Hence, Gard Services sees good maintenance and proper testing of hatch covers as a clear loss prevention issue. Whilst this is an onerous burden of proof to meet, a carrier who can show diligent procedures and practices with regard to inspection, testing and maintenance will be less likely to encounter problems from the outset, and will be better placed to show that due diligence has indeed been exercised. One will often find, however, that there is evidence of both: bad weather and poor condition of hatch cover tightness systems.Ī carrier’s liability for cargo damage relating to sea water ingress via the hatch covers often depends on whether he can demonstrate that he exercised due diligence to make the vessel seaworthy before and at the beginning of the voyage in question. When leakages occur, ship managers may blame weather conditions rather than possible lack of maintenance of hatch cover tightness systems. Very large openings actually, but manufacturers have been able to design and build strong enough steel covers and closing devices to cope with the demand – strong enough and tight enough at the time of testing and delivery of the new ship, but as the vessel ages, however beautifully, the hatch covers are prone to suffer from wear and tear, and problems of tightness arise. In the ships of today the cargo is no longer carried on board on the backs of strong men, and the speedy loading and discharge methods require much larger deck openings. Decks were often awash during ocean passages and the smaller the opening, the smaller the risk of flooding the holds. In sailing vessels the cargo hatches used to be small, as small as possible, in order to preserve the integrity of the hull. Reports of leaking hatch covers are the most frequent cause for selecting a vessel for an unscheduled condition survey. A significant portion of cargo claims is caused by water damage, of which numerous cases relate to ingress of sea water via the hatch covers of dry cargo vessels. Approximately one third of all P&I claims are cargo-related.
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