Berth Operation

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 Components of the Berth Operation

1. The Ship operation

2. The quay transfer operation
3. The storage operation
4. The receipt/delivery operation

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Aim –Ship Operation
 To describe the four major components of
the Ship Operation, for loading and
discharge
 To demonstrate that the output of the Ship
Operation is determined by the number of
Hook Cycles (transferring cargo between
the hatch square and the quayside and
return or vice versa) achieved per hour and
the average weight lifted per cycle
 To discuss the overall performance of the
Ship Operation can be improved
 To show how the performance of the Ship
Operation can be measured and analysed
Major Components (four activities) of
Ship Operation for cargo discharge
 Cargo Discharging
 Preparation and ‘hooking on’ of cargo in the hold
 Lifting of the cargo to the quay
 Landing of cargo and unhooking
 Return of the hook to the hold, ready for the next
lift
 Cargo Loading
 Preparation and ‘hooking on’ of cargo at the
quayside
 Lifting into the hold
 Unhooking and cargo stowage
 Hook return to the quay
Possible performance of the Ship
Operation
• The output of the ship operation depends
on two variables
• The number of hook cycles per hour
• The average weight of cargo lifted per cycle
• Ship output can be improved through
• Speeding up the hook cycle rate
• Increasing the average weight of cargo lifted
• Making improvements in both weight
transferred and hook cycle time.
 Major benefits of palletization
 Maximise the weight lifted per hook cycle
 Reduce hook cycle time by eliminating delays
in preparing and stowing cargo
 Prevents double-handling
 Encourage the use of mechanical handling
equipment and reduces physical demands on
labour
 Gives better cargo separation and eases
record keeping in storage
 Reduces risks of damage to cargo and
pilferage
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 Factors that affect ship output

 The Ship: its size, design and equipment

 The Cargo: its bulk, weight, type of packaging
and stowage;
 The Labour: the number of men employed in the
operation and their different skills
 The Management: the way you organize and
control the operation
 Type of stevedoring gear used
A.Collar Chain Sling(general purpose chain with good wear and shock
absorbing qualities)
 B.Wire cargo net (general purpose
cargo net of sturdy construction)

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 C. Cargo Board(spreader for lifting
loose cargo)

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D.Drum (Can) hooks (can lift up to 6
drums at a time)

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 E.Pipe Sling(available in various effective
working lengths and SWLs)

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 F.Rope net( general purpose rope mesh net
for loose cargoes

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 G.Vehicle Lifting spreader (spreaders with wire mesh nets, for
handling cars and 2 or 3 axle lorries –quick and simple to
operate)

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 H.Paper roll lift unit

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 I. Wire Belt sling (flexible steel sling, in
various widths )

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 J. 4 –leg chain sling general purpose sling
fitted with ‘C’ hooks )

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 K. Unit lift (spreader for lifting pallets up to 5 t
gross weight

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 L. Rope sling(available in various lengths
and SWLs)

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 M. Rope Snotter (available in various lengths
and SWLS)

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 N. Rope Canvas sling( canvas base about
2.5 X 1.0 m, stitched to rope sling)

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 Pallet )Std. dock pallet 1.8 m X 1.2 m with
four lifting eyes and 2 –way fork entry)

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Planning Ship Stowage by Ship’s cargo
Officer

 The loading plan is a provisional plan of

where cargo to be lifted at each port of
loading is to be stowed.
 The stowage plan, on the other hand, is the
final record of where every consignment is
stowed and indicated the contents of each
consignment.
 It is absolutely essential for you to know how
to read and interpret a Cargo Stowage plan
Stowage- Definition

 Placement (lading) of cargo in a ship in a manner

that provides optimum safety for the vessel and the
cargo, gives maximum space usage, and allows easy
access to cargo at the point of offloading.
Planning Ship Stowage by Ship’s cargo
Officer
• Cargo officer’s consideration- (i)safety/top heavy and unstable (ii)
protection of cargo, compatibility.
• Heavy items of cargo in the lower holds and
distributes the weight of the cargo evenly within the
each hold and throughout the length of the vessel.
• In other words, concerned about the vertical
distribution( otherwise affects stability), longitudinal
distribution (affects the draught) and traverse
(balancing the weights on either side of the ship’s
centre line) distribution of weight
 Planning Ship Stowage by Ship’s cargo
Officer

 Cargo Officer should not plan stowage of cargo for one port in a
single hatch.
 Cargo Officer should try to stow cargo for each port of
destination as evenly as possible throughout the ship.
 Awkward cargo should be kept near the hatch square
 Pave way of easy unloading;
Planning Ship Stowage by Ship’s cargo
Officer
 Cargo disposition and distribution must be planned to
reduce to a minimum ship’s time at berth
 Cargo for discharge at later ports is stowed beneath that fo
earlier ports of discharge
 Over stowing is the bad practice
Planning Ship Stowage by Ship’s cargo
Officer……
 A Common practice is to ‘half hatch’: Cargo officer allocates
the forward half of a lower hold or ‘tween deck to cargo for
one port of discharge and the after half for another port.
 Making access easy at each port of loading and discharging
Why should the cargo not be divided
longitudinally?

 The likelihood would be that, at some stage in

loading and discharge, there will be unequal
quantities of cargo in the port and starboard
wings leading to instability.
 Major advantage of splitting the blocks of
cargo into forward and aft portions
 Loading and unloading can take place in more than one deck
at a time, one half of a hatch cover being left open to allow
access to a lower deck.
 During loading, one gang could be stowing in the after end
of the ‘tween deck, while a second gang stows in the forward
end of the lower hold, working through the forward half of
the hatch square.
 Similar practices during discharging again allow more than
one deck to be worked at a time.
Essentials of Stowage Plan
 Berth Allocation
 Resource Allocation
 Estimating Operating Times
 Work Scheduling
 Day-to day Supervision and controls
Consequences of poor planning and
supervision for ship operation
 Frequent delays, high idle time and low berth
throughput
 Poor used of berth resources
 Low Ship Output, leading to delays to the vessel
 High cargo-handling costs
Tin plate stillages
Collar Chain Sling (General purpose chain with
good wear and shock absorbing qualities)
Wire Cargo net
Drum hooks
Grabs