10.1.

1 Inspection and
preparation of holds
Outline the reasons for General
Inspection of Holds
List Items to be inspected
Explain the Importance of
cleaning Holds
 Why do we need to inspect holds
• To avoid contamination
 No residue of the previous cargo to be left
 To avoid taint
 To check no loose rust is there which could
contaminate cargo
• The holds are safe for stevedores to work,
so all ladders are in good condition.
• Any damage with in the hold – For new
stevedore damage claims.
• To check for any fire hazards and FFA
Equipment
• To check operational bilges for damage
control
• To check weather tightness of hatches
and blanking of ballast line if required to
prevent cargo damage
When preparing holds for loading of various types of
cargoes, following factors should be given due
consideration:-
• Holds should be thoroughly swept and cleaned to
remove any residues of the previous cargo. For this to
be done efficiently, it is very important that during the
previous cargo discharge, the stevedores are supervised
so that minimum amount of cargo residue is left behind,
there by reducing the work of sweeping the holds for the
ship's staff. It would be a good practice to sweep off the
underside of the deck head and hatch coamings while
discharging grain when the level of the cargo is high as
this provides better accessibility.
• Loose rust scale or loose paint will have to be removed
using scrappers.
• Broken dunnage used for the previous
cargo should be removed. Dunnage that
could be re-used should be separated and
stowed. Caution: Some of the dunnage
may have nails that might cause injury
to personnel handling the dunnage or
walking on top of them.
• Remember that disposal of sweepings
is to be done strictly in accordance to
MARPOL.
• Depending on the previous and the next cargo to be
carried, the holds may need to be washed. If carrying
the same cargo as the previous cargo and if the
Charterer does not require washing, then the hold is
prepared only by sweeping. If washing is required, the
intensity of washing will depend on the type of cargo
being carried for example a grain cargo or a cargo of
mineral sand like alumina or talc will require extensive
washing.
• Some cargoes can be contaminated by stains for
example talc or alumina if carried in bulk. It is very
important that the hold is clean enough so that the cargo
in contact with the sides of the holds are not stained (this
requires a very high degree of cleanliness specially on a
ship which is more than 10 years old and the coating of
the hold not intact). This, in marine commercial terms, is
known as 'required to be GRAIN CLEAN'.
• A systematic washing sequence would be
as follows:
– First wash the hatch covers including the
insides of the covers.
– The hatch coamings to be washed next from
main deck.
– The underside of the main deck, the deck
heads and top vertical portion of the holds to
be washed next.
– The hold vertical sides and bottom.
– The tank top and finally the bilges.
• If this sequence is followed it would result in very
little cargo residue left and will achieve optimum
cleaning. It must be noted that cleaning should
be carried out as economically as possible within
the least amount of time. Usually there are time
constraints due to short voyages between
discharge and load ports and for example rough
weather conditions.
• Depending on the equipment available on board
hold washing can be done by using:-
– Hand held hoses.
– Water cannon like a Combi gun - using compressed
air along with the water hose and either holding this or
using a tripod stand.
– By fixed hold washing machines - like on tankers
mounted on some of the modern bulk carriers.
 When carrying some type of cargoes like
grain, zinc, copper, magnesium
concentrates, the Charterer's do not
accept any salt inside the hold and hence
it is necessary to give a final rinse to the
hold with fresh water once the holds are
washed down with salt water. Hence
additional freshwater will have to be taken
at the previous port if necessary.
• The next important stage is drying of holds as some
Charter parties stipulate that the holds must be clean
and dry and ready to receive cargo. Some ships have
mechanical ventilators that may be used to dry the holds.
Although it is not a very good practice to open hatch
covers out at sea, they may be opened when the
weather is calm and you have a sunny day. If hatch
covers are opened they should be securely lashed to
prevent movement. In foul or wet weather will not help in
drying of the holds and hence you may have to resort to
moping of holds to remove puddles of water on tank top.
It must also be noted that if the weather is cold outside
and air is warm inside the hold - condensation or dew
formation may also aggravate the wetness inside the
hold.
• Bilges: should be kept clean and in dry condition. All
residue of the previous cargo should be manually
removed so that it does not block the bilge suction. Bilge
suctions should be tried out. Unpumpable water should
be bailed out and the bilge well mopped dry. If need be,
the bilges can be disinfected and sweetened. The bilge
cover should be covered with burlap and sealed with
cement. The sounding pipe of the bilges and the
temperature pipes should also be blown through either
with high pressure water or compressed air to remove
any previous cargo residue and to ensure that they are
clear. Once the bilge suctions are tried out from the
engine room, try out the high level bilge alarm if fitted.
This alarm indicates that the bilge well is nearly full and
needs to be pumped out or it might find way into the
holds and damage the cargo).
• Re-inspection of holds: This is very important specially
if the ship has had a fairly long ballast voyage and has
also encountered some rough weather. Once the holds
are cleaned it is possible for some of the cargo residue
behind beams and angles under the deck head to fall
down due to rolling, pitching and vibration of the ship.
So it is of utmost importance to inspect the holds
thoroughly and remedy any defects before coming to the
load berth.
• Inspect for water leaks from ballast tanks inside the
holds especially from the wing tanks that might
damage the cargo and take remedial action. Inspect
sounding pipes and air pipes passing through holds
to ensure that they are not corroded or wasted.
These may cause leaks when the ballast tanks are
filled or if the ship takes seas in rough weather.
• Hold lighting : Check if all lights are
functional and if the type of cargo
necessitates it (for example a fire hazard)
isolate hold lightning so that an accidental
spark does not lead to a fire.
• Check the fire fighting system : by
blowing through the CO2 or Halon lines
with compressed air to ensure that they
are not blocked and the system can be
operated in case of an emergency.
• Cargo hold ventilation system: to be
tested specially all the flaps for opening
and closing the ventilators. This also is a
safety precaution, as the ventilators may
have to be closed in case of a fire.
• Weather tightness: of the hatch covers
must be ensured and all securing devices
like cleats of the hatch covers to be in
good working condition.
• Ballast holds: Some cargo holds are designed
to carry ballast in heavy weather or when the
ship is on a ballast voyage. Care must be taken
when changing over from ballast to carry cargo.
The ballast lines must be properly sealed and
the lines pressure tested to ensure no leakage
into the holds. This is important to avoid any
cargo claims.
• Safety Precautions: for access into the holds
all ladders, ladder guards, platforms must be
checked and any defects rectified.
 State the reasons for Using
Dunnage, using Spar Ceiling,
• The main factors which can cause cargo damage are:

