Shipping

Shipping of dry bulk cargoes requires the cargo to be stable during voyages through tropical storms, hurricanes and tornadoes. The condition of the cargo at loading, the manner in which it was loaded, the cargo behaviour with time during the voyage, the vessel characteristics and the sea state and energy all pay a role in the vulnerability of the cargo and the vessel to rough seas.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) provides guidance and rules that must be followed via the IMSBC Code. GCG has carried out fundamental research work and studies into the liquefaction risk of dry bulk cargoes such as iron ore, bauxite, rock phosphate and nickel ore. Some of this work has been done under the auspices of the IMO and within the Global Bauxite Working Group (GBWG) and resulted in the drafting of new IMSBC Code schedules for some of these cargoes.

GCG’s Senior Partners have given international lectures on this topic and have provided advice and support to miner owners, shippers, vessel owners, insurance companies and lawyers on issues related to moisture-controlled cargo instability and for vessel losses where the interactions of water and the cargo has been important.