Cargo Stowage 

Factor – How to use and calculate!

Carriage of the cargo by sea transport starts with planning and searching for an

appropriate cargo vessel. A ship must be fit for each cargo and cost-effective to keep a
trade beneficial for all parties. A smaller ship will lead to remaining in load port,
deadfreight letter, or a new voyage, but a larger ship will remain just partly loaded at
much higher freight costs.
Shippers, consignees, and brokers must be confident that they will charter
the best suitable ship for exact cargo delivery that is where knowing
the accurate storage factor of bulk cargoes becomes critical.
What is a stowage factor?
The stowage factor is the coefficient that indicates how much space is needed to load
a unit mass onboard the ship or loading area in port or at a warehouse. In the
imperial system of measurements, the coefficient displays cubic feet for one long ton, and
in the metric system, the space in cubic meters for one metric ton.
Knowing the stowage factor allows the cargo officer onboard the vessel, operator, and
broker to calculate space in the ship’s cargo hold used by the cargo parcel or the
minimum required volume of the cargo hold required for the shipment.
Despite the importance of the stowage factor, for most types of cargoes, it remains an
estimated value and should be used with caution, unless it is confirmed by production
specification or historical data from the exact shipper.
A good example of the deviation of the stowage factor will be all kinds of grains that
strongly depend on the humidity, that can be calculated to average, but practically
varies depending on the number, time, and place of sampling.
If the stowage factor is precisely calculated or confirmed by the laboratory, the shape of
the cargo hold, the number of bulkheads, frames, the way of loading the cargo by shippers
or stevedores can have an impact on the final stowage factor or volume used by cargo.
How to Calculate the Stowage Factor?
Both the Imperial and Metric systems are used in cargo calculation on  board  the  ships,
cargo specifications, and documents, therefore you should pay attention to the
measurements used.
Stowage Factor formula in Cub ft.
If you are using the Imperial system, one long ton, or 2,240
pounds, multiply the volume in cubic feet and divide by the cargo weight into long tons or
pounds accordingly to find the stowage factor, which is the number of cubic feet required
for stowing one long ton of specific cargo.

Stowage Factore Formula Stowage Factore Formula in Pounds

Please note that there is used a long ton, which is 2240 pounds, not a metric ton that is
2,204.6 pounds. One long ton is exactly 1.0160469088 metric tons and vice
versus approximately 0.9842065276 long tons.
For example, if cargo has a volume of 30 cubic feet and a weight of 1700 pounds. The
stowage calculation is 2,240 pounds times 30 divided by 1700. The
stowage factor works out to 39.53 cubic feet per long ton.
Stowage Factor formula in cubic meters.
If you are using a metric system, the formula is 1,000 kilograms times the volume in
cubic meters divided by the cargo weight in kilograms.
It is important to note that the stowage factor can be used in as a combination of
cubic feet per metric ton and therefore you might need to convert the stowage factor to
corresponding measurements. Here comes in handy keeping conversion formulas or
conversion tables ready for use.

Stowage Factor Formula in cubic meters
Conversions of the stowage factor from Cub Ft to CBM.
1 Cubic meter equals 35.3147 Cubic feet.
If you need to convert the known stowage factor from cubic feet to
cubic meters divide the storage factor by 35.3147.
For the opposite calculation from cubic meters to cubic feet multiply by 35.3147.
Here is the conversion table for the most usable range from 20 to
75 Cub Ft

