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LOSS PREVEI.ITION BULLETIN 2/1999/OO
CARGO VENTILATION AND
PRECAUTIONS TO MINTMISE
SWEAT
''Moisture d¿mage' is the sou¡ce of í
sisnificant number of ca¡go clairns, often
involving bagged or bulk ag¡icultural
products.Claimants[ypically allege lhat
iailure by the ship to veotila¡e correctly
resultedin thedevelopment ofcondensation
("sweal"),causingthecargoto deterio¡ate'
However,it is also importa¡rtto rccog¡Iise
that some coúmodities rnay have inherc¡t
moisturelevels which exceedacceptable
limits at t¡e time of loading' riaking them
biologic¿lly unstdble.Suchdetailsmay.not
be k¡owr¡ to úe ship. and Prudenl
ventilation measu¡es may be iDsufficienl to
Drevent deterioration of the ca¡go o¡
oassage. Nevertheless, claimantsmay still
;ináin that the ship wasat fault
To defend ca¡go detedoraüonclaims it is
necessaryfo¡ the vesselto producerecords
showingthat customaryveÍtilatioD loutines
were iollowed. Should the necessary
evidencebe missingor incomplele it is
often diffrcult for the Club to refute such
assefiions,
(ieneral
Ships a¡e fitted with either natúal or
me;hanicalventilationsystemsl¡ addition
to minimising the onset and degree of
sweat,ventilation may also se¡veto ¡emove
taint and disperse any gasesivliich some
cargoesrnayemit.
The prccess requies close monitoring
thJouqhout the voyage as the moistu¡e
conte-ntof the cargocoupledwith variations '
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in ai¡ temperatu¡e,ca¡go temperatureand
seatempemture ca¡ d¡amaticallyinfluence
the amóuúts of watel vapou retained by
andrele¿sedinto the ai¡ inside a hold
Penet¡ationof ventilating air into a bulk
slow on a shipis minimal' and so it is only
ever possibleát bes! to provide lhrough-
surface ventilatioú. However, paramount
ship stability requfueme¡tsusually diclate
thai at leastthe majority of the holds of a¡,
bulk ca¡rier carrying bulk cargoessüch as
s¡ain are ioaded fully into the h¿tch
ioamings. For a hold so loaded it is
ur ikelt lhat any signiflcantthrough'
surfaceai¡ flow will be obtained.
Whilst baggedcargostowsinevitablyhave
so-e gaps i¡ them, Penet¡ation of
vendlati¡eair beDeath the uppermol la)efc
ol baes in the stow is minimal Bagged
ca¡eoJsshouldalwaysbe stowedin sucha
wai that venrilati¡gair canpassfreelyorer
the surfaceof the stow.
Cargoesat risk
HygroscoPicProducts
Hygroscopic products have a na{ur¿l
moisturecontentand afe malnly ol planr
origin. They may retain, abso(b or rclgase
ru-ta, uupo*, and excessiveamountsof
inberentmoisturemay lead ro si8niflcant
self-lieating a¡d "moisture mig¡ation"
within the cargoresultingin caking,úildew
or ¡ot. Examples of hygloscopic products
include grain, nce, floü¡, sugar' cofton'
tobacco,cocoa,coffee and tea
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Non-hygrotcoficpiodu¡rJ "' lnlluenci¡g factors

Non-hyg¡oscopic productshave Do water Saturation

content.Howevel, celtain cormodities (eg
steel)ñay be damagedif stowedi¡ a moist
envircrunent,and othersmay be hamed if
packagedusing a hyg¡oscopicmaterial (eg
wood,paper),

Typ€sof Sw€¡t

Cargo sweat Apaf f¡bm periodsof fog or rain. ambient

air is rarely saturated.Moreover,it will
-tdtally dry' Within these two
never be
extiemei the amou of wate¡ retainedby
the ai¡ úill váry accordihgto tle p¡ev¿iling
conditions. '
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Relatiie humidity

Rel¿tivehumidity is lhe actualarnountol

watervaporúin the aif codpafedwith the
satu¡ationamountof water vapourin the air
at the sañe temperátüe8nd pressureThe
as a percentage.
figlre is usuállyexpressed
with saturated air having a relative
humiditv df 100%
: l : , '

Al maindecklevel,añbie¡t seaaú overthe

open oceanswill normallyhavea reiative
humidityin excessof 80%.

