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decline of breakbulk did not start with containerisation; rather, the advent of tankers and bulk carriers reduced the need for transporting liquids in barrels and grains in sacks. Such tankers and carriers use specialised ships and shore facilities to deliver larger amounts of cargo to the dock and effect faster turnarounds with fewer personnel once the ship arrives; however, they do require large initial investments in ships, machinery, and training, slowing their spread to areas where funds to overhaul port operations and/or training for dock personnel in the handling of cargo on the newer vessels may not be available. As modernization of ports and shipping fleets spreads across the world, the advantages of using containerization and specialized ships over break-bulk has sped the overall decline of break-bulk operations around the world. In all, the new systems have reduced costs as well as spillage and turnaround times; in the case of containerisation, damage and theft as well.
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first tier has been loaded, the next tier of barrels fits into the hollows between the barrels; this is known as stowing "bilge and cantline". Barrels which are also known as casks or tuns are primarily used for transporting liquids such as wine, water, brandy, whiskey, and even oil. They are usually built in a spherical shape to make them easier to roll and have less friction when changing direction.
365:
Baled goods are stowed on single dunnage at least 50 mm (2 in) thick. The bales must be clean with all the bands intact. Stained or oily bales are rejected. All fibres can absorb oil and are liable to spontaneous combustion. As a result, they are kept clear of any new paintwork. Bales close
523:
Breakbulk continues to hold an advantage in areas where port development has not kept pace with shipping technology; break-bulk shipping requires relatively minimal shore facilities—a wharf for the ship to tie to, dock workers to assist in unloading, warehouses to store materials for later reloading
519:
The biggest disadvantage with breakbulk is that it requires more resources at the wharves at both ends of a ship's journey—longshoremen, loading cranes, warehouses, transport vehicles—and often takes up more dock space due to multiple vessels carrying multiple loads of breakbulk cargo. Indeed, the
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are stowed on their sides on "beds" of dunnage which keeps the middle of the side (the bilge) off the deck and they are stowed with the bung at the top. To prevent movement, wedges called quoins are put in on top of the "beds". Barrels should be stowed fore and aft and not athwart ships. Once the
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Loading and discharging by breakbulk is labour-intensive. The cargo is brought to the quay next to the ship and then each individual item is lifted on board separately. Some items such as sacks or bags can be loaded in batches by using a sling or cargo net and others such as cartons can be loaded
532:, tankers, and bulk carriers might not be able to access due to size and/or water depth. In addition, some ports capable of accepting larger container ships/tankers/bulk transporters still require goods to be offloaded in break-bulk fashion; for example, in the outlying islands of
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Before any loading takes place, any signs of the previous cargo are removed. The holds are swept, washed if necessary and any damage to them repaired. Dunnage is laid ready for the cargo or is just put in bundles ready for the stevedores to lay out as the cargo is loaded.
271:. Moving cargo on and off ship in containers is much more efficient, allowing ships to spend less time in port. Containerization, once widely accepted, reduced shipping and loading costs by 80% to 90%. Break-bulk cargo also suffered from greater theft and damage.
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Although cargo of this sort can be delivered straight from a truck or train onto a ship, the most common way is for the cargo to be delivered to the dock in advance of the arrival of the ship and for the cargo to be stored in
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357:(e.g. coffee in sacks) is stowed on double dunnage and kept clear of the ship's sides and bulk heads. Bags are kept away from pillars and stanchions by covering it with matting or waterproof paper.
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onto other forms of transport. As a result, there are still some areas where break-bulk shipping continues to thrive. Goods shipped break-bulk can also be offloaded onto smaller vessels and
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Any long heavy items are stowed fore and aft. If they are stowed athwart ships they are liable to shift if the ship rolls heavily, and could pierce through the side of the ship.
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are stowed on double dunnage in the holds and single dunnage in the 'tween decks. Heavy boxes are given bottom stowage. The loading slings are often left on to aid discharge.
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Break-bulk was the most common form of cargo for most of the history of shipping. Since the late 1960s, the volume of break-bulk cargo has declined dramatically, relative to
194:. When no hoisting equipment is available, break bulk has traditionally been manually carried on and off ship, over a plank, or it might be passed from man to man via a
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Ideally, break-bulk cargo is lifted directly into and out of a vessel's holds, and this is mostly the case today. Otherwise, it must be lifted onto and off its deck, by
260:
A break-in-bulk point is a place where goods are transferred from one mode of transport to another, for example the docks where goods transfer from ship to truck.
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cargo, while the latter has grown exponentially worldwide. Containerizing makes cargo effectively more homogenous, like other bulk cargoes, and enables the same
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or on the ship itself. If hoisted on deck rather than straight into the hold, liftable or rollable goods then have to be man-handled and stowed competently by
800:
116:, a term for unloading part of a ship's cargo, or commencing unloading the cargo. Ships carrying break-bulk cargo are often called
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Break-bulk/general cargo consists of goods transported, stowed and handled piecemeal to some degree, typically bundled somehow in
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are stowed on a good layer of dunnage and kept clear of any moisture. Military and weather-resistant grades of
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more dictionaries call 'breakbulk' an alternate spelling of 'break-bulk' (or 'break bulk'), than the opposite.
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are available. They are not overstowed with anything other than similar boxes. They are frequently loaded on
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Reels or rolls are generally stowed on their sides and care is taken to make sure they are not crushed.
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417:; if so the slings that are used to load the cargo are frequently left on to facilitate discharge.
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There are a great many kinds of breakbulk cargo. Examples of the more common types follow below.
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in individually counted units. Traditionally, the large numbers of items are recorded on distinct
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Metal drums are stowed on end with dunnage between tiers, in the longitudinal space of the ship.
