Search for ships currently entered in the London P&I Club by their name or I M O number Search Search for correspondents in our global network by country/area or port/city Search Liquefaction risks - Iron Ore Sinter Feed 8 July 2011 It is recommended that this alert is read in conjunction with the Circulars issued by the Association on 13 December 2010 (India - Safe shipment of Iron Ore Fines from Indian Ports, No 5:421) and 31 January 2011 (Indonesia and the Philippines - Safe Carriage of Nickel Ore Cargoes, No 5:428). This concerns the shipping of a type of iron ore described as “ sinter feed ”.  The term sinter feed indicates that the cargo is too fine-grained for direct use in a blast furnace and therefore will undergo a process of agglomeration (“sintering”) into larger particles at destination before smelting.  Thus, it is descriptive of the use of the product rather than its properties or production method.  Some grades of sinter feed are known to be prone to liquefy. The Association has received reports of Brazilian shippers declaring cargoes of sinter feed (or iron ore sinter feed) as Group C under the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (the IMSBC Code) but without any supporting documentation.  The ports involved include Ponta da Madeira, Tubarao, Itaguai and some ports in Santana.  Group C cargoes are not prone to liquefy and accordingly do not require the shipper to provide test results for Transportable Moisture Content (TML), Flow Moisture Point (FMP) and moisture content of the cargoes. Several recent cargoes of Brazilian sinter feed have reportedly liquefied after loading as a result of the high moisture content of the cargo, despite shippers’ declarations at the loadport having described the cargoes as Group C.  Thankfully there have been no reported losses to date but the risk of a loss of stability and potential capsize is apparent. Sinter feed is clearly listed in the IMSBC Code under IRON CONCEN