Cargo & Ballast Operations Manual Primary Process 6

1.0 Basics

1.1 Objectives and Scope

The "handling" of cargo on a chemical/oil tanker involves a very complex set of events. There are many
factors that need to be dealt with to successfully load and discharge the cargo safely to the customers'
satisfaction and in line with all statutory rules and regulations.

The purpose of this manual is to provide operational guidance on the various phases of cargo operations,
from receiving the loading orders to the discharge operations. These guidelines are not only for sea
personnel who may be familiar with Company operational procedures but to sea personnel of time chartered
ships and new recruits to the Company.

This manual is designed to provide guidelines and procedures that are essential for the successful planning
and execution of cargo handling. It is not meant to be a substitute for training, experience and common
sense however; the content of the manual should serve as the single, uniform, standardized guide for all
personnel involved in cargo operations.

1.2 Index
1.0 Basics ............................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Objectives and Scope ................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Index ........................................................................................................................... 1
2.0 Process Description ....................................................................................................... 2
3.0 Input ............................................................................................................................... 3
3.1 Cargo Orders Procedure ............................................................................................ 3
3.2 Standing Orders .......................................................................................................... 3
3.3 Procedures and Arrangements (P&A) manual ........................................................... 3
3.4 Legislation ................................................................................................................... 4
4.0 Cargo Operations .......................................................................................................... 5
4.1 Pre-loading Procedure ................................................................................................ 5
4.2 Loading Procedure ..................................................................................................... 5
4.3 (Cargo) Voyage........................................................................................................... 5
4.4 Pre-discharge Procedure ............................................................................................ 6
4.5 Discharge Procedure .................................................................................................. 6
4.6 Internal Cargo Transfers ............................................................................................. 6
4.7 Transhipment and Ship-to-Ship Operations (STS) ..................................................... 6
5.0 Tank Cleaning Operations ............................................................................................. 7
5.1 Tank Cleaning Procedures ......................................................................................... 7
6.0 Ballast Operations ......................................................................................................... 8
6.1 Ballast Operations Procedure ..................................................................................... 8
7.0 Output ............................................................................................................................ 9
7.1 Checklists.................................................................................................................... 9
7.2 Reporting Forms ......................................................................................................... 9
7.3 Logs and Programs (Veslink, IMOS) .......................................................................... 9
7.4 Cargo Documents ....................................................................................................... 9
8.0 Revision Record .......................................................................................................... 10

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2.0 Process Description

Cargo Tank
INPUT Ballast
Operations Cleaning OUTPUT
Operations
Operations

 Pre-loading  Checklists
 Loading  Reporting
 Cargo orders
 Voyage  Tank cleaning Forms
 Standing
 Pre-discharge planning  Ballast  Logs and
orders
 Discharge  Tank cleaning Operations Programs
 P&A manual
 Legislation
 Internal Transfer procedures (Veslink, IMOS)
 Transhipment,  Cargo
STS Documents

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3.0 Input

3.1 Cargo Orders Procedure

The Ship Operator will be the main point of contact for all operational matters. When cargoes have been
booked or the bookings have been changed, the ship operator will send the Voyage Cargo Report (VCR) to
the ship. Ships installed with STOW program will also receive a STOW file.

The VCR report together with the email message attached serves as the formal voyage orders. Any
deviating instructions received from any party, including Company personnel, should be ignored until
confirmation has been received from the ship operator.

FINAL STOW IS ALWAYS SUBJECT TO MASTERS APPROVAL.

Reference should be made to the Cargo Orders Communication procedure and the Special Cargo Handling
Manual.

Special Cargo
Cargo Orders
Handling
Communication
Manual

3.2 Standing Orders

The Chief Officer’s Standing Orders are additions to the detailed cargo / tank cleaning plan developed after
review of Cargo Orders and contain the Chief Officer’s detailed instructions to the officers. Repetition of rules
already covered in any of the statutory publications and industry best practice recommendations as referred
to in 1.0 Basics should be avoided, but clarifications and interpretations are encouraged.

Reference should be made to the Chief Officer’s Standing Orders and the Detailed Cargo Handling Plan
instructions.

Chief Officer’s Detailed Cargo

Standing Handling Plan
Orders instructions
instructions

3.3 Procedures and Arrangements (P&A) manual

Every ship certified to carry substances of category X, Y or Z must have an Administration approved manual
onboard. The P&A Manual identifies the physical arrangements and all the operational procedures with
respect to cargo handling, tank cleaning, slops handling and cargo tank ballasting and deballasting.

The P&A Manual operational procedures, restrictions and limitations must be strictly adhered to during
planning and execution of cargo operations.

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3.4 Legislation

Legislation is a large driving force behind all cargo and ballast operations. The two main regulatory
documents which are involved are MARPOL and the IBC Code. These two bodies have specific regulations
with regards to cargo loading, carriage and discharge conditions, cargo tank cleaning procedures and ballast
operations. This manual has been written in such a way that it complies with these legislative bodies and
flag specific regulations.

Although this manual is including the requirements of relevant statutory publications, such as IBC Code and
Marpol 73/78 as amended as well as industry best practice recommendations described in ISGOTT and the
Tanker Safety Guide (Chemicals), these can and may still be consulted for background information and
detailed guidance. This is particularly relevant when clear distinction between Marpol Annex I (Oil) and
Annex II (Noxious Liquid Substances) cargoes is required to formulate plans for their proper handling, and
later, tank cleaning, for which the electronic Tank Cleaning Manual (eTCM) must be consulted.

