Break bulk cargo - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Shipping

Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...

, break bulk cargo or general cargo is a term that covers a great variety of goods that must be loaded individually, and not in intermodal container

Intermodal container

An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...

s nor in bulk

Bulk cargo

Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. This cargo is usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...

as with oil or grain. Ships that carry this sort of cargo are often called general cargo ships. The term break bulk derives from the phrase breaking bulk the extraction of a portion of the cargo

Cargo

Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

of a ship

Ship

Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...

or the beginning of the unloading process from the ship's holds. These goods may be in shipping container

Shipping container

A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes...

s (bags, box

Box

Box describes a variety of containers and receptacles for permanent use as storage, or for temporary use often for transporting contents. The word derives from the Greek πύξος , "box, boxwood"....

es, crate

Crate

A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport large, heavy or awkward items. A crate has a self-supporting structure, with or without sheathing. For a wooden container to be a crate, all six of its sides must be put in place to result in the rated strength...

s, drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

s, barrel

Barrel

A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...

s). Unit load

Unit load

A unit load combines individual items or items in shipping containers into a single "unit" that can be moved easily with pallet jack or forklift truck...

s of items secured to a pallet

Pallet

A pallet , sometimes called a skid, is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader or other jacking device. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows handling and storage efficiencies...

or skid are also used.

A break-in-bulk point is a place where goods are transferred from one mode of transport to another, for example the docks where goods transfer from ship to truck.

Break bulk was the most common form of cargo for most of the history of shipping. Since the late 1960s the volume of break bulk cargo has declined dramatically worldwide as containerization

Containerization

Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...

has grown. Moving cargo on and off ship in containers is much more efficient, allowing ships to spend less time in port. Break bulk cargo also suffered from greater theft and damage.

Loading and unloading

Although cargo of this sort can be delivered straight from a truck or train onto a ship the most common way is for the cargo to be delivered to the dock in advance of the arrival of the ship and for the cargo to be stored in warehouse

Warehouse

A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...

s. When the ship arrives the cargo is then taken from the warehouse to the quay and then lifted on board by either the ship's gear (derrick

Derrick

A derrick is a lifting device composed of one tower, or guyed mast such as a pole which is hinged freely at the bottom. It is controlled by lines powered by some means such as man-hauling or motors, so that the pole can move in all four directions. A line runs up it and over its top with a hook on...

s or cranes) or by the dockside cranes. The discharge of the ship is the reverse of the loading operation.

Loading and discharging by break bulk is labour intensive. The cargo is brought to the quay next to the ship and then each individual item is lifted on board separately. Some items such as sacks or bags can be loaded in batches by using a sling or cargo net and others such as cartons can be loaded onto trays before being lifted on board. Once on board each item must be stowed separately.
Before any loading takes place any signs of the previous cargo should be removed. The holds should be swept, washed if necessary and any damage to them repaired. Dunnage

Dunnage

Dunnage is a term with a variety or related meanings. Typically dunnage is inexpensive or waste material used to protect and load securing cargo during transportation...

may be laid ready for the cargo or may just be put in bundles ready for the stevedore

Stevedore

Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....

s to lay out as the cargo is loaded.

There are many sorts of break bulk cargo but amongst them are:

Bagged cargo

Should be stowed on double dunnage and kept clear of the ship's sides and bulkheads. Bags should be kept away from pillars and stanchions by covering with matting or waterproof paper.

Baled goods

These should be stowed on single dunnage at least 50mm thick. The bales should be clean with all the bands intact. Stained or oily bales should be rejected. All fibres can absorb oil and are liable to spontaneous combustion. As a result they should be kept clear of any new paintwork. Bales close to the deckhead should be covered to prevent damage by dripping sweat.

Barrels and casks

Wooden barrels should be stowed on their sides on "beds" of dunnage which keeps the middle of the side (the bilge) off the deck and they should be stowed with the bung at the top. To prevent movement wedges called quoins are put in on top of the "beds". Barrels should be stowed fore and aft and not athwart ships. Once the first tier has been loaded the next tier of barrels fits into the hollows between the barrels, this is known as stowing "bilge and cantline".

Corrugated boxes

Corrugated box

Box

es should be stowed on a good layer of dunnage and kept clear of any moisture. Military and weather resistant grades of corrugated fiberboard are available. They should not be overstowed with anything other than similar boxes. They are frequently loaded on pallet

Pallet

s to form a unit load

Unit load

A unit load combines individual items or items in shipping containers into a single "unit" that can be moved easily with pallet jack or forklift truck...

; if so the slings that are used to load the cargo are frequently left on to facilitate discharge.

Wooden shipping containers

Wooden box

A wooden box is a container made of wood for storage or as a shipping container.Construction may include several types of wood; lumber , plywood, engineered woods, etc...

es or crate

Crate

s should be stowed on double dunnage in the holds and single dunnage in the 'tween decks. Heavy boxes should be given bottom stowage. The loading slings are often left on to aid discharge.

Paper reels

Reels or rolls are generally stowed on their sides but care must be taken to make sure they are not crushed.

Cars

These are lifted on board and then secured using lashings. A great deal of care should be taken to make sure they do not get damaged. Vehicles must also be prepared by ensuring potentially hazardous liquids (gasoline, etc.) have been removed. (This is in contrast to Ro-ro (Roll on-roll off) vessels where vehicles are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels.)

Steel girders

Any long heavy item should be stowed fore and aft. If they are stowed athwart ships they are liable to shift if the ship rolls heavily and pierce the side of the ship.

Advantages and disadvantages

See also: Tanker (ship)#Background and Bulk carrier#History

The biggest disadvantage with break bulk is that it requires more resources at the wharf at both ends of the transport—longshoremen, loading cranes, warehouses, transport vehicles—and often takes up more dock space due to multiple vessels carrying multiple loads of break bulk cargo. Indeed, the decline of break bulk did not start with containerisation; rather, the advent of tankers and bulk carriers reduced the need for transporting liquids in barrels and grains in sacks. Such tankers and carriers use specialised ships and shore facilities to deliver larger amounts of cargo to the dock and effect faster turnarounds with fewer personnel once the ship arrives; however, they do require large initial investments in ships, machinery, and training, slowing their spread to areas where funds to overhaul port operations and/or training for dock personnel in the handling of cargo on the newer vessels may not be available. As modernization of ports and shipping fleets spreads across the world, the advantages of using containerization and specialized ships over break-bulk has sped the overall decline of break-bulk operations around the world. In all, the new systems have reduced costs as well as spillage and turn round times, in the case of containerisation, damage and pilfering as well.

Break bulk continues to hold an advantage in areas where port development has not kept pace with shipping technology; break-bulk shipping requires relatively minimal shore facilities—a wharf for the ship to tie to, dock workers to assist in unloading, warehouses to store materials for later reloading onto other forms of transport. As a result, there are still some areas where break-bulk shipping continues to thrive. Goods shipped break-bulk can also be offloaded onto smaller vessels and lighters for transport into even the most minimally-developed port where the normally large container ships, tankers, and bulk carriers might not be able to access due to size and/or water depth. In addition, some ports capable of accepting larger container ships/tankers/bulk transporters still require goods to be offloaded in break-bulk fashion; for example, in the outlying islands of Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

, fuel oil for the power stations is delivered in bulk but has to be offloaded in barrels.