Bonding is simply the act of joining two electrical conductors together.
Effective bonding is achieved by connecting a metal cable between the objects. The cable is sometimes permanently fixed to one conductor and bolted or clamped to the other. At the removable end, contact should be metal to metal and care should be taken to make sure paint, dirt or rust does not interfere with the electrical conductivity. The cable should be strong enough to have good resistance to wear and tear.
Bonding and earthing cables should be inspected periodically and their resistance checked with a suitable meter.
Hoses used in marine transfer operations are designed to have specific electrical properties. Their construction includes the use of electrically conductive materials. Only properly constructed hoses that are electrically continuous should be used for cargo operations.
When joining hoses together or to a cargo connection, a fully bolted flange joint can be relied upon to be electrically continuous so that bonding wires between the flanged connections should not be required.
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