Broken Stowage in Bulk Cargoes
The volume a bulk stow cannot fill: hold end shapes, structure, hopper and topside geometry, and the percentages a capacity calculation has to allow.
Broken stowage is the volume of a cargo space that the cargo cannot occupy, and it is the gap between a capacity calculated from stowage factor and the tonnage a ship actually loads. In a bulk carrier it arises at the hold ends, around structure, in the hopper and topside tank geometry, and wherever the cargo’s angle of repose prevents it filling to the deckhead.
The full article will cover how broken stowage is estimated for different cargo types and hold forms, the allowances used in practice, and why the loss is larger for a coarse or cohesive cargo than for a free-flowing one.
It will also cover the interaction with grain and bale capacity, the difference between the two, and how a draught survey reconciles the calculated figure with the tonnage actually on board.