Cargo handling Equipment Type of packing Dangerous cargo Chapter 13. Cargoes

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT The form of cargo-handling equipment employed is basically determined by nature of the actual cargo and the type of packing used.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Cargo net Cargo nets are suitable for mail bags and similar cargos that are not liable to be crushed when hoisted.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Cargo trays and pallet are ideal for cargo of moderate dimensions which can be conveniently stacked, such as cartons, bags, or small wooden crates or cases.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Dog hooks are not suitable for frail cases and should only be used to enable slings to be placed. Dockers also use pinch-or crowbars for heavy packages, and hand hooks for moving packages into positions. *A docker is a person who works in the ship’s hold or docks, loading and unloading ships.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Much equipment is provided to facilitate movement of the cargo to and from the ship’s side and the transit shed, warehouse, barge, railway wagon or road vehicle. Two-wheeled hand borrows and four-wheeled trucks (either manually or mechanically propelled) Conveyor belts, rollers *A shed is a large shelter or building, for example at a railway station, port, or factory.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Straddle carriers (S/C) Mechanically powered straddle carriers are designed to straddle their load or set, pick it up and convey it to a convenient point on the quayside, transit shed, or elsewhere in the dock area.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT A Straddle Carrier is a non road going vehicle for use in port terminals and intermodal yards used for stacking and moving ISO standard containers. Straddles pick and carry containers while straddling their load and connecting to the top lifting points via a container spreader. These machines have the ability to stack containers up to 4 high. These are capable of relatively low speeds (up to 30 km/h) with a laden container.

Straddle carriers at work at the Port of Melbourne, Australia.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Yard tractors (Y/T) A yard tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive force at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling containers. This vehicle operate only in the container terminal. Connecting yard chassis, yard tractors carry containers between the quay wall and the yard.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT For the smaller pallet-moving tool sometimes called a pallet truck. A Forklift truck (also called a lift truck, a High/Low, a forklift, a stacker-truck or a sideloader) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and transport materials. The modern forklift truck was developed in the 1920s. The forklift truck has since become an indispensable piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing operations.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT This is one method of mechanizing cargo handling and is designed to reduce the amount of handling and thereby raise the unit load capacity. Difficulty exists because many ports and ships deal with mixed cargoes of a variety of sizes and shapes. In the port of the American Pacific coast, where much of the traffic is shipped in standardize cartons and packages, modernization can be effectively applied. But where the cargo consists of varied collection of packages of different sizes and shapes, it is not to obtain runs of standardized units.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Nevertheless, most of British, Continental, and American port are now highly mechanized, particularly by containerization. The pallet system have speeded up operations on the quay, and to and from the ship’s side. But it is still difficult to apply mechanical methods of stowage of cargo throughout the voyage although it is now common for fork-lift trucks and mechanical handling equipment to work in the ship’s holds.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT A further development in cargo-handling is the introduction of containers for liner trade cargo, and although this greatly reduces the labour needed for handling cargo, ships have to be specially built to carry containers, or else converted from general cargo vessels. The containers have a capacity up to 30 tons and most are built to ISO (International standard organization) standards.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT The advantages of containers are many Reduced handling cost ; through transits on a door-to-door basis, thereby eliminating intermediate handling of individual articles pilferage and damage to cargo ; partial elimination of packing and above all quicker handling, thereby assisting in improving the ship’s turn-round time in port ; and generally permitting fewer ships to maintain the service. Disadvantages include the high initial cost of providing the large number of containers required to inaugurate a service.

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Container terminals are purpose built and are equipped on the quay face with giant portainer cranes capable of lifting containers in and off the container vessels. Portainer cranes

CARGO-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Container Terminal of Qingdao Port.

TYPES OF PACKING Many goods have little or no form of packing whatsoever, and are carried loose. Such cargoes are generally weight cargoes, with a low stowage factor. Heavy vehicles, locomotives and buses are also carried loose, because of the impracticability and high cost of packing. Baling is a form of packing consisting of a canvas cover often cross-looped by metal or rope binding. It most suitable for paper, wool, cotton, carpets and rope.

TYPES OF PACKING Bags made of jute, cotton, plastic or paper, are a cheap form of container. They are suitable for cement, coffee, fertilizers, flour and oil cakes. Their prime disadvantage is that they are subject to damage by water, sweat, hooks of in the case of paper bags, breakage. Oil cake : Solid Residues Resulting From Extraction Of Soya-Bean.

TYPES OF PACKING Cartons are a very common form of packing, and may be constructed of cardboard, strawboard of fibreboard. Crates are a form of container half-way between a bale and a case. They are of wooden construction.

TYPES OF PACKING Carboys or grass containers, enclosed in metal baskets have a limited use, and primarily employed for the carriage of acids and other dangerous liquids transported in small quantities. Barrels, hogsheads and drums are used for the conveyance of liquid of greasy cargoes.

TYPES OF PACKING Associated with the types of packing is the marking of cargo. When goods are packed, they are marked on the outside in a manner which will remain legible for the whole of the voyage. Simple markings are quite adequate for identification, and are entered on the bill of lading.

DANGEROUS CARGO The movement internationally of dangerous cargo is very much on the increase and a strict code of acceptance is laid down for all forms of transport relative to the acceptance of this cargo, particularly packing, documentation and marking specification. The universal adoption of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMO) has greatly facilitated movement of dangerous goods between countries. Accordingly, a dangerous goods labeling code for maritime consignments exists and some codes are given in next page.

DANGEROUS CARGO IMO Dangerous goods labels