Bulk Carriers (A Detailed Synopsis)

Ore Carrier Berge Stahl

Whenever the word ship comes to our mind, we may invariably think of lavish yachts and passenger
ferries like the Titanic, the robust fighter ships and destroyers used for defence purposes or pleasure
crafts used for recreation. But we must also note that a commendable share of our fleet traveling around
the globe is comprised of the ships known as Bulk Carriers which are also termed as workhorses of
maritime trade. Over 15-17% of our merchant vessels are comprised of these amazing bulk carriers.

As of 1999, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea defines a bulk carrier as a ship
constructed with a single deck, top side tanks and hopper side tanks in cargo spaces and intended to
primarily carry dry cargo in bulk; an ore carrier; or a combination carrier. But, let us not get into the
technical lingo first, a bulk carrier as a general purpose cargo-carrying ship which is employed to carry
enormous amounts of bulk unpackaged (note: they are not like container vessels ) cargo in its single-deck
structure. Broadly there may be 2 types of cargo:
Liquid bulk cargo transported by chemical tankers, crude oil carriers, product tankers, petroleum
tankers.
Dry bulk carriers carrying ore, grains, raw materials, coal, steel etc.
Another special type of carrier called OBO carriers are found which carry all the three in
combinations (Ore-Bulk-Oil) and that too in a single voyage.

Different types of bulk carrier based on cargo arrangement.

 Profile view of a bulk carrier.

Plan view of a bulk carrier (Main Deck Plan)

Now, let me come to the point. A simple bulk carrier is a single deck, high capacity cargo ship mainly
intended for carrying unpackaged bulk cargo. It normally has a complex internal hull structure designed to
meet its efficiency, capacity and storage, strength as well as safety.

Types of Bulk Carriers Depending on Size and Capacity

There are various types of bulk carriers based on their containment capacity or deadweight, sizes and
dimensions and sometimes business and corporal standards. Some of the common types of bulk carriers
are:
MINI BULKERS: Deadweight (dwt) capacity< 10000 tons.
SMALL HANDYSIZE CARRIERS: 20000-28000 tons DWT.
HANDYSIZE CARRIERS: 28000-40000 tons DWT.
HANDYMAX: 40000-50000 tons DWT.
SEAWAYMAX: It is a design-specified type made to cross the St. Lawrence Seaway and has the
beam restricted to within 23.16 m.
AFRAMAX: 75000-115000 tons DWT.
SUEZMAX: Specially designed to pass the Suez Canal and has the load capacity up to 150000
tons DWT.
PANAMAX: Designed specifically to traverse the Panama Canal with breadth/beam within 32.2m
and a capacity of 65000-80000 tons
CAPESIZE: It is designed specifically to move through the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.
VLBC or Very Large Bulk Carriers: These are huge sized, with tonnage capacity of 80000-
120000 tons DWT.
Hullform
Now a bulk carrier has the main concern of carrying large amounts of loaded bulk cargo economically
and safely from one place to another in stipulated time over varying distances. So, think about it, the
prime concern driving all the vessels should be capacity and cargo-friendliness and not speed or luxury.
So, in all the ships which are essentially of displacement-type (slow speed), it has a broader and fuller
hull form.
A broader beam has a fuller bow as well as a stern to accommodate large amounts of cargo, reducing its
concerns on speed. In terms of the body plan or the lines plan, the buttock lines or the curvature lines of
the hull both fore and aft are far spaced accounting for its fullness.

Now the hull form of a bulker is generally cell-guided to account for its longitudinal strength (for larger
ships) and is web framed (in shorter ships) to account for its transverse strength. The basic design of the
hull form of bulk carriers is mainly comprised of a thick double shell plating and girded by tanks in the
sideways, bottom, and top zones.

Strength of The Hull Girder

The double bottom structure not only adds to strength of the hull girder and protect the bulk cargo inside
from any kind of oceanic disturbance. It also provides a protective layer against accidental flooding,
breakage, leakage or grounding of a ship.