DewpointtefiPetuture
ANO GIVENMOISTUñE
When ran'isolatedvolume of ai¡ cools'
relative humidity inc¡eases as the
falls. Once the tempetaturehas
desce¡dedto the level at ihich saturation
occu¡s, watel begins to condense This
teripeiatüé is knovn asthe "dewpoint"

Dewpointteúperatüemay be measurco oy
i+ddhybúFmsbootfuNuddld¡iúé a variety of methods Ships generallyuse a
2
 wet alrd dry bulb arrangemen-
Lradjr¡or¡al
consisúng of two idendcal mercury
lhermomerers, one of which has a damp
wick covedngthe bulb. Theseare no¡mally
housedin a protectivemarinesqeeÍ.
The dewpoint temperatrre Inay then be
'DewpoinrTable'
determinedby using a
(see A¡nex D. This figure is importa¡t
when considering cargo venlilaüon
¡equirements.
Wetand dry bulb thermometers
When üsing haditional wet a¡d dry bulb
themometers, the accu¡acy of the de!'
point temperaturewill depend oD the
condition of the equipme¡It.' The úuslin
coveringthe wet bulb shouldbe clean,the
water in the reservoir should be distilled
andthebulb itselfshouldbewet.
In o¡der to ensu¡e that the readil8s are
coÍect, the device should always be
positionedclearof any exhaustvents,othe¡
düughts and all souces of heat.
Dewpointmeasurement
Theo¡etically,all decisionsregardingcargo
ventilalionshould be basedon dewpoin.
lemperat{¡res.comparinglhe dewPointof
lhe ambient air wjrh dewpo¡ntof the air
insidethehold.
Given that most ships me customarily
equipped with wet and dry bulb
rhermoÍreters locatedclose to t¡e bridge
dete¡mining the dewpoint tempe.ature of
the ambientai¡ is r-¡suallystraighdorwa¡d.
However, ascettaining the dewpoint
lemper¿ture inside a cargo spacei6 more
probler¡¿tic.Oneof the simplestmethodsis
to use a "whirling psychrometer",swinging
the insfument inside the hold until the wet
bulb temperaturehas stopped falling aÍd
reÍrains steady,
All readings should be taken well away
lrom any air inlets.ensuringthat only hold
ai¡ is tested. Enclosed space entry
proceduresshouldalwaysbeobserved.
If accessto the holds is impossibleor
undesirable, and provided there is no
significant ai¡ flow, wet and d¡y bt¡lb
thermometercmay be placedin the runking
of anexhaustventilatoror similarpipework
leadingfrom lbe compartment. allowinBthe
deviceto be drawn out a¡d read frorn above
deck.
Vetrtilation
Once the above i¡fomatiotr has been
obtai¡ed, the rules arc simple;
DewpointRuIe
!'ENTILATE if the dewpoint of the alr
insidethe hold is higherlha¡ t¡e dewpoint
of the ai¡ outsidethe hold.
DO NOT \ENTILATE if the dewpoint of
the ak inside the hold is lower than the
dewpointof the aü outsidethe hold
mree DegreeRule
I¡ ,rna¡¡y instalces it is imp¡acticable to
measue hold de$?oiÍt temperatures
accü¡ately,o¡ at all
I¡ suchcasesventilationrequirements m¡y
be estjmated by comparhg the average
cargo ternperatureal thz time of loadinS
wiú the outside air temperaoreseveral
times a day. ventilation may t-hen bt
carriedout o¡ the following basis;
VENTILATE ifrhe dry bulb tempe¡atu¡eof
lhe oulsideair is at least3oCcoolerlhanthe
averageca¡go temperatüe al the time of
loadi¡g.
DO NOT VENTILATE if the dry bulb
tempe¡atureof the outsideair less than 3"C
coolef than the averageca¡gotemperalüe
at the time of loadirg, o. warmer.
In orde! to apply the Three DegreeRule, it
will be necessaryfo¡ the ship's staff to take
a nunber of cargo tempelature readings
dudrg loadirg.

