RINA establishes desigh standards for dry bulk cargo carriers
To enable them to carry fine ores safely at any moisture content Classification society RINA has established rigorous design standards for the modification or newbuilding of dry bulk cargo carriers to enable them to carry fine ores safely at any moisture content.A number of recent bulker losses have been attributed to the liquefaction of wet nickel ore cargoes. Using RINAs standards ships would be safe even if the cargo liquefied and the vessels would no longer have to rely on unreliable moisture tests at the load port to determine if the cargo is safe to load or not.Paolo Salza, Head of Technical Department, RINA, says, The mandatory application of the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code enhances the safety of bulk carriers through the setting of constructional and operative requirements. But they dont set out details of how to carry nickel ore and other unprocessed ores, which may liquefy during transportation, safely. Essentially, the rules say vessels may load these ores if the Transportable Moisture Limit is not exceeded. That is fine, but establishing that is difficult and the TML is easily affected by recent rain or other factors. It is much safer to design or convert the ship ...
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