Bulk Carrier Safety

Bulk carrier safety is the additional structural and operational regime SOLAS Chapter XII imposes on bulk carriers above standard construction rules, responding to the loss rate of older single-side-skin ships in the 1990s. Chapter XII was adopted in 1997 and entered into force 1 July 1999, with later strengthening through resolutions including MSC.170(79). It sets damage stability for the flooded-hold condition, double-side-skin requirements for new ships of 150 m and over carrying solid bulk cargoes of density 1,000 kg/m3 and above, and loading-instrument and water-ingress-detection requirements. It works alongside the IMSBC Code on cargo liquefaction and the enhanced survey program.