Current situation confronting Masters and Owners
The London P&I Club has recently issued its Loss Prevention Publication StopLoss issue 59 which involves information for the current situation Masters and Owners confront regarding loading coal in Indonesia
There continue to be fire incidents involving Indonesian ‘steam’ or non-coking coal throughout the supply chain, as well as dangerous levels of flammable gas in cargo holds. Continued vigilance is required to manage this cargo and ensure its safe carriage.
Relevant sources of information for assessing cargo safety are:
- the Cargo Declaration and supporting documentation/certification;
- pre-load cargo temperature surveys;
- and gas and temperature measurements from sealed cargo spaces.
Self-heating
The Coal Schedule in the IMSBC Code requires the temperature of the cargo to be no higher than 55C, above which selfheating may occur. Self-heating and spontaneous combustion are phenomena whereby coal heats to ignition without any external heat source. Although some Cargo Declarations suggest these cargoes have no history of self-heating or spontaneous combustion, we are presently unaware of any evidence supporting such an assertion. In our experience, all coals of this type should be considered as potentially self-heating, with pre-loading temperature surveys to identify cargo temperatures exceeding 55C being key in controlling the hazard.
Measuring temperatures can be difficult because coal is a good thermal insulator, so red hot coal could be within 30cms of cool coal. Thorough temperature surveys by experienced operators should provide reliable measurements, but if there is any doubt or signs of steam, smoke, glowing coals or flames, the Master should request more pre-loading temperature
measurements. If an area with a temperature measurement exceeding 55oC is found within a batch of cargo, it is likely that there are other areas with excessive temperatures. Cargo from the particular stockpile or barge will not comply with the IMSBC Code requirements and should be rejected.
Sometimes, coal which has been rejected has been re-presented and Masters should be cautious of accepting such cargoes. Only after active steps have been taken to cool the coal, could it be re-presented and re-surveyed. Active measures might include spreading the coal thinly over a large area and allowing it to cool. Attempts at cooling coal in a cargo hold, on a barge or using water and various chemical agents have proven unsuccessful.
For more information, click to view London P&I Club’s Loss Prevention Publication StopLoss 59
Source: London P&I CLub/ StopLoss 59
