BALE SPACE

I. DEFINITION: To start, the Bale space of a vessel is the capacity of cargo spaces under the main deck expressed in cubic meters or cubic feet. The bale space can be found in the general cargo ships. This space is also called hold, its formed by very important parts such as the decks and the bulkheads. The decks divide the hull horizontally and on the other hand the bulkheads divide it vertically. Also, Deck beams support the decks and stanchions support the bulkheads. Besides, Cargo holds are usually situated at the bottom of the ship. A big problem with the Bale Space is the Broken Stowage that is the space that is not filled in the hold. After knowing this, its important to mention that in each vessel there are more than one deck or bulkhead since more divisions means more money. Types of cargo: Inside the Bale Space there are a lot of different cargos that can be stowed like: a. Sacks that are bags that can carry many types of goods. b. Barrels that are a large wooden containers with a flat top and bottom with curving sides that are wider in the middle c. BALES that are large bundles of goods. d. DRUMS that are steel containers with the form of a cylinder. e. CARTONS that are boxes made of paperboard. f. CASES that are boxes made of metal g. CRATES that are wooden boxes. h. ROLLS that are used to transport cargo such as fabric, cables, paper and more. i. Machinery can also be transported in this space since it is very big and it cant be transported in a container. j. Parts of different equipment like pumps, engines, helices and more. CARGO HANDLING REGULATIONS: There are many regulations that affect this type of space that are imposed by International and National Entities. a. The IMO (International Maritime Organization) has developed many codes like: - SOLAS (Safety of Life At Sea) - MARPOL (Marine Pollution)

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- IMDG (International Maritime Dangerous Goods) that is a code that indicates the different ways how the dangerous goods should be load and unload in the port. - ISPS (International Ship and Port Facility Security Code). This is a code that indicates the right way how the different equipment use for the loading and unloading process should be operated. b. The port Authority and the dealers that before signing a contract agree in the cargo handling regulations that they are going to follow during the period of time that the dealers are going to administrate the port. These regulations indicate relevant things like the type of machine that the port operators should use to load and unload the cargo, the ways how the operators should manipulate the cargo, the times that the operators should follow the special areas where the cargo should be unloaded and more.

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OPINION: To conclude, I strongly believe that the bale space and the general cargo ships wont disappear as many people say since all the merchandize that exist cant be transported only inside containers. Also, this space in a near future will be improved to avoid having too much broken stowage. Besides, this type of cargo is very important for many countries trade and especially for ours because the month the Port of Callao received almost the 30% of the general cargo in the world and that is something really important to point out.