3/16/2015

StandardProceduresforTankCleaning,PurgingandGasfreeOperationforOiltankers

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StandardProceduresforTankCleaning,PurgingandGasfreeOperationforOiltankers

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Responsibility

TheChiefOfficerisinchargeofandshallsuperviseasthepersoninchargeoftheTankCleaning,HydrocarbonGas
(HC)Purging,GasFreeing&ReInertingoperations.Heshallensurethatallactivitiescarriedoutduringsuch
operationsareincompliancewiththelatesteditionICS/OCIMFInternationalSafetyGuideforOilTankersand
Terminals(ISGOTT).
GasFreeingforCargoTankentry
CargoTankentryshallnotbepermittedunlesstheOxygen
Contentis21%andthehydrocarbonvaporcontentislessthan
1%oftheLowerFlammableLevel(LFL).Followcompanys
ProcedureforEntryintoEnclosedSpaceswithrelated
permits.
IfthepreviouscargocontainsHydrogenSulfide(H2S)orother
toxiccontaminantswhichcouldevolvetoxicgases(eg
benzene,toluene,Mercaptans,etc),thetankshouldbe
checkedforsuchgases.RefertoGuidelinesforToxicGases
Hazards

Nitrogenforthe
Marine
Classapprovedinertgas
systems,GazconYour
Danishmanufacturer

CarryingoutHotWorkinsideTankswithintheDangerous
AreaneedspecialcautionasperProceduresforHotWork
andcarryoutpreparationaccordingly.

O the rinfopage s!
Basicguide line forC ontaine rShip
O pe ration
Tank e rve sse lsafe tyguide line C he ck
ite m sinoiltank e rsope ration
Q ue stionsfrom use randfe e dback
R e adourk nowle dge base
C argocare atse aPre cautionstobe
tak e n
R e e fe rcargohandlingTrouble shoot
andcounte rm e asure s
DGcargohandlingProce dure s&
Guide line s
C argose curingC he ck ite m sprior
de parture port
Safe navigationVariousfactors
affe ctingshipsnavigationatse a
Hullstre ngth&stabilityPriorloading
howtoe nsure hullstre ngth&stability
ofship
ste ve dore sinjuryHowtopre ve nt
injuryonboard
Environm e ntalissue sHowtopre ve nt
m arine pollution
Safe tyine ngine room Standard
proce dure s
Site MapPage listingforthissite .
Q ue stionsfrom use randfe e dback
R e adourk nowle dge base

GasFreeingorPurgingfortheReceptionofCargoIftheintentionofGasFreeingorPurgingoperationsisto
preventthenextcargotobeloadedfromcontaminationduetothepreviouscargooilhydrocarbongas,usethe
gascontentindicatedbytheChartererasstandard,butgoonwiththeoperationsmentionedin(2)ofArticle1
untiltheLFLdecreasesdownto40%orunder.

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sludge from shiptore ce ption
facilitie s

Fortheoperationstobefollowed,(Tankcleaning,HCGasPurging,GasFreeingandReInerting),theChiefOfficer
shallcarryoutthefollowingprecautions.Detailedguidanceonpreparationsandsafetyprecautionsarealso
describedwithinrelevantsectionsofISGOTT.
Havepersonsengagedintheoperationsobservethenecessaryprecautionsasdescribedinthissectionandthe
PrecautionsduringGasfreeingOperations

Safe typractice forcrude oilwashing

onboardoiltank e rs
O iltank e rope rationstank
cle aning,purging&gasfre e ing

Bulk liquidcargohandlingShipto
shore safe tyche ck list
Shiptoshiptransfe r/O pe rational
guide line andche ck ite m foroil
tank e rs
Ge ne ralpre cautionsfortank e rs

CompletethenecessarysectionsofTankCleaning,PurgingandGasFreeingChecklisttoconfirmsafetystrictlyat
theappropriatetime.

Safe typre cautionspriortransfe rring

oil
R e portingoilspillage infore ignports

TankPreparationAndAtmosphereControlDuringOperations
NonFlammableAtmosphere
OnTankersusingtheinertgassystems,theChiefOfficershallcarryouttheoperationsmentionedinArticle1and
shouldmaintainthecargotanksinaNonFlammableconditionatalltimes.
RefertotheFlammabilitycompositiondiagramHydrocarbonGas/Inert/AirGasMixturesfromtheISGOTT.i.e.at
notimeshouldtheatmosphereinthetankbeallowedtoentertheflammablerange,asmentionedtherein.
PyrophorichazardsonchemicalreactionwithHydrogenSulfideGasPyrophoricIronSulphide,formswhenHydrogen
SulfideGas(normallypresentinmostcrude)reactswithrustedsurfacesintheabsenceofoxygen(Inert
conditions)insidecargotanks.
Thesesubstances,canheattoincandescenceoncontactwithair.Thisriskisminimized,byfollowingthecorrect
purgingprocedure.

