Breakbulk cargoes and jumbo bag claims

London P&I continues to see cargo damage claims arising from the carriage of dry chemicals in flexible intermediate bulk containers, more commonly known as jumbo bags, when they are stowed in the same holds as breakbulk cargoes.

These claims are almost always connected with voyages where handy sized bulk carriers load breakbulk cargoes in China. In many cases, the stowage plan appears to be based mainly on the discharge port rotation. This can lead to very high value steel products being over-stowed with jumbo bags of dry chemicals that may be corrosive to steel. The jumbo bags are then themselves over-stowed with general cargoes, sometimes including trucks and buses.

In a number of cases, the jumbo bags have burst and the dry chemicals have spilled into the hold. The chemical cargoes are damaged, but the spill can also cause significant damage to the other cargoes in the hold. London P&I has also seen multiple examples of shifting stow or chemical spills that have led to cargo fires. In severe cases, improperly stowed mixed cargoes can result in incidents that go beyond cargo damage.

Our review of these cases has shown that the breakbulk cargoes are almost never loaded and stowed in accordance with the principles set out in the Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing (CSS Code) or the ship-specific Cargo Securing Manual (CSM).

Failure to load in accordance with the CSS Code or the CSM may prejudice P&I cover for both owners and charterers.

To highlight best practice and provide practical guidance, London P&I has worked closely with Brookes Bell, a leading multi-disciplinary technical and scientific consultancy, to produce guidance on stowing and securing FIBCs with other breakbulk cargoes. The full report can be accessed here.