UK P&I Club has launched its latest video in a series of award-winning reflective learning training videos, based on a real-life case of a vessel that incurred significant damage to its maize cargo due to a failure to conduct basic checks upon completion of loading.

The animated video depicts an incident where a bulk carrier is fixed to load a full cargo of yellow maize in bulk; the previous cargo had been bulk fertilizer. On completion of loading, all five holds were fumigated, and the holds were then closed, secured and sealed. During the initial stages of the voyage, the vessel encountered heavy weather, with spray and seas shipped on deck and all hatches covered over a period of eight days.

Upon arrival at the discharge port, the hold and manhole seals were inspected and found to be intact. Three holds were approved for discharge, but two were rejected. A bad odor was reported at the forward end of both hatchways, and the surfaces of the cargo stows in both of the rejected cargo holds were found to be locally moldy, discolored and caked, with temperatures in the affected areas measured at up to 63° C. The quantity of damaged cargo was estimated to be about 10 to 12 metric tonnes in each hold.

“Improving checks and procedures in our industry will prevent wasteful and costly incidents like this occurring,” said Stuart Edmonston, loss prevention director at UK P&I Club.

The series of videos provide an interactive training experience with a focus on educating crew members on common marine accidents or oversights and how to mitigate the risk of them occurring. Hosted across Thomas Miller websites, the videos are available to view for training purposes by both marine employers and their employees.

View the latest UK P&I’s Lesson Learnt video here.