Emergency Contact Precautions while loading oil on board Home Latest updates Publications Precautions while loading oil on board 2 Nov 2016 Download page as PDF Sign up for alerts The loading of oil on board vessels, whether cargo or bunkers, is a critical operation. Due care must be taken to mitigate against the risk of pollution. The Club has recently been notified of several incidents whereby standard procedures were not adhered to whilst loading, causing cargo tanks to overflow and leading to pollution. In light of these incidents the Club would like to recommend to our Members some steps that should be included within their on board management systems and taken into account prior to the commencement of loading oil. In addition to the steps highlighted below the Club has also produced a poster on  Avoiding Pollution . Pre-arrival checks must be carried out before reaching the loading port on the cargo/bunkering systems and equipment. This must include, but is not limited to, testing high level alarm systems. The Club has been made aware of a number of cases where the cargo tank high level alarm systems have been intentionally switched off to avoid inconvenience or have not been operational for a long time. A ship-shore safety checklist must be agreed with the terminal and understood by all personnel involved in the cargo operations. This must also be signed by a ship and a terminal representative. This checklist should include the emergency stop signal for cargo operations and the contingency actions to be undertaken by the ship and the terminal in case of emergencies. A cargo loading plan must be developed and include details of; the sequence of different cargo grades to be loaded (if more than one grade), manifolds to be used, ship nominated tanks, maximum loading rates including reduced rates for initial loading and topping off tanks, sequence of tanks loaded, intermediate sampling requirements, if any, and notices for reduction/stoppage of loading