Aoxing Ship Management

2 General Terms, Design and Equipment

2.1 Definitions
Antistatic additive is a substance added to a petroleum product to raise its electrical
conductivity to a safe level above 50 Pico Siemens/metre (pS/m) to prevent
accumulation of static electricity.

Auto-ignition: The ignition of a combustible material without initiation by a spark or

flame, when the material has been raised to a temperature at which self-sustaining
combustion occurs.

Auto-ignition temperature: -The lowest temperature to which a solid, liquid or gas

needs to be raised to cause self sustaining combustion without initiation by a spark or
flame or other source of ignition.

Bulk Chemical Code means the Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships
Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk+ adopted by the Marine Environment
Protection Committee of the Organization by resolution MEPC.20 (22), as may be
amended by the Organization, provided that such amendments are adopted and
brought into force in accordance with the provisions of article 16 of the present
Convention concerning amendment procedures applicable to an appendix to an
Annex. This code applies to all ships constructed before 1st July 1986.

Chemical tanker means a ship constructed or adapted for the carriage in bulk of any
liquid product listed in chapter 17 of the International Bulk Chemical Code.

Clean ballast means the ballast in a tank which since oil was last carried therein, has
been so cleaned that effluent there from if it were discharged from a ship which is
stationary into clean calm water on a clear day would not produce visible traces of oil
on the surface of the water or on adjoining shorelines or cause a sludge or emulsion
to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon adjoining shorelines. If the
ballast is discharged through an oil discharge monitoring and control system approved
by the Administration, evidence based on such a system to the effect that the oil
content of the effluent did not exceed 15 parts per million shall be determinative that
the ballast was clean, notwithstanding the presence of visible traces.

Clingage means oil remaining on the walls of a pipe or on the internal surfaces of tanks
after the bulk of the oil has been removed.

Closed Operations: Ballasting, loading or discharging operations carried out without

recourse to opening ullage and sighting ports. In these cases ships will require the

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means to enable closed monitoring of tank contents, either by a fixed gauging system
or by using portable equipment passed through a vapour lock.

Cloud Point: The Cloud Point of crude oils is the temperature at which wax crystals
begin to come out of solution, as the temperature is lowered. It is therefore an
important factor when the heating requirements for crude oils in transit and during
discharge are considered

Crude oil means any liquid hydrocarbon mixture occurring naturally in the earth
whether or not treated to render it suitable for transportation and includes:

1. Crude oil from which certain distillate fractions may have been removed; and

2. Crude oil to which certain distillate fractions may have been added.

Dangerous Area is an area on a tanker which, for the purpose of the installation and
use of electrical equipment, is regarded as dangerous.

Drying - Filling the cargo tank and pipelines with moisture - free gas or vapour with a
dew point of -40 °C or below.

Emergency Schedules - Emergency schedules are an appendix to the IMDG code and
provide Masters with the immediate action to be taken in case of spillage/leakage of
toxic substances.

Flammable (also referred as ‘Combustible’) are those capable of being ignited and
burning.

Flammable / Explosive Limits: The flammable (explosive limits) are the minimum and
maximum concentrations of flammable gas or vapour in air between which ignition
can occur.

The Minimum vapour concentration is known as:

The Lower Flammable Limit LFL / The Lower Explosive Limit LEL

The maximum vapour concentration is known as:

The Upper Flammable Limit UFL / The Upper Explosive Limit UEL

Flame arrester: A permeable matrix of metal, ceramic or other heat resisting materials
which can cool a deflagration flame, and any following combustion products, below

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the temperature required for the ignition of the flammable gas on the other side of
the arrester.

Flame Screen is a portable or fitted device incorporating one or more corrosion

resistant wire-woven fabrics of very small mesh, which is used for preventing sparks
from entering a tank or vent opening or, for a short time, preventing the passage of
flame.

Flashpoint is the lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off sufficient gas to form
a flammable gas mixture near the surface of the liquid.

High-viscosity substance means a noxious liquid substance in category X or Y with a

viscosity equal to or greater than 50 mPas at the unloading temperature

Inert Condition is a condition in which the oxygen content throughout the atmosphere
of a tank has been reduced to 8 percent or less by volume by the addition of inert gas.

Inert Gas means as gas or a mixture of gases, such as flue gas, containing insufficient
oxygen to support the combustion of hydrocarbons.

Inerting means the introduction of inert gas into a tank within the object of attaining
the inert condition in which the oxygen content throughout the atmosphere of a tank
has been reduced to 8% or less by volume.

Instantaneous rate of discharge of oil content means the rate of discharge of oil in
litres per hour at any instant divided by the speed of the ship in knots at the same
instant.

International Bulk Chemical Code (IBC) means the International Code for the
Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk* adopted
by the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the Organization by resolution
MEPC.19 (22), as amended by the Organization, provided that such amendments are
adopted and brought into force in accordance with the provisions of article 16 of the
present Convention concerning amendment procedures applicable to an appendix to
an Annex II.

This code applies to all ships constructed after 1st July 1986.

Intrinsically safe: means an electrical circuit or part of a circuit is intrinsically safe if

any spark or thermal effect produced normally (I.e by breaking or closing the circuit)
or accidently (e.g by short circuit or earth fault) is incapable , under prescribed test
conditions , of igniting a prescribed gas mixture.

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Gas freeing means the introduction of fresh air into a tank with the object of removing
toxic, flammable and inert gases and increasing the oxygen content to 21% by volume.