Aside from this manual, the following plans are part of this manual:

 MARPOL STS plan

 Ballast water management Plan
 Procedures and Arrangements Manual (P&A Manual)

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4.0 Cargo Operations

This section contains detailed procedures for operations involved in loading, care in transit and discharge of
cargoes. Prior to commencing any cargo operations, the standard operating procedures (SOP) and
checklists referred to in this section as well as guidelines outlined in the Special Cargo Handling manual
must be observed.

Special
Cargo
Handling
Manual

4.1 Pre-loading Procedure

Planning is the key word for a successful cargo handling operation. When cargo orders have been received,
feedback to the Ship Operator and/or local operations/agent is essential and the ship should study the port
program to obtain the best possible port performance. Best possible port performance should primarily
emphasize on safety, pollution prevention, cargo quality and the time factor. Reference should be made to
the Pre-loading Planning and Preparations procedure.

Pre-loading
Planning and
Preparations
SOP

4.2 Loading Procedure

Proper communication with the terminal, commitment to the loading plan and continuous controls
established throughout the loading operation is key to efficient and safe operation. The Loading procedure
must be followed before, during and on completion of the loading process.

Loading
SOP

4.3 (Cargo) Voyage

Care for the Customers cargo does not cease after loading, it continues throughout the voyage to the
discharge port and during the discharge. Some cargoes may require additional attention and control during
the voyage in respect to their single or combined concerns to: safety, quality, handling, cleaning, costumer's
demand etc. Ongoing cargo care is the most important aspect of the chemical tanker trade and the Chief
Officer has the primary responsibility for conducting and recording these tasks. Reference should be made to
the (Cargo) Voyage instructions.

(Cargo)
Voyage
instructions

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4.4 Pre-discharge Procedure

When discharge orders have been received, feedback to the Ship Operator and/or local operations/agent is
essential and the ship should study the port program to obtain the best possible port performance. Best
possible port performance should primarily focus on safety, pollution prevention, cargo quality and the time
factor. The Pre-discharge Planning and Preparation procedure must be referred to during the planning phase
of discharge.

Pre-discharge
Planning and
Preparations
SOP

4.5 Discharge Procedure

Proper communication with the terminal, commitment to the discharge plan and continuous control
established throughout the discharging operation is a key to efficient and safe operation. The Discharge
procedure must be followed before, during and on completion of cargo discharging.

Discharge
SOP

4.6 Internal Cargo Transfers

The ship's internal transfer of cargo falls outside the scope of our normal cargo transportation and therefore
the necessity of such transfer must always be thoroughly evaluated. The final decision for an internal transfer
should only be taken after communicating with the ship operator. Reference must be made to the Internal
Cargo Transfer and Cargo Watch instructions.

Internal Cargo
Cargo Watch
Transfer
instructions
instructions

4.7 Transhipment and Ship-to-Ship Operations (STS)

Part of our normal cargo operations takes place not to the shore but to another ship. This can be a transfer
to/from, or between deep-sea ships, coasters or barges. This segment of the cargo handling should be
carried out as per the loading or discharge operations as outlined in this manual. However due to the special
nature of this operation several additional issues must be considered as described in the Transhipment
procedure.

Transhipment
SOP

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5.0 Tank Cleaning Operations

5.1 Tank Cleaning Procedures

Cleaning of ships is an important part of the ship’s business. During any tank cleaning operation, all
Company, local, and International safety rules and guidelines are to be followed. For detailed tank cleaning
planning and procedures reference must be made to CBM-SOP-5.1-01 - Tank Cleaning Planning and CBM-
SOP-5.1-02 - Tank Cleaning Procedures.

Tank Cleaning
Tank Cleaning
Procedures
Planning SOP
SOP

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6.0 Ballast Operations

6.1 Ballast Operations Procedure

Ballast operations are essential to ensure that ships remain safe and seaworthy throughout the entire
voyage. Therefore, each ship must not only comply with the minimum stability requirements, but material
stress must be monitored and limited as well. The sole purpose of this procedure is to outline the procedures
with regards to the pollution aspect of ballast operations.

Ballast
Operations
SOP

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7.0 Output

7.1 Checklists

The Company has established checklists to be used as a memory jogger during various stages of cargo
operations and serving as control measure for various hazards not described in specific jobs risk
assessments. The checklists described in the relevant procedure and work instruction must be used and
completed directly during fulfilling of a recordable action process.

7.2 Reporting Forms

The Company has established dedicated forms to document processes. The Cargo Reporting Forms (CH)
found in the Reporting Forms and Checklists Manual described in the relevant procedure and work
instruction must be used and completed.

Various cargo activities are to be recorded in the relevant reporting form and must be retained for a pre-set
period as per legal and Company requirements.

7.3 Logs and Programs (Veslink, IMOS)

Regulations dictate that various actions must be recorded in official record books. The Company has
provided ships with the Official Deck Log Book, Cargo Record Book (for Annex II cargoes) and Oil Record
book (for Annex I cargoes). As required by law, these record books must be completed directly after the
completion of a recordable action.

Veslink will be used as data record tool onboard of all owned ships, which allows to link submitted
information to IMOS.

IMOS is an efficient and accurate system used to retrieve, analyse, visualise and report voyage and port
performance data which is key to improving energy efficiency.

7.4 Cargo Documents

These are dedicated forms serving as legal records, which are supported by Log Book events entries. Cargo
Documents are to be retained for a pre-set period as per legal and Company requirements.

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8.0 Revision Record

Revision No.
Rev. No. Date Section Remarks
1 2019-01-18 5.1 New links to Tank Cleaning Planning and Procedures

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