Loading, discharging and bunkering mean working with the terminal, the surveyor, the stevedores and the barge, often in English. Mistakes are costly: a fuel overflow, damaged cargo, the wrong draft. Here is the vocabulary and the phrases for deck, cargo and bunkering.
Cargo operations
- To load / to discharge — the two core verbs.
- Cargo hold / tank / hatch — where cargo goes and its opening.
- Loading rate / discharge rate — the flow speed.
- To commence / to stop / to resume — controlling the operation.
- Deadweight (DWT) / cargo quantity — capacity / amount loaded.
- Bulk / general / containerised / liquid cargo — the cargo types.
Stability & draft
- Draft / draught (forward / aft / mean) — how deep the ship sits.
- Trim / list — fore-aft / sideways inclination.
- Ballast / deballast — adjusting weight for stability.
- Even keel — level. Stress / bending moment — hull loads.
- Loading plan / sequence — the order of loading.
People at the terminal
- Stevedore / longshoreman / foreman — the dock workers and their boss.
- Surveyor / tally (clerk) — inspects / counts the cargo.
- Terminal / berth / quay — the shore facilities.
Documents
- Bill of lading (B/L) / cargo manifest — the cargo paperwork.
- Stowage plan / mate's receipt — placement / receipt of cargo.
- Damage report / letter of protest — recording problems.
Securing cargo
- Lashing / securing — holding cargo in place.
- Lashing gear / turnbuckle / chain — the securing hardware.
- Twist lock / dunnage — container fitting / packing material.
- The cargo shifted — it moved during the voyage.
Bunkering
- Bunker / bunkering / bunker fuel — the fuel and the operation.
- Barge (bunker barge) / hose / manifold — the transfer equipment.
- Connect / disconnect the hose — the connection verbs.
- Commence / stop pumping — controlling the transfer.
- Sounding / ullage — level from the bottom / empty space from the top.
- Flow rate / pressure — the transfer parameters.
- Topping up / final trim — finishing the tank levels.
- Overflow / spill — a pollution emergency. Bunker sample — the fuel sample.
- SOPEP / scupper plug — the pollution plan / deck drain plug.
Pre-transfer agreement
Before starting, agree the rate, the signals and the emergency stop. Phrase:
> "Stand by to commence bunkering. Agreed rate two hundred cubic metres per hour, maximum pressure four bar. Emergency stop signal is three long blasts. Communication on channel six. Confirm, please."
Mini-dialogue (cargo)
Officer: "Commence loading, slow rate please, we start the sequence."
Terminal: "Commencing slow rate, roger."
Officer: "Increase to full loading rate."
... "Stop loading, hold number three is full."
Knowing the procedures in English is valued on every ship. Tanker, bulker and container vacancies are on seajobs.pro.