Cub Ft / Lon Cbm / Cbm /

g Ton LT MT

20 0,57 0,56

21 0,59 0,59

22 0,62 0,61

23 0,65 0,64

24 0,68 0,67

25 0,71 0,70

26 0,74 0,72

27 0,76 0,75

28 0,79 0,78

29 0,82 0,81
30 0,85 0,84

31 0,88 0,86

32 0,91 0,89

33 0,93 0,92

34 0,96 0,95

35 0,99 0,98

36 1,02 1,00

37 1,05 1,03

38 1,08 1,06

39 1,10 1,09

40 1,13 1,11

41 1,16 1,14

42 1,19 1,17

43 1,22 1,20

44 1,25 1,23

45 1,27 1,25

46 1,30 1,28

47 1,33 1,31
48 1,36 1,34

49 1,39 1,37

50 1,42 1,39

51 1,44 1,42

52 1,47 1,45

53 1,50 1,48

54 1,53 1,51

55 1,56 1,53

56 1,59 1,56

57 1,61 1,59

58 1,64 1,62

59 1,67 1,64

60 1,70 1,67

61 1,73 1,70

62 1,76 1,73

63 1,78 1,76

64 1,81 1,78

65 1,84 1,81
 66 1,87 1,84

67 1,90 1,87

68 1,93 1,90

69 1,95 1,92

70 1,98 1,95

71 2,01 1,98

72 2,04 2,01

73 2,07 2,03

74 2,10 2,06

75 2,12 2,09

Show More
Conversions of the Stowage Factor from Long Tons to Metric Tons.
One long ton is exactly 1.0160469088 metric tons.
If you need to convert the known stowage factor from metric tons to long tons divide the
storage factor by 1.016.
For the opposite calculation from long tons to metric tons multiply by 1.016.
Here is the conversion table for the most usable range from 0,50 to 2,50
Cbm/LT

Cbm / Lon Cbm / Cub ft/

g Ton MT MT

0,50 0,49 17,38

0,55 0,54 19,12

0,60 0,59 20,86

0,65 0,64 22,59

0,70 0,69 24,33

0,75 0,74 26,07

0,80 0,79 27,81

0,85 0,84 29,54

0,90 0,89 31,28

0,95 0,94 33,02

1,00 0,98 34,76

1,05 1,03 36,50

1,10 1,08 38,23

1,15 1,13 39,97

1,20 1,18 41,71

1,25 1,23 43,45

1,30 1,28 45,19

1,35 1,33 46,92

1,40 1,38 48,66

1,45 1,43 50,40

1,50 1,48 52,14

1,55 1,53 53,88

1,60 1,57 55,61

1,65 1,62 57,35

1,70 1,67 59,09

1,75 1,72 60,83

1,80 1,77 62,57

1,85 1,82 64,30

1,90 1,87 66,04

1,95 1,92 67,78

2,00 1,97 69,52

2,05 2,02 71,26

2,10 2,07 72,99

2,15 2,12 74,73

2,20 2,17 76,47

2,25 2,21 78,21

2,30 2,26 79,94

2,35 2,31 81,68

2,40 2,36 83,42

 2,45 2,41 85,16

2,50 2,46 86,90

Show Less
How to use the stowage factor?
In shipping, the stowage factor is used as the primary tool for planning the cargo stowage
onboard the vessel. Knowing the stowage factor and total weight of the cargo scheduled
for loading defines the minimum volume of the cargo compartment for this cargo.
Vessel particulars contain this information reading a total volume of cargo holds and
their distribution between cargo holds tween decks or positions of bulkheads available on
the vessel.
For example, if you intend to ship 2000 metric tons of wheat with a stowage factor of
44 cub ft./mt, then you will require a coastal bulker with a total capacity of
the holds 88000 or more, or one or more cargo holds on larger bulkers with
this capacity depending on the sea route and port facilities in both ports.
Vessels are often designed for specific trade depending on the order of the client for their
specific needs. Over time main trade routes or even shipowners are changed,
but ship’s hold capacity and deadweight remain the same. One of the main tasks of
the ship’s operator is to find cargoes and voyages with the most effective load and
therefore profit. The optimal stowage factor for each ship differs but can be
easily calculated using hold capacity and summer and winter deadweights.
Now it becomes clear, that from an economic viewpoint there are light and heavy cargoes
for each vessel defined by the stowage factor.
Light cargo is called once the ship’s cargo hold is fully occupied, but deadweight is not
used.
Heavy cargo uses the full deadweight of the vessel before the ship’s cargo hold capacity is
fully occupied.
Heavy cargoes are easier for handling cargoes both for chartering and the ship’s crew for
loading. It is easier to negotiate sales prices when full  ships  deadweight is in use,
as light cargoes will require negotiating a higher rate per ton,
as full cargo hold capacity will be used not reaching vessel deadweight.
From the perspective of the master and cargo officer, lighter cargos limit cargo
distribution inside the cargo holds in order to remain to save trim and in some cases will
require leaving empty space in the forward or aft  part of the hold depending on
the current vessel stability calculations.
You can calculate the stowage factor for any cargo including general cargo and even liquid
cargo, but it is most often used for bulk cargo. Stowage factors for the
most common and popular cargoes are presented in the following table.
List of Stowage Factor – Grains

