SOLAS Regulation XII/10: Solid Bulk Cargo Density Declaration
The density declaration for bulk carriers of 150 m and upwards: what must be declared, the verification band for declared densities, and the IMSBC 4.2.2.7 cross-reference.
SOLAS regulation XII/10 requires the shipper to declare the density of a solid bulk cargo before loading on a bulk carrier of 150 metres in length and upwards, and it requires verification of that figure by an accredited testing organisation where the declared density falls within a specified band. The regulation exists because cargo density determines how a given deadweight is distributed and therefore whether local structural limits are respected.
The full article will cover the application threshold, what the declaration must contain, the density band that triggers independent verification and the reasoning behind those limits, and the position of cargoes falling above or below the band.
It will also cover the interaction with the IMSBC Code, which is where the regulation is most often encountered in practice. Bulk density was added to the IMSBC shipper’s information list expressly by reference to SOLAS XII/10, closing a discrepancy between the two instruments, and the revised cargo information form was reissued in the same package. How the declared figure is used in the loading plan, and why it rather than a schedule range governs, will be treated alongside.