Checks the load on the boats

Text: Sveinung W. Jensen, Tellus Kommunikasjon

- Locally, this is carried out for, among others, Alcoa Lista when boats have arrived with raw materials at Farsund. But it could just as easily be in Bergen, Husnes or Porsgrunn, where we also have such assignments, says operations manager Leif Steinar Simonsen.

The point of a "draft survey" is to determine the weight of the cargo on board a boat without having to weigh the cargo itself. This is done based on a special procedure.

CHECK FIRST the draft marks in six places on the hull – forward, amidships and aft on the port and starboard side. Then everything from ballast, fresh water, fuel and oil is measured. And finally, the ship's constant is calculated, i.e. the weight of loose equipment, moorings, rust and other things that the ship did not have on board when it was new, and thus are not part of the official lightship weight.

- The same procedure is done before and after unloading. Once we have recorded all the data, they are plotted into a program that calculates the load, explains Simonsen.

A "DRAFT SURVEY" is based on the Archimedes principle, that is to say that a body immersed in a liquid is subjected to an upward force equal to the weight of the displaced liquid.

As a rule, both the crew on board the boat and the recipient carry out a weight calculation of the load before and after unloading.

- Locally in Farsund, our client is Alcoa Lista. There are strict environmental requirements associated with such loading, so it is important that this is done correctly, says Simonsen.

Our department for "port operations" performs and offers the following services:

• Port captain or havnekaptein as it is called in Norwegian. Offers support for the ship's captain and shipping company in port.
• Draft survey.
• Bunker survey. Verification of bunker quantity on board.
• On/off hire survey. Verification of the condition and stock of the ship before it leaves and on charter.
• Tally. En route verification of loading and unloading quantities.
• Rental of cabin crew and crane operators.