Bulk containers for bulk cargo. Advantages of bulk carriers over universal containers Sea transportation. Practices and terms of international maritime transport

In the process of circulation of any type of manufactured product, namely when it is presented for transportation by any type of transport, the product turns into cargo. At the same time, essential for choosing a method of transportation and transshipment is the need to classify the transport properties of this cargo. To solve logistics problems, there are several types of cargo classification that can be met various designations cargo. For example, classification by method of transportation and transshipment (pieces, bulk, liquid, etc.); By physical and chemical properties(self-heating and spontaneous combustion, poisonous, flammable, explosive, dusty, etc.); according to the climatic regime of transportation (perishable and refrigerated cargo requiring special humidity conditions). To solve the problem of creating a transport and logistics chain for the transportation of goods through the seaports of St. Petersburg and Novorossiysk, the following enlarged classification of cargo nomenclature is used (Table 1.)

Table 1. Integrated classification of cargo nomenclature

Liquid
	Bulk	General
Crude oil		Ferrous and non-ferrous metals	The forest is round
Petroleum products	Coal and coke	cars and equipment	Lumber
Petrochemical	Ores and concentrates	Perishable
Food liquids	Chemical	Cargo in containers	Other forest
Other liquids	Construction	Cargo on the ferry
		Other packaged pieces

The ongoing container revolution has developed this classification into the concepts of “containers” and “containerable cargo,” some of which are becoming “containerized cargo.” in the above classification, according to transport and technological properties, they are formally classified as general cargo; these can be liquid (petrochemical, food, etc.) in tank containers, bulk, timber, perishable and other containerized cargo.

Shipping. Practices and terms of international maritime transport

In the practice of modern commercial maritime transport cargo the following terms are also found:

Bulk, or bulk cargo, is reloaded into free form− grabs, buckets, pumps and transported by sea in the volume formed by the ship’s hull. Cargoes of this type include grain, coal, iron ore, sugar, phosphates, sulfur, and petroleum products. The bulk is accounted for by its weight, often calculated by the change in the vessel's draft.
Break beam, or general cargo, is another type of cargo, otherwise called piece cargo, or packed in containers that meet the standards (boxes, bags, bales, barrels, etc.). As a rule, such cargo has a higher unit cost per unit weight. This cargo is handled individually or can be enlarged by placing it on pallets (pallets). This cargo can also be containerized, i.e. loaded into a standardized container and presented for transportation as a container. In foreign terminology, such a container is often identified as a full load container (FCL). The operation of assembling cargo units of different cargo owners into one less-than-full load (LCL) container is also common.
There is the term neo-bulk, which is a bulk cargo, usually of one direction of transportation, with a high unit cost, which is transported by specialized ships to specialized terminals. Examples of this type of cargo are cars and timber. Typically, neo-beam routes follow their own specific routes - roundwood cargo traffic, for example, originates in specialized timber ports, cars are transported through special car terminals, often located separately from other port facilities.
Specialized pure car carrier vessels have a shallow draft due to the high loading volume of cargo. Port facilities for them usually occupy a large, specially equipped area, being, to some extent, a kind of large parking lot for thousands of new cars, which is sometimes one of the reasons for the location of such terminals far from traditional port facilities. In St. Petersburg, such specialized terminals are located in the seaport of St. Petersburg, at OJSC Petrolesport and in the seaport of Ust-Luga.

25.09.2015

The modern sphere of container transportation, like any other direction commercial activities human, is actively developing, undergoing functional modernization. All new products and improvements to the basic models are aimed at maximum optimization and rationalization of the transportation of a particular cargo. Thus, due to the high relevance of transportation of bulk goods, special container modules were developed, which were called bulk carriers and were widely used in the organization of sea, railway and road transport.

Today they are the priority containers for transporting such bulk cargo like grain crops, chemical substances, sand, crushed stone, gravel, building mixtures, mineral fertilizers, food bulk materials etc.

Design features of bulk carriers

The main difference between bulk containers and universal blocks is the presence of two hatch systems, which are aimed at facilitating and speeding up loading and unloading operations.

Upper hatch system (loading) – consists of several round or oval hatches located on the roof of the container. Such functional holes are distributed evenly over metal base roof, which makes it possible to evenly fill the block with bulk cargo. For convenience, horizontal loading is carried out through the upper hatch system.
Lower hatch system (unloading) – is a collection of rectangular hatches located in the lower part of the end doors. This upgrade helps speed up the unloading of the container both through natural mechanical pouring of the substance, and allows manual unloading by opening the main doors. In addition, the lower hatch system of the bulk carrier can be supplemented with a pneumatic unloading mechanism, which ensures the flow of compressed air into the unit. This system makes it possible to speed up container unloading several times without using human labor.

Video: types and sizes of sea containers

One of the main criteria for the quality of bulk carriers is checking the tightness of the block, which is primarily due to the abundance of additional hatches and opening doors. This is especially true given the high sensitivity of most bulk solids to moisture and dust. The tightness of bulk carriers is achieved by installing special rubber seals, which ensure a tight fit of the sash to the metal base, guaranteeing not only tightness, but also noiselessness when opening the hatch. In addition, when choosing a bulk carrier, it is important to pay attention to the locking mechanisms of both the end door system and all hatches, since the safety of the internal contents of the container directly depends on this characteristic.