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Howtouse lowsulphurfue loil

onboard
O pe rationalguide line during
bunk e ring
Fue loilsulphe rquantityfrque ntly
ask e dque stions
W hatisfue loiladditive ?
Guide line forPrope rhe atingofFue l
O ilstorage tank
De alingwithlowqualityfue loil
W hatisthe proce dure forfue loil
viscositycontrol?
Howtok e e pasam ple offue loil
re ce ive d?

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3/16/2015

StandardProceduresforTankCleaning,PurgingandGasfreeOperationforOiltankers

Suchproceduresserveasageneralguidanceforthepreparationproceduresrequiredandmaydifferaspership
type.
AtmosphereControlduringTankCleaningOperations
Tankatmospherescanbeanyofthefollowing,However,shipsfittedwithaninertgassystem,shallcarryoutthe
operationsundertheInertedCondition,unlessotherwiseasinstructed:Itshouldbemetwithatmosphere
containinglessthan8%oxygen,andtankpressureofminimum200mmAq.ReferdetailstoISGOTT
InertedTanks

Howtok e e pbunk e ringre cord?

Proce dure forre ce ivingluboil
Pre cautionspriortransfe rringfue loil
intostorage tank s
Shipsbunk e ringguide line planning,
pre paration,safe tyche ck s&
confirm ation
Safe typre cautionspriortransfe rring
oil
Bunk e ringarrange m e ntandsafe ty
factorsonboard
Bunk e ringsafe proce dure andde tail

Anatmospheremadeincapableofburningbytheintroductionofinertgasandtheresultantreductionoftheoverall guide line forships

oxygencontent.Forthepurposesofthisprocedure,theoxygencontentofthetankatmosphereshouldnotexceed
W hatisfue loiladditive ?
8%byvolume.

De alingwithlowqualityfue loil

Thisisaconditionwherethetankatmosphereisknowntobeatitsthelowestriskofexplosionbyvirtueofits
Howtok e e pasam ple offue loil
atmospherebeingmaintainedatalltimesNonFlammablethroughtheintroductionofinertgasandtheresultant
re ce ive d?
reductionoftheoveralloxygencontentinanypartofanycargotanktoalevelnotexceeding8%byVolume,while
beingunderpositivepressureatalltimes.
Howtok e e pbunk e ringre cord?
PurgingwithInertGas(IG)
(a)Forreductioninhydrocarbon(HC)contentintankatmosphereforCargo/Vaporcontaminationreasons:
Aftertankcleaningoperationsthecargotanksmaybepurgedwithinertgastoreducetheconcentrationofthe
hydrocarbongasinsidethetankatmosphere.
Followtheproceduresaslaidoutintheoperationandequipmentmanual.

Acce ptance /re je ctionoffue lina

qualitydispute
Pre cautionspriortransfe rringfue loil
intostorage tank s
R e quire m e ntoftowingarrange m e nt
inoiltank e rs,re adyne ss,&training
onboard
Howtode alwithshipspowe rfailure ?
....

Purgepipes,withproperflamescreensshallbefitted,whereprovided.
CarryouttheoperationsofreplacingthetankatmospherebyintroducingIGofwhichoxygencontentis5%by
Volumeorlessintothetanks.

Hom e page

GoonwithpurgingbyIGuntilthehydrocarboncontentreducestotherequired/desiredlevel.
Note
OxygencontentinInertGasforpurging
SincethemainpurposeofHCgaspurgingisdisplacementHCgaswithIG,theprocedurefirstpriorityshallbe
supplyIGwithfullcapacityofIGBlowers.Undertheprocedure,OxygencontentinInertGasforpurgingmaybe
permittedby8%byVolumeorless.
ForcarryingoutGasFreeingofthetank
Aftercargodischarge/tankcleaning,wheneveritisnecessarytogasfreeanemptytankcontaininghydrocarbon
gasmixturesoramixtureofIG+HCgases,itshallfirstbepurged,usinginertgas,untiltheHC(hydrocarbon)
contentreachestobelowthecriticaldilutionlineorHCconcentrationinthetankatmosphereislessthan2%by
volume.
Thisisdonesothatduringthesubsequentgasfreeingnoportionofthetankatmosphereisbroughtwithinthe
flammablerange.
ThisinertgasusedforpurgingshallcontainOxygen,lessthan5%byvolume,toensuretheabove.
ThereplacementofatankatmospherebyinertgascanbeachievedbyeitherInertingorPurging.Ineachofthese
methodsoneoftwodistinctprocesses,Dilutionordisplacement,willpredominate.
Formoredetailsongasevolution,ventinganddispersioncriteriaandprecautions,refertotherelevantISGOTT
chapters.
Distinctprocess
1)Dilution:Ittakesplacewhentheincominginertgasmixeswiththeoriginaltankatmospheretoforma
homogeneousmixturethroughthetanksothat,astheprocesscontinues,theconcentrationoftheoriginalgas
decreasesprogressively.
Itisimportantthattheincominginertgashassufficiententryvelocitytopenetratetothebottomofthetank.To
ensurethisalimitmustbeplacedonthenumberoftankswhichcanbeinertedsimultaneously.
Ifdilutionmethodofpurgingisused,itshouldbecarriedoutwiththeinertgassystemsetforMaximumcapacityto
givethemaximumturbulenceintheatmosphere,withinthetank.
2)Displacement:Itdependsonthefactthatinertgasisslightlylighterthanhydrocarbongassothat,whilethe
inertgasentersatthetopofthetank,theheavierhydrocarbongasescapesfromthebottomthroughsuitable
piping.
Whenusingthismethoditisimportantthattheinertgashasaverylowvelocitytoenableastablehorizontal
interfacetobedevelopedbetweentheincomingandescapinggasalthough,inpractice,somedilutioninevitably
takesplaceowingtotheturbulencecausedintheinertgasflow.Thissystemgenerallyallowsseveraltankstobe
inertedorpurgedsimultaneously.Ifdisplacementmethodisused,thegasinletvelocityshouldbelower,toprevent
undueturbulence.

