Loadicator ( Prepared by Capt Ajay Puri)

Loadicator- Requirement, Documentation, Testing, and Records

Requirements as per SOLAS:

SOLAS Chapter XII, Regulation 11 states that:

• Bulk carriers of 150 m in length and upwards shall be fitted with a loading instrument capable of
providing information on hull girder shear forces and bending moments, taking under consideration the
advice adopted by the Organisation.

• Bulk carriers of 150 m in length and upwards constructed before 1 July 1999 shall comply with
the requirements of paragraph 1 not later than the date of the first intermediate or periodical survey of
the ship to be carried out after 1 July 1999.

• Definition of Loadicator

A Loadicator is a loading instrument on board ship, which is either analog or digital, by means of which it
can be easily and quickly ascertained that, at specified read-out points, the still water bending moments,
shear forces, and therefore the still water torsional moments and lateral loads, where applicable, in any
load or ballast condition won’t exceed the specified permissible values.

• A loading instrument comprises hardware and software.

An operational manual is usually to be provided for the loading instrument..

New requirements for onboard stability instruments applicable to all tankers has become effective from
1st January 2016. MARPOL Annex I Ch.4, the IBC Code and also the IGC Code have all been amended,
requiring tankers to be fitted with a stability instrument capable of handling both intact and damage
stability. .
The new requirement is retroactive and applies to both new and existing ships as follows:

• Ships constructed on or after January 1st 2016 – at delivery,

• Ships constructed before January 1st, 2016 – at the first renewal survey on or after January 1st,
2016, but no later than January 1st, 2021.

Even otherwise so, Loadicator has rather been a necessity onboard ships.

And once we have something onboard, it is duty of ship staff to ensure that it complies with its testing
and record keeping procedures.

There are two requirements to be complied with.

First relates to the documents and certificates a ship is required to have onboard with respect to
loadicators and second the testing requirement of the loadicator.

Documents required for Loadicator:-

Class Certificate for loadicator:

This certificate is issued by the class and gives the details of the loadicator software as well as the
hardware on which it is installed,

including the details of the Make, model and serial number of the computer.

Master and chief officer must ensure that the approved loading computer‘s details matches with the
details in this certificate.

The certificate may even sometimes have the printer‘s detail that is connected with the approved
loadicator.

If you do not find this certificate onboard, you should check in the class survey status report if the
loading computer is included in the list.

If yes, the certificate can be asked from the class through your office.

If No, then shipping office need to consult ship‘s classification society for approval of loading computer.

Class approved Loadicator Manual:

This is the user manual of the loadicator which is from the maker of the loadicator software.

A class approved copy of the user manual should be onboard.

Class approved loadicator test conditions:

To be very clear, these are not the conditions in the stability booklet of the ship. The stability conditions
in the stability booklet are made by the yard and these are not the print outs from the loadicator
software.

These are also not the test conditions stamped by the class during annual class surveys.

These are usually in the form of a booklet specifically titled ―test conditions for loadicator with
class stamp. These are usually provided during yard delivery of the vessel or after the loadicator is
installed for the first time and approved by the class.

Once we have these three documents / certificates, you are OK with the certification part

Test and certification procedure for approved Loadicator.

Testing requirements for the Loadicator:-

Testing by ship staff: The Loadicator is required to be tested periodically (interval to be as per SMS of
the vessel) by ship staff for its accuracy. The test procedure includes choosing a text condition from the
approved test conditions, entering the exact same data in the loadicator and comparing the results with
the approved test conditions.

The important point to note is that the data need to be manually entered and not opened from a pre-
saved file as it is not acceptable to classification society as well as OCIMF to simply retrieve a stored test
condition and comparing it with approved test condition.

Annual testing of Loadicator in presence of Class:

During annual class surveys, loadicator need to be tested for its accuracy in presence of a class surveyor.
The procedure of testing is same as the quarterly testing but in here the class surveyor would ask for the
print out of the test condition and he would stamp it and give it to the ship for ship‘s records.

Procedure for certification:-

➢ The approved test conditions shall be tested on the loading computer system in presence of a
surveyor from the Society, before the loading computer certificate is issued.

➢ During the test, the loading conditions calculated on the installed loading computer system shall be
verified to be identical to the approved test conditions.

Procedure for certification:-

During the tests, at least one of the test conditions shall be built up from scratch, to ensure that the
loading methods function properly.

As an alternative to 203 can the following procedure be followed:

— retrieve the test load case and start a calculation run; compare stability results with those in the
documentation.

— change several items of deadweight (tank weights and the cargo weight) sufficiently to change the
draught or displacement by at least 10%.

The results shall be reviewed to ensure that they differ in a logical way from those of the approved test
condition.

revise the above modified load condition to restore the initial test condition and compare the results.

The relevant input and output data of the approved test condition shall been replicated.

➢ During the test relevant warnings should be checked, which should include max draught, strength
limits and stability limits.

➢ Where the hardware is not type approved, the test shall be carried out on both the first and the
second nominated computers prior to issuing of the loading computer certificate.

➢ After completion of satisfactory tests, the loading computer certificate shall be issued.

➢ The loading computer certificate and the approved test conditions shall be kept onboard together
with the user's manual.

➢ The certification shall be carried out onboard.

➢ If the final loading manual or the final stability booklet has not been approved before delivery, testing
onboard may take place after these documents have been approved.