Classification of cargo during sea transportation

To solve logistics problems, there are several types of cargo classification, which can correspond to different cargo designations. For example, classification by method of transportation and transshipment (pieces, bulk, liquid, etc.); by physical and chemical properties (self-heating and spontaneous combustion, poisonous, flammable, explosive, dusty, etc.); according to the climatic regime of transportation (refrigerated and perishable goods requiring special humidity conditions).

According to the form of presentation for sea transportation, cargo is divided into: piece, bulk, liquid.

Piece cargo includes the broad name of cargo in boxes, bags, barrels, bales, etc. These also include automotive construction equipment, metal structures, technical equipment and other goods transported in separate places. As a rule, such cargo has a higher unit cost per unit weight. This cargo is handled individually or can be enlarged by placing it on pallets (pallets). This cargo can also be containerized, i.e. loaded into a unified container and presented for transportation as a container. In foreign terminology, such a container is often identified as a full load container (FCL). The operation of assembling cargo units of different cargo owners into one less-than-full load (LCL) container is also common. Piece cargo is otherwise called general cargo or Break-bulk. General cargo is transported on trailers and dry cargo ships. Large ─ on barges.

Bulk cargo (bulk) is reloaded in free form - with grabs, buckets, pumps and transported by sea, in the volume formed by the ship's hull. Bulk cargo is transported without containers ─ in bulk in the holds of special vessels (bankers). Cargoes of this type include grain, coal, iron ore, sugar, phosphates, sulfur, and crushed stone. To transport bulk cargo, a whole cargo ship or separate holds are used. The bulk is accounted for by its weight, often calculated by the change in the vessel's draft. The peculiarity of bulk cargo is their flowability, caking, and tendency to shift during transportation (for example, grain, ore). Transportation of coal is carried out in the holds of carbon carriers.

Liquid cargoes include crude oil, petroleum products, vegetable oils, alcohol, chemical materials and liquefied liquids. natural gas. In turn, petroleum products are divided into: light, dark, oils. Light petroleum products ─ gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene. Dark oil products ─ are all types of fuel oil; they contain heavy sediments from oil refining. Liquefied gases(under pressure, chilled, combined).

Chemical cargoes are transported in containers, in bulk or in bulk on specialized vessels - chemical tankers. Transportation of oil and petroleum products is carried out in bulk in tankers. Transportation of liquefied gases is carried out on highly specialized vessels ─ gas carriers, which are equipped with special cargo tanks.

The ongoing container revolution has developed this classification into the concept of "container cargo". Container cargo in terms of transport and technical properties, they are formally classified as general cargo; these can be liquid (petrochemical, food, etc.) in tank containers, bulk, timber, perishable and other containerized cargo.

There is the term neo-bulk, which is a bulk cargo, usually of one direction of transportation, with a high unit cost, which is transported by specialized ships to specialized terminals. Examples of this type of cargo are cars and timber. Typically, neo-beam routes follow their own specific routes ─ roundwood cargo traffic, for example, originates in specialized timber ports, cars are transported through special car terminals, often located separately from other port facilities.

Specialized vessels ─ pure car carriers have a shallow draft due to the high loading volume of cargo. Port facilities for them usually occupy a large, specially equipped area, being, to some extent, a kind of large parking lot for thousands of new cars, which is sometimes one of the reasons for the location of such terminals far from port facilities. In St. Petersburg, such specialized terminals are located in the seaport of St. Petersburg, at OJSC Petrolesport and in the seaport of Ust-Luga.

According to physical and chemical properties, cargo is divided into:

Hygroscopic are those that are susceptible to moisture coming from environment and are able to give it away easily;

Self-heating and spontaneous combustion;

Poisonous and harmful gases released;

Flammable;

Explosive;

Caking, freezing and sintering;

Emitting specific odors;

Perceiving foreign odors;

Dusty;

Depending on the effect on cargo external environment, i.e. temperatures and humidity are usually divided into non-regime and regime. Non-moderate cargo includes those cargoes in which the effects of aggressive factors arising during sea transportation do not cause changes in their physical and chemical properties and deterioration in quality. They do not require the creation of special conditions during their transportation. Sensitive cargo includes those cargoes that require the creation of certain temperature and humidity conditions in the holds. Without compliance with these conditions, transportation of sensitive cargo is impossible or possible only for a limited time.

Sensitive cargoes are divided into two classes: perishable cargoes and non-perishable cargoes that require regulation of humidity and ventilation modes. Perishable cargo includes: frozen cargo, chilled cargo of animal origin and chilled fruit and vegetable cargo. Transportation of perishable goods is carried out on refrigerated ships or in refrigerated containers.

An enlarged classification of cargo nomenclature is also used in sea transportation (used when transporting goods through the seaports of St. Petersburg and Novorossiysk).

Enlarged classification of cargo nomenclature

Sea trade ports quarterly, in form M-3, reflect information on the departure of coastal and imported cargo transported on ships of Russian shipping companies and on foreign loans.

