1. Answer the questions.

1. What cargo was tween-decker ship chartered for a voyage from West Africa?

2. How were the logs transported to the vessel in these regions?

3. How did the gang of stevedores commence loading the vessel?

4. Why didn’t the master receive all the information on the quantity and types of logs to be shipped?

5. Why were there communication problems between the stevedores and the ship’s crew?

6. Why did the ship’s managers and crew lack knowledge about nuances of timber loading in West Africa?

7. What was wrong with the stowage factors accepted by the ship’s crew?

8. What aspects affect stowage factor in most timber loading operation?

9. What did the revised stability calculation show?

10. What was the reason for commercial pressure on the owners and vessel?

11. What scheme was worked out to solve the problem?

2. Explain the following terms.

1. A tween-decker cargo ship________________________________________________________

2. under-declaration of weight________________________________________________________

3. capacity of the ship’s cargo gear____________________________________________________

4. a winchman, signalman and tallyman________________________________________________

5. an inland haulier, and a shipper_____________________________________________________

6. a stowage factor (SF)__________________________________________________________

7. a daily draught survey___________________________________________________________

8. a double-bottom (DB) tank ________________________________________________________

9. ballast water__________________________________________________________________

3. Decide if these statements are true (t) or false (f).Correct the wrong ones.

1. A tween-decker cargo ship was chartered for a voyage from West Africa to load a mixture of logs in the lower holds and plywood.____________

2. As it is common in these regions, the logs were floated down-river in the form of large rafts.____

3. The vessels are usually anchored in the outer roadstead for cargo operations in these regions.____

4. The chief officer received very scant information on the quantity and types of logs to be shipped. _________

5. The ship’s crew could not communicate in English and it resulted in misunderstanding between stevedores and the crew. _____

6.The ship’s crew accepted the stowage factors taking into account only “dry timber” data. _______

7. The ship’s crew was fully conversant with the peculiarities of timber loading in West Africa.__________

8. The holds were duly filled with logs and the vessel berthed at a wharf to discharge the sawn timber and plywood on the hatch covers.________

9. Finally, containers with coffee and cocoa beans were not loaded on the vessel._______________

4. Choose the factors which could affect the stowage factor and stability condition of the tween-decker cargo ship.

1. A mixture of logs in the lower holds, packaged sawn timber and plywood in the tween decks and several containers of coffee cocoa beans on the hatch covers, loaded on board the vessel.

2. Unskilled work of a gang of stevedores.

3. Very scant information on the quantity and types of logs to be shipped received by the master of the vessel.

4. Nonexistent or unreliable communications with the forestry plantations in the interior, inland hauliers, stockyards up-river and shippers.

5. Lack of knowledge of the English language of the stevedores and the ship’s crew’s misunderstanding the rudimentary French and local dialect.

6. The ship’s crew’s lack of detailed knowledge about the trade and the nuances of timber loading in West Africa.

7. The ship’s crew accepted the stowage factors as stated in the list, not realising that the data were only for “dry timber”.

8. The master’s refusal to load the containers on board ship.