Securing of Cargoes

Cargo is loaded into a ship in port where it’s floating steady on water and upright with a
reasonable trim. When the ship is put to sea, it is subjected to external force, which result in six
modes of motion (heave, pitch, roll, yaw, surge, and sway). If not properly secured, cargoes may
not freely due to the motion of the ship ant sea. Cargo stowed on deck also exposed to the force of
the wind of the seas breaking on deck. If the cargo is insufficiently secured, it may move and
damage or may cause damage to other cargoes. Cargo stowed on deck with insufficient lashing
may be lost at sea in adverse weather. Cargo may be washed overboard, causing lost to its owner,
possibly damage to the marine environment and hazard to people when it washes up on a beach.

Securing of all cargoes on board may be achieve by good seamanship that requires special
skills and knowledge and training on lashing.

The Three Principle of the Ship’s Officer when Deck Cargo shall be
Carry are:
1. The safety of the ship and the crew.
2. The security of the cargo.
3. The accessibility of the equipment needed to safety operate the ship.

The security of the cargo begin when making through plans about how the cargo is to be
lashed, braced, and shored.

The detail of such plan should include the size and number of all braces, the under deck
shoring, the number and position of all pad eyes, and cribbing required between in the load and
the deck.

All these should be done long before the cargo is scheduled to be loaded. After the cargo
is place on the ship as per plan.

Before deck cargo loaded, the integrity of the ship should be ensured. Hatches must
be close weather tight, where necessary, ventilators should be remove and pluged, dunnage should
be laid so as to spread the weight of the deck cargo over deck and hatch beams and where
applicable, stanchions for supporting the deck cargo should be in position.