Emergency Contact Loading and discharging procedures for inland barges Home Latest updates Publications Loading and discharging procedures for inland barges 5 Jan 2016 Download page as PDF Sign up for alerts The construction and design of a purpose built inland barge, in most cases, differs from that of an ocean-going barge. This is due to inland barges being built to sail in benign or sheltered waters whereas seagoing barges are designed and strengthened to withstand the stresses associated with sea conditions and heavy weather. Recently the Club has experienced a number of incidents concerning structural failures to inland barges, leading to sinking during loading and discharging procedures. It has been reported that the causes of these incidents can be mainly attributed to a combination of the construction of the barge concerned and the incorrect loading or discharging procedures. This has resulted in an unacceptable level of stress on the barge structure. Therefore, when loading cargoes in bulk, it is important that the loading sequence is planned, taking into account the stability criteria of the barge at every stage of loading. Due consideration must be made to ensure the cargo is loaded evenly in small piles in the first round. Subsequent passes can then be made to increase the cargo quantity of the piles in tandem. This will ensure that cargo piles are spread out evenly which reduces the stresses on the vessel’s structure throughout the loading process. Similar planning is also required in the discharging process to eradicate undue stresses. When the principle of equal spreading is not followed, (as explained above) the vessel can experience either heavy hogging stresses (if the ends are loaded heavier than the midship section) or sagging stresses (if the midship section is loaded more than the ends) in the midship section, mainly concentrated in the areas of the hatchc