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3/16/2015

StandardProceduresforTankCleaning,PurgingandGasfreeOperationforOiltankers

Amixtureofinertgasandpetroleumgaswhenventedandmixedwithaircanbecomeflammable.Thenormalsafety
precautionsrequiredasdescribedunderProceduresforCargoOilOperationsshallbefollowed.
ForcedAirVentilation
i)BeforestartingtoGasfree,thetankshouldbeisolatedfromothertanks.
ii)Donotcommenceforcedairventilation(Gasfree)untilithasbeenconfirmedthattheoxygenlevelislessthan
8%andthehydrocarbonvaporcontentislessthan2%byVolume.
iii)ToensurethedilutionofthetoxiccomponentsofinertgastobelowtheirThresholdLimitValues(TLV),Gas
freeingshouldcontinueuntiltestswithanoxygenanalyzershowasteadyoxygenreadingof21%byvolumeand
testswithaflammablegasindicatorshownotmorethan1%LFL.
iv)Ifthepresenceofatoxicgassuchasbenzeneorhydrogensulfideissuspected,Gasfreeingshouldbe
continueduntiltestsindicatethatitsconcentrationisbelowitsTLV.
Completionofwork&InertingCargotanks
Aftercompletionofmanentryorrepairwork(indrydocks/layupberth)CargotanksshallbepreparedforLoading
asfollows:
i)AnOfficershallconfirmeachtankfreeofwaste&materialusedinmaintenance&inspection.Relatedpipelines
andsupports,includinghydraulicallyoperatedvalves,H.P.pipesandflangesareallinplaceandtightlysecured.
ii)Allpersonneloutoftank&closetankdomeoraccess,onlykeepdesignatedventportsopen.Inerttanksto8%
ofOxygenlevel.
iii)Replacethetanksatmospherebyaninertedatmosphere,usingIGwiththeoxygencontentoflessthan5%by
Volume.Thisgasreplacementshouldcontinue,untiltheaveragemeasuredoxygencontentinthetanksdropsto
below8%byVolume.
MeasuresagainstInertGasSysteminTroubles
IncasethatproperIGcannotbesupplied,whichcouldcausetheoxygencontentintankstoexceeds8%by
Volume,ormakingitdifficulttokeeptheinternalpressureoftankspositiveduetotroublesintheIGsystemor
otherreasonsduringtankcleaningorhydrocarbongaspurgingoperations,suspendtheoperationsimmediately,and
donotrestarttheoperationsuntilpropersupplyofIGissecured.
Providedthattheatmosphereintanksisnotundercontrol,donotputimproperIG(theoxygencontentofwhich
exceeds8%).
IftherecoveryoftheIGsystemisdifficult,notifytheTechnicalSuperintendentinchargeforconsultation.

Relatedarticles:
Tankerequipmentandmachinery
Generalprecautionsfortankers
Crudeoilwashingfortankers
Generalguidanceforoiltankers
Generalprecautionsatworkfortankers
(Latestedition)

Oiltankermoreopeartionalguideline
Oilpollutioncontrolmethod
Gasfreeingarrangementforoiltanker
Handlingguidelineforoilcargo
Oilpollutionpreventionmethod
Preparationforloadingoilcargo
Howtopreventspillageofoilcargo
Generalprecautionsforoilcargoloadingintankers
Generalprecautionsfortankers
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3/16/2015

StandardProceduresforTankCleaning,PurgingandGasfreeOperationforOiltankers

Tankeroperationinaladenvoyage
Preparationfordischargingoilcargo
Generalprecautionsforoilcargodischarging

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