Double bottom structure (Solid floor and Bracket floor arrangement)

The elaborate arrangement of tanks with the double bottom tank below, lower hopper side tank or bilge
tank at the bilge or the upper hopper side tank underneath the corners of the upper weather deck mainly
account for the ballasting systems in ships. Ballasting is an operation done by the intake of some amount
of freshwater or seawater in the tanks for the purpose of maintaining the stability and buoyancy of the
ship (hence maintaining its centre of gravity in diverse sea conditions). The tanks also have manholes for
the purpose of surveying, discharging, repairing and maintenance.

The deck and hull elements have an elaborate arrangement of girders and stiffeners for providing
longitudinal strength.These may be welded or riveted depending on their location both in transverse and
longitudinal direction.
 Midship Section of a single skin bulk carrier.

Midship Section of double skinned bulk carrier.

Cargo Handling
Bulk amounts of cargo in bulk carriers may be loaded and unloaded by the virtue of large openings in the
deck known as hatch openings. These openings are generally less than half of the beam (< B/2),
generally one-third in single hatch ships and 0.75 in double or more hatches. These hatches are covered
by hatch covers and have coamings which protect the cargo from flooding and damage in high seas and
also accounts for compensation of loss of strength of the deck due to the openings.

The hatch covers may slide, fold, roll or be guided by hydraulic lifting systems. Some special techniques
as in the pontoon decks may be adopted. All such designations are in congruence with the load outlines
and the structural necessities of a ship.

Folding, Single Pull and Direct Pull hatch covers.

Rolling hatch covers.

Specialized cranes and derricks may be used for loading and unloading. A crane's discharge rate is
limited by the bucket's capacity (from 6 to 40 tons) and by the speed at which the crane can take a load,
deposit it at the terminal, and to return to take the next. For modern gantry cranes, the total time of the
grab-deposit-return cycle is about 50 seconds. It may also be of self-loading or self-discharging type
where the process of loading and unloading may be by the use of conveyor belts where the loading and
unloading rates may range from 100 to 700 tons per hour where the most advanced ports have a range of
up to 16,000 tons.

Cargo handling arrangement on a bulk carrier with 4 cargo holds.

Cargo handling arrangement of the same bulk carrier above, in plan view.

Proper surveillance and checking methodologies are adopted for the cargo both ensuring its quality and
the stability and safety factors of a ship. Grain shifting is an awkward and often dangerous problem in
case of dry bulk, where the unpackaged or loosened cargo pose the problem of shifting when exceeding
the angle of repose mostly due to lack of levelling or the heavy sea conditions. It leads to the loss of
stability and precarious rolling motion.

If you observe the slope of the wing tank plating, it has a reason. This angle differs in different bulk
carriers, matching the angle of repose of the cargo that is to be carried. If the angle of the wing tank
plating matches the angle of repose of the cargo, then cargo shifting is considerably prevented.

Machinery (In Brief)

The machinery and the engine room is aft near the stern for proper control and also for maintaining the
trim. Most of the common bulkers like the Panamax or Handymax have 2-stroke heavy duty diesel engine
attached to a fixed-pitch propeller. Smaller vessels usually have one or two 4-stroke engines attached to
the fixed or controllable pitch propeller via a reduction gearbox.
Engine Room Arrangement at three floor levels above bottom line.
Recent Developments
Bulk Carriers, being the workhorses of the maritime economy have come a long way through disasters,
losses, and hazards. So, with the passage of time, especially after the tragic loss of MV Derbyshire, the
IMO, and the other International Safety Organizations have become more cautious about safety
measures to be taken in a bulk carrier. Though, it lists out to be huge, some of them are:

A stronger double-bottom accounting for more stable structure.

At least two or more holds watertight are necessary to avoid heavy trim in case of accidental
flooding or leakage.
Improving hatch structures and coamings, so that water does not enter the holds even in heavy
seas.
Generally it is difficult to assess loading conditions and heavy lifting operations are usually slow (it
can take over an hour just to halt the operation), occasionally resulting in overloading the ship.
Sometimes, unexpected shocks, over time, can damage the hull's structural integrity.
Much more care is taken and advanced techniques are adopted for maintaining proper angle of
repose and preventing grain shifting and also to keep the cargo evened out.
Corrosion, due to a lack of maintenance, affected the seals of the hatch covers and the strength
of the bulkheads which separate holds. The corrosion is difficult to detect due to the immense size of the
surfaces involved. So more care is taken to prevent corrosion and prevent life span of the ships.
Improved ballasting technologies.