1. Emergency

Shifting of Cargo

2. Application

• Shorebased Organisation

• All Bulk Carriers

3. Situations and Action on Board

Situation	Respon­sibility	Action	Comments
Ship develops list	Officer of the Watch	Watches roll angles critically; measures roll angles to both sides, records maximum roll angles in Deck Log Book; determines trends. Alerts Master immediately. Important: takes note of and does not under-estimate slight differences of roll angles	Bell Book Telephone
Informing	Master	Informs headoffice, informs crew	Telephone
Checking Stability	Master	Checks and re-calculates initial and inclination stability
Reducing Cargo Shifting	Master	(Further shifting must be avoided under all circumstances. No reasonable efforts should be spared to restore cargo to original position.) Heaving to: If the sea comes from abaft, turns the ship into the sea so that the swell comes from the side to which ship is listing, thereby carefully utilising vibrations to make cargo slide back into its original position; manoeuvres with utmost caution, avoids all abrupt and hard manoeuvres!
Reducing List	Master	Carefully reduces list by ballasting: only one tank at a time (to avoid free surfaces); does not compensate list completely (very real risk of capsizing should cargo shift to the opposite side!!!)

Situation	Respon­sibility	Action	Comments
Interferences	Master	In case ship's scending and sea action synchronise, changes course or speed and closely watches new situation. (Never change both simultaneously to avoid mutual cancelling out.)
Changing Sea Territory	Master	Retrieves updated weather and sea motion charts; checks whether shallow waters can be reached within short; carefully alters course, observes movements of ship
Critical Situation	Master	Puts into port of refuge in time; informs Rescue Centre; inform agents; sends Securite message to ships in vicinity, requests them to stand by	Telephone Telex VHF
Danger of Capsizing	Master All hands	Raises General Alarm; has crew mustered, instructs crew to prepare to abandon ship. Abandon ship in time before heavy list prevents launching of life boats	General Alarm NP-005

4. Training on Board

Make all officers of the watch aware of the reasons for shifting of cargo:

Shifting is caused by sea movements which in turn cause ship oscillations and vibrations.

• 'dry' shifting (dry bulk cargo): asymmetric (one-sided) vibration and jigging of the ship cause particles of the cargo to move in one direction

• 'wet' shifting (dry bulk cargo): beginning at the surface, cargo starts to fluidize

• shifting of grain: vibrations align individual (longish) grains and cargo will sag; resulting free surfaces lead to shifting.

There are definitive limits to reverse cargo shifting. Therefore, prevention is the most effective measure. Strictly adhere to good seamanship and observe safety regulations when loading and trimming bulk cargoes.

When carrying cargoes liable to fluidization (in the main, fine grain commodities such as concentrates), regularly check moisture content of the cargo particularly in a humid atmosphere. Implement safety measures timely before cargo reaches state of fluidization. Take another route through calmer seas, change course and avoid rolling, call at port of refuge if necessary.

Exercise - simulated case:

• Identify the best course and speed for heaving to

• Identify necessary ballast operations

• Check the consequences of ballast operations by stability and heeling calculations

• Draft a message to the Rescue Centre as well as a Securite call

5. Situations and Action Ashore

Situation	Respon­sibility	Action	Comments
Report from Ship	Fleet Manager	Mans Emergency Response Centre
Weather Situation	Fleet Manager	Obtains information on prevailing weather and sea conditions; has meteorologists assess likely development of swell along proposed route; requests routeing recommendations	Marine Weather Service
Rescue Centre	Fleet Manager	Contacts Rescue Centre in charge; requests information on ships in vicinity	Fax/Telex
Keeping in Touch	Fleet Manager	Contacts ship at regular intervals, minutes conversations; relays information and recommendations; requests reports on situation	Telephone

6. Training Ashore

• Communication exercises with the ships (joint exercises)

7. Reference Documents

• Emergency Response Manual

• Telephone numbers of the Rescue Centre

• Telephone numbers of the Marine Weather Service

• Ship's stability calculation data

• Cargo data, in particular with regard to shifting:

• Angle of repose

• Actual moisture content of cargo at time of loading, expressed in percentage terms

• Fluidization Point in %

• Maximum Transportable Limit in %

Emergency Response Plan

Schiffahrtskontor tom Wörden GmbH & Co. KG Wilhelm-Schröder-Str. 3 D-21726 Oldendorf

NP-013/1

Revision 3

18.12.2002

Page 1 of 5

Emergency Response Plan

Reederei Heinz Corleis Kampweg 4a D-21706 Drochtersen

prepared: 28.03.1998	approved:	released:	Revision 0
			Emergency Response Plan No.: NP-013/1
J.Köster	H.Corleis	H.Corleis	Page 1 of 5

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