Furtherobsenations
Du¡ing pe¡iods of heary weáther' steps
should be taken to prevent ¡ain'iand sp¡ay
fiom entering the cargo spaces.This may
mea¡ suspending ventilation'.until
conditionsimp¡ove.If so, the ci¡cumstances
shouldbe logged.
It is important to apFeciate that ventilation
should also tre car¡ied out düring üe úight
if the readings indicate that ventilation is
appropriate. Ambient temperatu¡esare
uiually lower ar nighr.üereforetle risk of
ship's sweat developing is móie likely
during the hoursof darl¡ess.
i . , Ve¡tilarion is
In additio¡ to, ventilating the holds
accordi¡g to the above ¡egimes' it is
importa¡t that regula¡ inspectionsof each
compaÍment a¡e carried out whe¡e
possib)e.This neednot involve eotry into
the cargospaceilself - for exarípleship s
sweat rnay be seen forming on the
unde¡side of ñanhole cove¡s. In such
andespeciallyat night,the cargo
instances,
should be ventilated inespective of the
Dewpoint or Three Degee Rules, weathe¡
permittiDg.
What to expect
ln broad terms it is often Possible to
esdmare ventilation requireúents in
advance by considering the cliú'¿tic
changeslikely to bee¡couDtered duringthe
voyage.The following examplesindicate
what m¿y be expectedon passage,but do
not obviatethe needfor detailedmonitoting
andrecording:
Hygroscopíccargo ' cold to waú clímate
lf a stable cold ca¡go is ca$ied to a wa¡m
clir¡ate, ventilation will always be'
unnecessaty,Indeed,in someci¡culllstances
ventilation may lead to cargodainage.
Hygroscopiccargo ' wan to col¿lclimate
vigoroüs surface ventilation of the ca¡go
spaceswill almost cenainly be requi¡eddue
tor üe, ükelihood of ship's sweat
developing.:
No:tr-hrgroscopiccarSo ' coa tu waftn
climate ,
Ventilation is never ¡equired. Ca¡go sweal
is li¿ble to occur if warm rioist ai¡ comes
into contact with cold cargo. Therefore
holdsshouldusuallyrem¡i¡ sealedto allow
thec¡rgo aDdintemalair to warmgadually
durirg the voyage.
Non-hygroscopic carSo ' wam to cov
'
clittate
largely inelevant
Developmeot of significantship'ssweatis
veryunlikely.
CombinedcarSoes
Problems mayariseifhygroscopicandnoo-
hygroscopiccargoeswith different inherent
tempeútües a¡e loaded into the same
cornpaftnent. Their vendlarion
requireñe¡ts rday differ, resulting in
damageto one or other of the productsin
spiteof ¡omal routinesbeiúgfollowed As
fa¡ as possible, hygroscopicand non-
hygroscopiccargoesshouldnot be sto\r/ed
together.
Sto¡rage
Given the sensitive nature of manY
hyg¡oscopicproductsand the possibility of
sweat,'effortsshouldbe madeto ensurethat
súchcargoesdo not come into contactwith
hold steelwork This is palicularly
importart in the caseof baggeda8¡icultu¡al
pr;düce interded for human consumption
suchasnce, beansandfloü.
For baggedcargo. rows of dunnageor
bamboo poles should be laid in tle
directionof the bilgesrc aid drainage.nol
more than 20 centimeuesaPaf A second
layershouldbeplacedon rcp at tight angles
to the first before cove¡ing the whole a¡ea
with matting.
If the cargo spaceis not fully fitted with
cargo battens, bamboo poles or du¡¡age
should be positioúedcrosswiseagai¡st the
k¿mes to keep the bags away froú the
sidesof the ship. Ideally, they should also
be lashed together at the i[te¡sections to
prevent tlem from becoming disorbec
áuringloading.As anexm but not essential
precaution, matsm¡y be placedagajnsttlús
arranqement,In the same coltext' the top
surfa;e of üe slow ÍIay be covered with
thick kaft paper.
ExDet oDinion is oow that biologically
staütebalged hygroscopic ca¡gb¿sdo not
require ventilation channels, unless
spicifically demandedby lhe IMDC Code
r"g so.e t¡pes of seed cake, fishEeal)
Nevelheless,for celarn corunoditiesm¡¡y
chafere¡s still require ventilation chan¡els
to be built into the stow. If so,the chade¡ers
should be asked for w¡itte¡I hstructio¡8
reeardi¡gthe numberard positiooof such
ch'an¡ekl and these should be foüowed
accordiúgly.
If the DewpbiDt Rule has been followed'
wet a¡d d¡Y bulb temPeralures anc
dewpoints should be logged once pel
watch, bearing iú mind that lhese may
chaDgecotrsiderably over a short Period
For tbe sa$e reason,the sea lemperature
should also be noted. This i¡formation
should be recorde-dfor each hold rogether
with tie times of commencing, ceasingor
resurüDgventilat¡on,a¡d the reasons for
doingso.
If üe Th¡ee Degree Rule has been
followed,a record shouldbe kept of lhe
ambient ai¡ temperanue and üe sea
temperah¡¡eonce per watch together the
avemqetemDemtlüeof the ca¡goat the t¡me
of loadi¡g. Onceagain.venlla$o¡ deulls
shouldbe documentedfor eachhold.
A¡¡ex m contans a specimenform which
may be used to captu¡e all releva
ve¡tilatioú details.

