Assessment of ship cargo liquefaction

  • Lei Ju

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

Liquefaction of fine particle cargoes such as unprocessed nickel ore and iron ore, resulting in cargo shift and loss of stability of ships, has caused the loss of many lives in marine casualties over the recent few years. Since the dangers of cargo liquefaction have long been known to the shipping industry, the question of why the phenomenon is resurfacing now would be a legitimate one.;Under the requirements of International Maritime Bulk Solid Cargoes (IMSBC) Code adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee of the Organization, the moisture content of the cargo that may liquefy shall be kept less than its Transportable Moisture Limit (TML) in advance of loading, as determined from one of three laboratory test methods specified in IMSBC code. However, the accuracy of these methods is still not understood and the TML result varies particularly when conducted in different laboratories or in different methods for a given sample (Rose, 2014).;Considering the ambiguity of testing (unavailability or non-compliance) and the variability in cargo properties and state as well as conditions that can lead to liquefaction (pertaining to ship design and operation and to environmental conditions), it is necessary to investigate the root causes that trigger the phenomenon and address the problem in a comprehensive manner.;On the other hand, despite the positive steps that have been taken towards prevention of such shipping accidents, IMSBC code appears to have certain limitations and leaves the shipper responsible to involve the competent authority and the operator for the characterization of the cargo and the hazards it entails for the ship and its crew, if in doubt. This thesis, therefore, gives consideration to the development of the numerical simulation method to the ship cargo liquefaction, which could be feasibly used as a reference and possibly support a suitable regulatory framework for the liquefaction analysis of cargoes.
Date of Award21 Mar 2017
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University Of Strathclyde
SponsorsUniversity of Strathclyde

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