the machinery crates above. Thick absorbent cardboard
should be used instead and the rice floored over with plywood before the machinery is dropped into place.

The tractors for Surabaya are small and encased in wooden crates. They are stacked up by forklift trucks to the
deckhead in the aft end of the tween deck.

© 2008 The Breakbulk Institute and IMU. All right reserved 4

 Hatch No.4
Since the units of wood pulp for Sheerness are to be stowed in the forward half of the hold, they will be dropped
into place using the ship’s overhead, onboard lifting gear and may need to be multiple-lifted. Each 3000 kilo unit
is made up of six bales of wood pulp steel-banded together with a basket loop over the top for lifting purposes.
In order to speed up the loading process, several units may be lifted aboard at one time using a spreader on the
cargo gear for this purpose say, six units X 3000 kilos for a total of 18 tonnes per lift.

Hatch No.5
In New Orleans, some containers are loaded for Antwerp (in the hold) and Sheerness (on the tweendeck). These
are secured using the container fittings installed in this location.

Baltimore Loading
Hatch No.1
The partial shipment of 100,000 tonnes of wood pulp to Sheerness has been contracted by the operators as
back-up cargo to be lifted in quantities nominated by the carrier to fill ships that still need cargo to complete
loading.

Wood pulp is in units similar to the New Orleans shipment and may be loaded in multiple units using spreaders
attached to the ship’s lifting gear.

Hatch No.2
In the tween deck, the wood pulp for Antwerp is stowed.

The wellhead for Antwerp is a large unit comprising steel structures. It is stowed across the hatch top, fore and
aft with wooden dunnage underneath and wire and chain securings. The largest unit is 50 ft. in length and weighs
25 tonnes.

Hatch No.3
In the tweendeck, the wood pulp for Mombasa is stowed.

The two 20 ft. diameter water-tube boilers on cradles for Mombasa are to be stowed on the hatch top over wooden
dunnage. Each weighs 160 tonnes and is handled by the ship’s cargo-handling gear.

Hatch No.4
In the tweendeck, the wood pulp for Sheerness is stowed.

On top of the closed hatch, the containers for Sheerness are loaded into the permanent securing shoes filled onto
the hatch top. Rods and chains secure the containers.

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Hatch No.5
The containers for Sheerness are loaded on top of the hatch and on deck abreast of the hatch into permanent
fixtures.

Sheerness is close to London and the carriers have opted to give London Bills of Lading for these containers in
order to obtain this business. In this case the carrier pays for the transportation from Sheerness to London for
these containers.

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