• i) Dampness;
• ii) Contact with the ship's steelwork or other cargo; and
• iii) Lack of ventilation

• Dunnage is usually used to prevent these problems arising.

• Dunnaging is generally found on general cargo and refrigerated
cargo ships and bulk carriers loading bagged cargo.
• Dunnage is usually strips of wood about 6 feet x 1 foot
(approximately 2 metres x 0.3 metres) in size.
• Many different types of wood and other material including mats,
gunny cloth and paper can be used as dunnage.
• Dunnage must be:
• Free from oil, grease or other stains
• Dry
• Free of insects or matter which can develop maggots
• Not covered with bark
• Free of nails

• On general cargo ships the hold sides are covered with

what is known as "spar ceilings" which are laid in the
fore and aft direction on the side frames and fixed by
cleats for easy removal and replacement. Spar ceiling is
also known as "side battens" or "cargo battens".
• The purpose of spar ceiling or cargo battens is:
• To allow for air circulation between the cargo and the
shipside thereby improving ventilation.
• To prevent cargo getting trapped between the frames.
• To prevent bagged cargo from coming in contact with the
shipside which may cause condensation (ship's sweat),
depending upon the prevalent weather conditions.
• To prevent packages of cargo from protruding beyond
the inner edges of the frames and becoming damaged.
• · The space between the cargo battens and ship's
side permits drainage of sweat or any leakage from
cargo naturally into the bilges without coming in contact
with the cargo itself.
• On the tank top, to avoid any damage a
continuous wooden sheathing is generally laid
out for the area of the hatch square. This
wooden sheathing is permanent dunnage and
is quite common on general cargo ships. Over
this sheathing is placed a double layer of
dunnage - the bottom layer is laid fore and aft to
facilitate draining of sweat and water into bilges
and the top layer is laid in the athwartship
direction. Matting is also used to keep the cargo
away from the ship-side and beams and pillars.
• According to the nature of the cargo carried,
some of the advantages of Dunnaging are:

• Protects cargo from bilge water, leakage from

other cargo, condensation on the ship-side and
double bottom.
• Allows proper ventilation of cargo.
• Protects the cargo from sweat and moisture
which condenses on the ship's side.

• In refrigerated ship, allows for even cooling

through proper circulation of cold air.