The following groups of cargo are reflected in the list of form M-3:

Enlarged code Name Line number

│ groups │

│ 0001 │Grain and grinding products │ 01 │

├───────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────┤

│ 0102 │Compounded feed │ 05 │

│ 0003 │Perishable food │ 08 │

│ 0700 │Sugar │ 12 │

│ 0008 │Food products in bulk │ 15 │

│ 0010 │Metals │ 19 │

│ 1100 │incl. ferrous metals │ 20 │

│ 1300 │Scrap metal │ 22 │

│ 0012 │Machinery, equipment and metal products │ 23 │

│ 0013 │Ore │ 25 │

│ 1600 │incl. iron and manganese │ 26 │

│ 1800 │Coal, coke │ 27 │

│ 2000 │Cement │ 31 │

│ 0015 │Construction materials │ 32 │

│ 2300 │Industrial raw materials and molding materials │ 34 │

│ 0017 │Chemical and mineral fertilizers │ 35 │

│ 2600 │Chemical cargo │ 37 │

│ 0021 │Oil in bulk │ 43 │

│ 0022 │Petroleum products in bulk │ 44 │

│ 3400 │Timber cargo │ 50 │

│ 3600 │Paper and pulp │ 53 │

│ 0090 │Other bulk carriers │ 54 │

│ 0091 │Other liquid cargo │ 55 │

│ 0099 │Total cargo │ 57 │

The field of container transportation is actively developing, and the equipment used is being modernized. Instead of universal marine modules in the segment of transportation of bulk cargo without packaging, bulk containers have become the priority container. They are distinguished from basic structures by the presence of two hatch systems. They allow you to speed up and facilitate loading and unloading operations.

Design features of bulk carriers

Bulk carriers are equipped with an upper and lower hatch system. The upper one - loading - consists of 3 round or oval technological holes Ø 45.5 cm, distributed along the metal base of the roof at a distance of 1.83 m between centers. This allows you to evenly fill containers with bulk cargo:

grain crops;
construction mixtures;
mineral fertilizers;
polymers;
other substances and materials.

Also, horizontal loading of the container is carried out through the upper hatch system.

The lower - unloading - system consists of 2 rectangular holes for gravity discharge, located in the lower part of the end doors. Their doors are opened to speed up manual unloading through the main doors. There are models of bulk carriers with a pneumatic unloading mechanism compressed air. This system makes it possible to speed up unloading several times without the use of manpower.

A key criterion for the quality of a bulk carrier is tightness, since most bulk substances are sensitive to moisture and dust. To ensure this, rubber seals are attached to the sashes. No less important parameter– quality of locking mechanisms that ensure both tightness and safety of the cargo.

Bulk containers are full-fledged 20- and 40-foot modules for transporting piece goods. They are universal – suitable for sea, road and rail cargo transportation. They comply with the ISO standard, which allows them to be used not only for transporting bulk cargo within the country, but also for international transit.

- Articles on logistics - Types of services for sea cargo transportation

Transportation by sea is the most popular method of transporting goods. First of all, this is due to the fact that sea transport allows you to transport large volumes of cargo, while the cost is significantly lower than when using road or rail transport, not to mention air transportation, which is the most expensive looking delivery, however, with an indisputable argument in its favor - minimal transit time. O international transport You can find out more about cargo, but in this article we will focus on the main types of sea transportation.

Sea transportation has its own varieties, and the choice of one type or another directly depends on the following parameters - dimensions and weight, the nature of the cargo, pick-up and delivery points, as well as other components.

International container transportation.

Perhaps the most common type of service for general cargo. Sea containers, whose owners are shipping lines, are provided to the sender of the cargo as packaging, which preserves the goods throughout the entire delivery cycle to the recipient's warehouse. The sender and recipient may be located in different countries, in this case, transportation is considered international. An empty container is delivered to the supplier's warehouse, for example, in Shanghai, a consignment of goods is placed in it, securely fastened, and a seal is placed on the container. The container is then brought to the port and waits for the nearest ship. At the port of arrival, for example, in St. Petersburg, unloading is carried out at the terminal; after import customs clearance is completed, the container is delivered to the supplier’s warehouse in Moscow. The seal must be intact, this is a guarantee that there was no penetration of the container by third parties during transportation. There is one exception to this rule - the seal can be broken by the customs authorities, drawing up a corresponding act and placing a new seal.

Transportation by groupage container - special case of the type described above, with the difference that goods from several senders to several recipients are transported in one container. Cargo from different senders is consolidated at the agent's warehouse, he loads the goods into a container and transportation proceeds according to a similar scenario. The nuance in this case is that at the port of arrival the container is deconsolidated and then the cargo is transported to customs temporary storage warehouses for different recipients. This delivery method is relevant if the volume of cargo is not enough for the entire container. Under these conditions, this option is more cost-effective.

RO-RO service.

From English Roll on - Roll off. Optimal for wheeled vehicles, but also suitable for other oversized cargo.

Break Bulk

Designed for larger shipments, the so-called. design For example, transportation of drilling rigs, parts for the construction of power plants, etc. Often a whole ship is chartered.