Cargo hold

“ Dunnage, if needed, 10 inches on floors, 15 inches in bilges.
Cargo ports, if fitted, blocked off with dunnage.
Care should be taken to stow liquors, canned goods, and things easily broken open, in parts of the hold and 'tween decks where they can be easily blocked off by less tempting cargo.
Special Cargoes. Cargoes of chemicals, fruit, guano, jute, and the like, will require special care and consideration. The {89} deck officers of a merchant vessel will do well if they keep and compare notes on matters such as these. ”

“ Water in the saloon of a vessel labouring in the sea would make her unmanageable. I saw the grating. There should have been an iron door on hinges over it, and over that a tarpaulin, because a tarpaulin in itself is not sufficient. Forty-four tons of cargo, composed of wattle bark and furniture, would have very little effect on the Alert. She was very tender and crank. Had that cargo been iron or ballast, it would have kept the ship out of difficulties, provided she had after canvas to keep her to the wind. ”

“ Aside from these considerations, the supposed advantage to be derived from allowing cargo to come in, when considered intrinsically, is without force. Under this theory, two vessels would depart on the same day from a foreign port; one bound to a port in the United States, with cargo, under a charter to foreign citizens to convey their goods into this country; the second ship proceeding in ballast, under charter to American citizens to proceed to the United States and there take cargo. ”

“ Neither can the vessel demand any portion of the freight until the cargo is delivered at the port of destination. If the vessel meet with disaster at sea, and put into a port of refuge, she is entitled to retain the cargo for a reasonable time for repairs, or to tranship it to another vessel, in order that her freight may be earned. ”

“ They usually carry no flag, and are dirty and lack paint, but they carry a load that would interest the most blasé European. Those bound up-stream, under full sail, like ourselves, are piled with European boxes and bales, from stem to stern; and on top of the freight, in the midst of the freight, sitting on it, stretched out on it, peeping from it, is another cargo of human beings, men, women and children, black, yellow, clothed in all the hues of heaven and the rags of earth. It is an impassive load that stares at us with incurious, unwinking eyes. ”

“ The cargo is thrown overboard to avoid the penalty and imprisonment to which it would subject the crew, as well as the confiscation of the vessel and cargo. If they reach the English coast, and are chased by the revenue vessels, or have notice by signals from their agents on shore that they are discovered, and cannot land their cargoes, they take the exact bearings and distances of several points of land, and with heavy stones sink their tubs of spirits, which are always strung upon a hawser like a row of beads. ”

“ It is inconceivable how much work is involved in unloading an average size Cargo Ship, for it is capable of carrying about 7000 tons (depending on the type of cargo) in her 5 Holes or Hatches - two of which are forward of the Bridge and the other three aft. When necessary we could assign around the clock a crew (18 or 20 men) to each hole to move a lot of cargo. ”

“ At the present time it is the navigable depth of ports and canals, and the need of adequate dry docks, rather than the obtaining of cargoes, which are the controlling factors in the size of great ocean vessels. But the heavy interest on the capital cost of these vessels and their working expenses call for the utmost despatch in their loading and discharge, and with the simultaneous arrival of several vessels of large tonnage, the question of prompt discharge is one of great and increasing difficulty. For many modern steamers will carry 10,000 tons of cargo, and some a great deal more ”

“ The master is the agent of the shipowner only; he has nothing to do with the cargo. [23]
Even where a cargo is made contraband by going to the enemy, the vessel, if not belonging to the owner of the cargo, will go free.
All the papers show that the master had no control of the cargo after getting to Nassau. He was to drop it there; his vessel was to be cleared, as to this cargo, at that place; and the charter-party ended there, at Nassau.
The owners of the ship had no interest in the cargo. They were mere common carriers, to receive freight for the performance of an ordinary and honest duty. ”

“ We have no cargo to discharge (having crossed in ballast trim) , but—the storms of the North Atlantic calling for a weight to make us seaworthy—we have a lading of coal sufficient to steam us back to our home port. This has all to be raised from the holds and stowed in the bunker spaces: the holds must be cleaned [221] for food-stuffs: for grain in bulk there is carpenter-work in fitting the midship boards to ensure that our cargo shall not shift. ”

“ The pumps stop, the hose are uncoupled, under-run, and reeled, and, everything being secured, the ship returns to its normal condition. But not to rest, for there is no rest fore and aft when a voyage is begun. Cargo and stores have to be hoisted out of the lighters, holds have to be stowed, gear secured. All day long the cargo winches rattle, and the tackles rise and fall complainingly. Alongside a double bank of lighters cling, and through cargo-ports and over the rails the freight pours ceaselessly. The twilight deepens with stars; ashore the roar and traffic of the busy town are hushed ”

“ Another important limitation which renders it impossible to give a passenger ship the elaborate subdivision of a warship, is the necessity of providing large cargo spaces and wide hatchways for the convenient handling and stowage of the freight, upon which a large proportion of the passenger-carrying vessels chiefly depend for their revenue. ”

“ In full of port charges and pilotages, (the act of God, restraints of princes and rulers, the dangers of the seas and navigation, accidents to boilers, machinery, etc., always excepted,) freight being paid on unloading and right delivery of the cargo, in cash, without discount or allowance. ”

“ Today, 95 percent of our imports and exports are moved by water—more than one billion metric tons of cargo—and our waterways currently handle 140 million passengers a year. Our domestic fleet is one of our most productive and cost-effective modes of transportation, moving 24 percent of the Nation's cargo at less than 2 percent of America's total freight cost. ”

“ To be honest with you, she’s old and leaky, and none too safe. But she’s got a valuable cargo aboard, that must be safe delivered if we can manage it, and we are all of us well paid to do our duty by the owners. My instructions are to hug the land and make a harbor if bad weather comes. At the worst we can run the ship on the shingle and save the cargo in that way—for the cargo is worth a dozen such tubs. ”

