Deck cargoes refers to items or commodities carried on the weather-deck and hatch covers of a ship and thereon exposed to sun, wind, rain, snow, ice and sea, so that the packaging must be fully resistant to, or the commodities themselves not be denatured by, such exposure.
Deck cargoes, because of their very location and the means by which they are secured, will be subjected to velocity and acceleration stresses greater, in most instances, than cargo stowed below decks.
More often than not, there is no shell plating, framing or bulkhead to stow against and secure to, and isolated structures may offer little protection against the force of waves shipped over decks and hatches. Even in Ro-Ro vessels, many areas above the actual ‘Hold’ space can reasonably be considered as “on deck” even though not fully exposed to the onslaught of wind and sea.
Deck cargo shall be so distributed and stowed –
As to avoid excessive loading having regard to the strength of the deck and integral supporting structure of the ship; as to ensure that the ship will retain adequate stability at all stages of the voyage having regard in particular to –
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