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481:. Great care is taken to prevent damage. Vehicles are prepared by removing hazardous liquids (
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794:"Archived copy of Tuvalu Electricity Corporation Presentation by Taaku Sekielu and Polu Tanei"
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Since the 1960s, the volume of break-bulk cargo has enormously declined worldwide in favor of
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onto trays before being lifted on board. Once on board each item must be stowed separately.
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536:, fuel oil for the power stations is delivered in bulk but has to be offloaded in barrels.
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8:
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Malcolm McLean: Unsung
Innovator Who Changed the World - American Business History Center
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The Box: How the
Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger
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for transport into even the most minimally-developed port which the normally large
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493:) vessels where vehicles are driven on and off the ship under their own power.
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190:. Securing break-bulk and general freight inside a vessel includes the use of
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Container-Shipping: The next 50 Years – McKinsey (2017; PDF) p.3 & p.15
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316:. When the ship arrives the cargo is then taken from the warehouse to the
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332:. The discharge of the ship is the reverse of the loading operation.
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in smaller containers, like bags, boxes, crates, drums, or barrels.
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or skids. Furthermore, batches of break-bulk goods are frequently
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to the deckhead are covered to prevent damage by dripping sweat.
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576:(5th ed.). Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson. p. 9.
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105:, measured by volume or weight (for instance, oil or grain).
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by J. F. Kemp and Peter Young, 1971 (3rd edition); page 40:
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by J. F. Kemp and Peter Young, 1971 (3rd edition); page 39:
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by J. F. Kemp and Peter Young, 1971 (3rd edition); page 37:
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by J. F. Kemp and Peter Young, 1971 (3rd edition); page 35:
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by J. F. Kemp and Peter Young, 1971 (3rd edition); page 33:
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by J. F. Kemp and Peter Young, 1971 (3rd edition); page 32:
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by J. F. Kemp and Peter Young, 1971 (3rd edition); page 31.
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Definition of Break-bulk | Merriam-Webster
Dictionary
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and then lifted on board by either the ship's gear (
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837:Sauerbier, Charles L.; Meurn, Robert J. (2004).
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295:Unloading barrels from a ship, Accra, circa 1958
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241:—neither standard nor non-standard—instead the
225:to initiate the extraction of a portion of the
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233:, or to begin the unloading process from the
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839:Marine cargo operations: a guide to stowage
477:are lifted on board and then secured using
27:Shipping goods that are loaded individually
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841:. Cambridge, Md: Cornell Maritime Press.
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307:was built in 1957 and scrapped in 1982.
283:Mixed cargo being loaded into ships at
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203:mass adoption of intermodal containers
37:on a New York dock loading barrels of
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450:Loading paper rolls in the port of
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303:A refrigerated general cargo ship.
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728:Kemp, J. F.; Young, Peter (1971).
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485:, etc.). This is in contrast to
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237:. Break-bulk cargo is not in
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833:(Princeton Univ. Press 2006).
572:Thomas, Captain R.E. (2012).
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732:(3rd ed.). p. 38.
515:Advantages and disadvantages
221:—using "to break bulk" as a
85:that list them by different
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421:Wooden shipping containers
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127:for hoisting, either with
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77:that are stowed on board
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217:derives from the phrase
112:derives from the phrase
257:or skid are also used.
135:, or stacked on trays,
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253:of items secured to a
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407:corrugated fiberboard
391:Corrugated box design
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275:Loading and unloading
95:intermodal containers
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454:(Finland) March 2016
41:onto a barge on the
773:Notes on Cargo Work
753:Notes on Cargo Work
730:Notes on Cargo Work
708:Notes on Cargo Work
685:Notes on Cargo Work
665:Notes on Cargo Work
645:Notes on Cargo Work
600:Notes on Cargo Work
239:shipping containers
118:general cargo ships
866:Maritime transport
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269:economies of scale
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806:on March 10, 2012
583:978-0-85174-798-9
370:Barrels and casks
245:are transported,
93:stowed in modern
16:(Redirected from
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305:Gladstone Star
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235:ship's hold(s)
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103:ship's hold(s)
69:, also called
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71:general cargo
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808:. Retrieved
801:the original
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328:) or by the
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49:, circa 1912
43:Hudson River
475:Automobiles
462:Paper reels
361:Baled goods
209:Description
196:human chain
143:in smaller
97:as well as
87:commodities
45:. Photo by
540:References
413:to form a
400:Corrugated
314:warehouses
287:circa 1927
251:Unit loads
215:break-bulk
188:stevedores
145:containers
129:cargo nets
125:unit loads
110:break-bulk
99:bulk cargo
59:break-bulk
47:Lewis Hine
39:corn syrup
35:Stevedores
810:August 3,
415:unit load
395:strapping
213:The term
108:The term
63:breakbulk
18:Breakbulk
860:Category
526:lighters
483:gasoline
479:lashings
322:derricks
247:packaged
180:derricks
171:/vats.
141:packaged
55:shipping
411:pallets
378:barrels
192:dunnage
169:barrels
157:cartons
137:pallets
845:
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691:
671:
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534:Tuvalu
503:Girder
452:Hamina
430:crates
375:Wooden
352:Bagged
326:cranes
255:pallet
176:cranes
161:crates
133:crates
804:(PDF)
797:(PDF)
487:ro-ro
436:Drums
403:boxes
355:cargo
243:goods
229:of a
227:cargo
223:verb—
167:, or
165:drums
153:boxes
91:cargo
79:ships
75:goods
73:, is
65:, or
843:ISBN
812:2022
777:ISBN
757:ISBN
734:ISBN
712:ISBN
689:ISBN
669:ISBN
649:ISBN
604:ISBN
578:ISBN
505:and
393:and
318:quay
231:ship
184:dock
149:bags
428:or
324:or
178:or
53:In
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