Cargo / Commodity Name Cub ft/ Cbm/MT

 MT

Barley 52 – 55 1,47 –
1,56

Bran rice 62 – 65 1,76 –
1,84

Buckwheat 54 – 57 1,53 –
1,6

Coconut 140 3,96

Cogora pellets 63 1,78

Corn 51 – 54 1,45 –
1,53

Coweas 44 – 45 1,28 –
1,30

Linseed 55 – 56 1,56 –
1,58

Locust beans 84 – 90 2,38 –
2,55

Maize East Africa 50 – 52 1,42 –

1,47

Millet 45 – 51 1,27 –
1,44

Oats 66 – 67 1,87 –
1,89

Palm kernels 58 1,64
 Peanuts husked 105 – 2,97 –
110 3,11

Peanuts not peeled 106 – 3,00 –

131 3,70

Potatoes 50 – 55 1,42 –
1,56

Raw sugar 45 – 51 1,27 –
1,44

Rice bran pellets 52 – 60 1,47 –

1,7

Rye 48 – 52 1,36 –
1,47

Soybeans 56 – 58 1,58 –
1,64

Sugar beet pulp 55 – 65 1,56 –
pellets (SBPP) 1,84

Sunflower seeds 64 – 69 1,81 –
1,95

Wheat 45 – 50 1,27 –
1,42

Show More
List of Stowage Factor – Raw material and Ores

Cargo / Cub ft/ Cbm/MT

Commodity Name MT

Ammonium sulphate 42 – 45 1,19 –

1,27
Bauxite 30 – 33 0,85 –
0,93

Cake 46 – 65 1,3 –
1,84

Carbon / anthracite 45 1,27

Cast iron 10 0,28

Cement 29 0,82

Chinese clay 46 1,3

Clay 25 – 30 0,7 –
0,84

Coal 47 – 55 1,33 -1,56

Cobalt 20 0,57

Copper concentrate 20 – 22 0,56 –
0,63

Copra 83 – 98 2,35 –
2,77

Dolomite 21 – 25 0,60 –
0,70

Ferro-se 25 0,7

Ferrochrome 15 0,42

Fertilizers 41 1,15

Fish meal (anchov 57 – 73 1,61 –
ies) 2,07

Graphite 20 – 35 0,57 –
0,99

Gravel 23 0,65

Guanan 42 – 44 1,19 –
1,25

Gypsum 24 – 28 0,67 –
0,78

Iron ore in Sierra 25 – 29 0,71 –

Leone 0,82

Kainit 35 – 37 0,99- 1,05

Kaolin 40 1,13

Kuanite 25 – 30 0,7 –
0,84

Limestone 24 – 30 0,67 –
0,84

Magnesite fine 16 0,45

Magnesite Klinker 60 1,7

Manganese 25 – 30 0,7 –
0,84

Phosphate 23 – 30 0,65 –
0,85

Phytophylitis 30 0,84
 Pitch 48 1,36

Potasch nitrate 36 1,02

Potassium nitrate 36 1,02

Potassium sulphate 44 1,26

Pyridite 30 – 35 0,85 –
0,99

Salt 35 – 40 0,99 –
1,13

Sand 23 – 25 0,65 –
0,71

Soda nitrate 26 0,74

Sorghum 59 1,67

Stone 49 1,39

Show More