A stop instruction is not a final quantity

Near the end of a bulk loading operation, the ship may have only a small quantity left to receive. Yet cargo already on the terminal’s conveyor can still be on its way to the loading point. The IMO’s BLU Code addresses this explicitly: the quantities planned to achieve departure draught and trim should allow for cargo on the conveyor system to run off and the system to be emptied when loading is complete. The terminal representative should tell the master the nominal tonnage on that system and any requirements for clearing it.

That makes the final cutoff a ship–shore planning decision, not simply an instruction to stop feeding the belt. If the remaining quantity is treated as though the conveyor were empty, the cargo delivered after the instruction may take the ship beyond its intended final distribution or leave less room for trimming. The useful question before the last pours is: how much cargo is still in the transfer path, and where will it go?

Code of Practice for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers, resolution A.862(20) · Safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers

Agree what the terminal means by clearing the line

Ask the terminal representative for its nominal conveyor inventory and the procedure it expects to use at completion. Establish whether a request to stop feed leaves material to run into the current hold, and whether clearing the system requires any change of loading point. These are questions to settle for the particular operation; the BLU Code calls for the terminal to advise the master about both the nominal tonnage and its clearing requirements, rather than assuming a universal cutoff quantity.

The answer belongs alongside the ship’s final hold-by-hold requirements. The BLU Code says the master should state the hold order, each pour’s weight, the total weight for each hold and any cargo needed for trimming on the agreed loading plan. Compare the terminal’s clearing sequence with that distribution. Cargo in transit is not just part of the final total: it will enter a particular hold, so its destination matters as well as its estimated weight.

Code of Practice for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers, resolution A.862(20)

Use the last pours to check, not guess

Before each final pour, reconcile the quantity the ship intends to receive with the terminal’s record of what has been delivered and what remains on its conveyor. The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s bulk-carrier guidance calls for the terminal representative to advise the master of the weight loaded at the completion of each pour, maintain a record of cargo weight and disposition, and keep hold weights aligned with the agreed plan. Its guidance also addresses allowing the conveyor to run off at completion.

Treat the conveyor inventory as a nominal figure, not as a substitute for the completed-pour weight. If a reported pour weight differs from the working expectation, revisit the remaining pours and the conveyor-clearing arrangement with the terminal before continuing. The practical aim is to keep a shared account of cargo already aboard, cargo still travelling through the shore system, and the hold designated to receive it. That account gives both parties a basis for deciding whether the next pour still fits the plan.

Code of Practice for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers, resolution A.862(20) · Safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers

Keep an emergency stop separate from an orderly finish

An orderly final runoff should not be confused with the response to a problem that requires loading to stop promptly. The BLU Code says ship–terminal communications should support requests for loading information and prompt compliance when either the master or terminal representative orders a suspension. It specifically calls for consideration of cargo’s disposition on the conveyors and the response time in an emergency stop. Agree in advance who receives a stop instruction and how the ship will learn what cargo, if any, may still arrive.

Once loading is reported complete, confirm the final delivered weights and their disposition against the agreed plan rather than treating an empty conveyor as proof that the ship’s intended condition has been achieved. If the remaining cargo or the proposed clearing sequence no longer fits that plan, pause and resolve it with the terminal before the final transfer. The IMO describes the BLU Code as guidance for masters, terminal operators and others concerned with safe bulk loading and unloading; its conveyor provisions turn that broad ship–shore responsibility into a concrete last-pour check.

Code of Practice for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers, resolution A.862(20) · Safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers · BLU Code and BLU Manual