Liquid substances are those having a vapour pressure not exceeding 0.28 MPa
absolute at a temperature of 37.8°C.

Loading overall: means Loading of cargo or ballast “over the top” through an open
ended pipe or by means of an open ended hose entering a tank through a hatch or
other deck opening , resulting in the free fall of liquid.

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS): A document identifying the substance and all its
constituents, providing the recipient with all necessary information to safely manage
the substance. The format and content of an MSDS for MARPOL Annex I cargoes and
Marine Fuel Oils is prescribed in IMO Resolution MSC.286 (86).

Maximum Experimental Safe Gap (MESG): The maximum experimental safe gap (unit
– millimeter) of flammable gases and vapors is the lowest value of the safe gap
measured according to IEC 60079-1-1 (2002) by varying the composition of the
mixture ("flame propagation in the most incendive mixture"). The safe gap is the gap
width at which in the case of a given mixture composition, a flashback just fails to
occur.

The maximum experimental safe gap serves to classify flammable gases and vapors
according to their flame transmission capability and so helps ordering protection
measures of electrical apparatus.

Nearest land is as defined in regulation 1(10) of Annex I (for Oil Tankers) or regulation
1(9) of Annex II (Chemical Tankers)

Non-volatile Petroleum: Petroleum having a flashpoint of 60°C or above, as

determined by the closed cup method of test.

Noxious liquid substance means any substance indicated in the Pollution Category
column of chapter 17 or 18 of the International Bulk Chemical Code or provisionally
assessed under the provisions of regulation 6.3 as falling into category X, Y or Z.

Odour Threshold: The smallest concentration of gas or vapour, expressed in parts per
million (ppm) by volume in air, that most people can detect by smell.

Oil means petroleum in any form including crude oil, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse and
refined products (other than those petrochemicals which are subject to the provisions

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of Annex II of the present Convention) and, includes the substances listed in appendix
I to the Annex I of MARPOL.

Pour point is the lowest temperature at which petroleum oil will remain fluid.

PPM – Parts Per Million – The number of parts of the products per million parts of air.

Padding - Filling the cargo tank and pipelines with a liquid, gas or vapour which
separates the cargo from air.

Purging means the introduction of inert gas into a tank already in inert condition with
the object of:

a. further reducing the existing oxygen content; and/ or

b. reducing the existing hydrocarbon gas content to a level below which combustion
cannot be supported if air is subsequently introduced into the tank.

Putrefaction: Most animal and vegetable oils undergo decomposition over time, a
natural process known as putrefaction (going off), that generates obnoxious and toxic
vapours and depletes the oxygen in the tank. Tanks that have contained such products
must be carefully ventilated and the atmosphere tested prior to tank entry.

It must not be assumed that all vapours produced by cargoes liable to putrefaction
will in fact be due to putrefaction; some may not be obvious, either through smell or
appearance of the cargo. Carbon monoxide (CO), for instance, is colorless and odorless
and can be produced when a vegetable or animal oil is overheated.

Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP): The vapour pressure of a liquid determined in a standard
manner in the Reid apparatus at a temperature of 37.8°C and with a ratio of gas to
liquid volume of 4:1.

Segregated ballast means ballast water introduced into a tank permanently allocated
to the carriage of ballast or to the carriage of ballast or cargoes other than oil or
noxious liquid substances as variously defined in the Annexes of the present
Convention, and variously defined in the Annexes of the present Convention, and
which is completely separated from the cargo and oil fuel system.

Settling Time : The time taken for tank contents to stop moving once filling has
stopped and therefore the cessation of further static electricity generation. Typically
this time is 30 minutes.

Solidifying substance means a noxious liquid substance which:

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a) in the case of a substance with a melting point of less than 15°C, is at a temperature
of less than 5°C above its melting point at the time of unloading; or

b) In the case of a substance with a melting point of equal to or greater than 15°C, is
at a temperature of less than 10°C above its melting point at the time of unloading.

Spontaneous combustion: The ignition of material brought about by a heat producing

(exothermic) chemical reaction within the material itself without exposure to an
external source of ignition.

True Vapour Pressure (TVP): The absolute pressure exerted by the gas produced by
evaporation from a liquid when gas and liquid are in equilibrium at the prevailing
temperature and the gas liquid ratio is effectively zero.

TLV – Threshold Limit Value: The maximum amount of harmful product vapour
concentration to which a person may be exposed, without adverse effects, over an 8
hour work day, for an indefinite number of days.

Time Weighted Average (TLV - TWA) – the airborne concentrations of a toxic

substance averaged over an 8 hour period, usually expressed in PPM.

Short Term Exposure Limit (TLV - STEL) – The airborne concentration of a toxic
substance averaged over any short 15 minutes period, usually expressed in PPM.

Note: For Shipboard Operations – (TLV-TWA) is to be used.

Toxic means poisonous to human life.

Vapour lock system Equipment fitted to a tank to enable the measuring and sampling
of cargoes without release of vapour/inert gas pressure.

Viscosity is a measure of a liquid’s ability to flow and is usually determined by

measuring the time required for a fixed volume to flow under gravity through a thin
tube at a fixed temperature. As the temperature of the liquid increases its viscosity
decreases and therefore it flows more readily. It can also be described as a measure
of the internal friction of a liquid

Volatile cargo is a cargo having a flashpoint below 60°C as determined by the closed
cup method of testing. If a cargo is being handled at a temperature within 10°C of its
flashpoint, it should be considered volatile.

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