“ It is the duty of the carrier to see that his barge is capable of resisting these forces without subjecting the carge to injury. She must be so tight that the water will not reach the cargo, so strong that these ordinary applications of external force will not spring a leak or sink her, so sound that she will safely carry the cargo in bulk through these ordinary shocks to which she must every day be subjected. If she is capable of this she is seaworthy; if she is not, she is unfit for the navigation of the river. ”

“ I understand the ship to be made for the carrying and the preservation of the cargo, and so long as the ship can be saved with the cargo, it should never be abandoned, unless there appears no possibility of its preservation, and it must cease to exist, except at the risk of throwing overboard both freight and passengers. ”

“ The cargo must be so disposed as to keep her trim and seaworthy and also so that one portion may not injure another. This work is frequently done by stevedores, whose services, when employed by the ship, are now recognized as maritime and secured by a lien on the vessel. They are, however, subject to the master's control and he is not to take on more cargo than he thinks the vessel can safely carry nor permit its stowage to interfere with the general safety of the adventure. He may refuse to take on more cargo than in his honest opinion is prudent, and must not permit any overloading at all. ”

“ On these assumptions the argument is that cargo has also a function as ballast; that if, for instance, the loss is caused by the improper shifting of pigs of lead, it does not matter whether they are called ballast or cargo, but in either case, so far as the change affects the fitness of the ship as a carrier, it is management of the vessel, within the act. ”

“ With a thud and jar to clear the stiffening of a voyage's inaction, our deck winches start in to their long heave that shall only end with the closing of the hatches on a laden cargo. The barges haul alongside at the holds that are ready for stowage and loading begins. The slings of heavy billets pass regularly across the deck and disappear into the void of the open hatchways. In the swing and steady progression there seems an assurance that we shall keep the sailing date, but our energy is measured by the capacity of the larger holds. In them there is the bulk of fuel to be handled. ”

“ Clearing a cargo from an English port was a complicated process. When the goods were brought down to the wharf they were taken over by the packer and his underlings, whose duty it was to pack them and enter them at the custom-house, giving a true inventory of the contents of the bales. The merchant having paid the duties to the customers, the latter sent ‘cocketts’ or tallies for the same to the searcher, who searched the ship to see if they were true. ”

“ In order to do so, I shall observe that salvage has, in every country and in every code of laws, been considered as a matter of general average: the service is an act done for the common benefit, and to be recompensed by common and proportionate contributions. Vessel and cargo always contribute expressly; freight, in some cases, expressly; in others, really but less obviously, where the salvors receive their proportion of the cargo or its value without paying freight. ”

“ Our commercial ships and marine infrastructure-and the dedicated men and women who are part of our maritime industry and U.S. Merchant Marine-continue to meet the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing marketplace and the expanding globalization of trade. Our merchant fleet is a key component of our Nation's intermodal transportation system, carrying more than one billion tons of cargo between domestic ports and supporting our connection to overseas markets. ”

“ It seems hardly likely, at the time this book goes to press, that this application of a formerly unused physical law will revolutionize the propulsion of ships.
Nor, as the World War showed Americans, is it wise to depend upon foreign nations to transport all their products [Pg 291] to America and carry all America’s products away. To be healthy the nation should maintain its own cargo fleet, which, in turn, should provide itself with terminal facilities not only at home but also abroad, in order that cargoes may be loaded and unloaded economically and without delay. ”

“ Its commerce is speculative but vast and successful. It is a frequent circumstance that a ship goes out without a cargo for a voyage around the world. In such a case the captain puts his elder children to school, takes his wife and younger children and starts for some semi-barbarous place where he procures some odd kind of cargo which he exchanges with advantage for another somewhere else; and so goes trafficking around the world, bringing home a freight of the highest value. ”

“ This case does not require a comprehensive definition of the words 'navigation' and 'management' of a vessel, within the meaning of the act of congress. They might not include stowage of cargo, not affecting the fitness of the ship to carry her cargo; but they do include, at the least, the control, during the voyage, of everything with which the vessel is equipped for the purpose of protecting her and her cargo against the inroad of the seas; and, if there was any neglect in not closing the iron covers of the ports, it was a fault or error in the navigation or in the management of the ship. ”

“ Cargo-handling compares favourably with the most advanced ports. Efficient, modern methods, a plentiful supply of labour, lighterage, road-transport and experienced staffs, capable of undertaking any operation from the stowage of special cargoes to the handling of heavy-lifts and bulk oils, make the Port popular with all connected with shipping. 750,000 measurement tons (mainland) and 230,000 measurement tons (island) of godown space is equipped for ordinary, refrigerated and dangerous goods storage. ”

“ Q.—Have you seen the Excelsior steamer? A.—I have, but I have not travelled in her. She is fine in her lines, but she is only a river boat. No man with any experience would build a vessel like the Alert to go to sea.
Q.—How much cargo would it take to make the Alert sea-worthy? A.—It could not have been done anyhow. No amount of cargo would make her sea-worthy. She might be better in a gale if she were heavily laden. She should have had about 100 tons of cargo; it would put her more on an even keel. ”

“ If 8 tons be taken as the capacity of an ordinary railway truck and 30 trucks be allowed to a train, ~it will be obvious that a single modern cargo ship will require a vast procession of rolling stock to clear her cargo. A single cargo of 10,000 tons, for example, will require some 125O railway trucks for its removal; or, allowing 6 yards' length to the truck, 7500 yards of rolling stock, without engines and vans. And, in fact, congestion of shipping owing to delays is frequently the cause of bitter complaint in the case of certain ports. ”