A check list addressing the cariage of

hygroscopiccargois featu€d in A¡rex II

Bunker taDks

H¡groscopicproductsmay be darnaged by
loc¿lisedsourcesof heat. I¡cidents have
occu¡¡ed where parts of parcels of g¡ain
have bee¡ scorched or have become
discolou¡edwhen lying agai$t hot bunker
tanks. As far as possible,the bunke¡sused
during the voyage should be d¡awn f¡om
tanks situated well away from holds
containi¡g hygroscopic ploducts. If
imprac¡icable,bunker tanksadjoiniDgca¡go
spaces should be heated o¡ly when
réquired,ensuringthat the tempeúí¡re does
not rise abovenormal operationallevels,

Records

Ver¡til¿tion recordsare crucial ln the event

of moistu¡edamage,evidenceshowingthat
the vessel veotilated co¡re¡dy may be i
instrumentalin defendiDgany ensuing
claims.
.,
. 5 .
 ANMXII

HygroscopicCargo- Checklist

Ensueholdsareclean andfreef¡om odour

E..iF bi'ñin".l.rn. Itrqrreq_999!r_q!!f$!!4
i"tabile" t^l*s ¿ndhiShlevelal¿rmirwherefitled
"""-"trm
coverswithburlapandsecurein
-lrrh soundhgundrh.rmometer pipeswilh!Larer
Óheck holds for siensof infestation
Ensureventilalion i (eg fans,trDnk e(s, seals)a¡e wor\4gjgggqq
thathatchcoversandholdaccess doorsare
Testsmokedetectionand
gn
Ensu¡eballastsuctioncover resar-esecurelbalIastholdsonl
Recorddetaiisof measu¡esin the deckI

an with stevedores
Ensureonly soundc¿rgois loaded
Measureandrecordcar
o \,r'irhabno¡mallyexcessryg
!94p9I3!E
V N

Covertank ;irh doubledumageor bambgg

ur. ol cargohandling
F-rerenr hooksby srevedores
ürsnrebagsarenot loadgdin the

On passage

Followenclosed to e¡terholds
u¡esif necessa¡y

niió¿-ri... sloppedor resumed

*lt.tw"ntilalion wascornmenced
on
of
Recordsoundings holdbilsesat leastdail

Reco¡ddetailsifs areobserved
deterioration

Notify club io¡ to r¡¡ival if cargo dete¡iorationoccuIs

I whicharetom,slaineddañp or in olhe¡wise suspectcondition

Rej@tbags
t
r.y ¡*t áyt . ¿¡t."¡- of r¡e bil8es, not dore tlúr 20 ctu apan l¡v seco¡d taver at light a¡gls lo ü¡e fi6t
'
r., **i"i+g"o *'g*r, *¡ti lation chún¿b dav be requiredbv tne IMDG code' (es sone tt?es of s*d c¿le' fishflal)
a tempcÉhE and searempeBrurconcePei watch
oemoior nut ootv If follówing thc Thr4 De8¡eeRule' teco¡d extmal air
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