What is a Cargo Securing Manual? How it relates to the CSS Code and CTU Code

The CSM is required on ships carrying cargoes other than solid and liquid bulk cargoes. It is drawn up for the individual vessel and approved by the flag Administration or an organisation acting on its behalf.

Its purpose is to give officers and cargo planners stowage and securing guidance that matches the ship's structure, securing points and equipment. That is why the same cargo may need a different securing arrangement on a different ship.

Content varies with ship type, but a CSM typically covers the following.

The CSS Code is the IMO Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing. It sets out general principles for the safe stowage and securing of cargo, with particular attention to non-standardised cargo.

Alongside the general principles, it contains annexes on specific cargoes such as coiled sheet steel, heavy metal products, wheel-based cargo, heavy cargo items and containers carried on deck of ships not designed for them. It also provides methods to assess the efficiency of securing arrangements for non-standardised cargo. Cargo Securing Manuals are themselves prepared on the basis of these principles.

The CSS Code is general guidance for all ships; it knows nothing about a particular vessel's securing points or equipment. The CSM translates those principles into the real conditions of one ship: which points can take which loads, what equipment is on board and how it is to be used.

When a securing plan is prepared on the quay, the ship's CSM is consulted first. The CSS Code serves as general guidance where the CSM does not specifically address a situation. In either case, the final judgement belongs to the master.

The CTU Code is the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units, such as containers, road vehicles and rail wagons. It focuses on how cargo is packed and secured inside those units before they reach the ship.

In other words, the CSS Code and the CSM deal with stowage and securing on board, while the CTU Code deals with securing inside the container or vehicle. Cargo badly secured inside a container can be damaged however well the container itself is lashed, so the two stages complement each other.

For securing purposes, the CSS Code and Cargo Securing Manuals divide cargo into three groups. Standardised cargo is cargo for which the ship has an approved securing system designed for specific units, containers on a container ship being the typical example.

Semi-standardised cargo is cargo for which the ship has securing arrangements for a limited variety of units, such as vehicles and trailers on ro-ro ships. Non-standardised cargo requires individual stowage and securing arrangements for each item. Project cargo, heavy lifts and most general cargo fall into this group, and it is the one that demands the most assessment when lashing is planned.

Before loading, the planner or lashing team asks the chief officer for the relevant sections of the CSM and for details of the portable equipment available. The cargo's weight and dimensions are checked against this information to choose securing points, equipment and method.

Where the shipper's instructions and the CSM differ, the matter should be discussed with the master and recorded. Karan Gözetim provides lashing and cargo securing services from Gemlik; the scope is agreed at the quotation stage.