Refer to your loading Alumina please find below some precautions and guidelines for the cargo

ALUMINA
Alumina is a refined product and any form of contamination is considered to be a problem.
DESCRIPTION: Alumina is a fine, white odourless powder with little or no moisture content that is used
in the production of aluminium, the preparation of paint and dyeing calico print.

CHARACTERISTICS
· Size: Fine powder
· Stowage Factor: 0.92 to 1.28 m3/t

IMO CLASSIFICATION
Appendix C. Neither liable to liquefy nor to possess chemical hazard.

HOLD CLEANLINESS
Cargo holds has to be hospital clean standard. No residual cargo, including dust, with particular
attention to coal, iron ore, sulphur and phosphates. All loose rust and scale are to be removed. Holds
must be completely dry before surveyor will issue a certificate. The hold bilges to be clean, dry and
covered with burlap.

CARGO RESIDUES
The holds including hatch covers, coamings, deck beams, side frames, frame brackets, horizontal
surfaces, ventilator trunkings, ledges, grills, ladder flanges, pipe casings, spar ceiling and wood
sheathing, should be free of all residues of previous cargoes.
It is particularly noted that cement, lime, salt, phosphate, sulphur, coal and all ferrous residues are
especially undesirable.

RUST SCALE
All loose rust scale must be removed from the hold prior to loading, with particular attention being
given to the underside of the hatch covers, the coaming faces, the underdeck spaces at both ends of
the hold, the undersides of the topside tanks, the inner surfaces of the ship's shell plating, the "hidden"
flanges of the frames and the upper and lower frame brackets, the bulkheads, ladder flanges,
ventilator trunkings, ledges, grills and all hard rust scale must also be removed from the tank top,
lower hopper sides and lower bulkhead areas.

FLAKING PAINT
All flaking paint scale must be moved from the hold prior to loading, with particular attention being
given to the underside of the hatch cover, the coaming faces, the underdeck spaces at both ends of
the hold, the undersides of the topside tanks, the inner surfaces of the ship's shell plating, the "hidden"
flanges of the frames and the upper and lower frame brackets, the bulkheads, ladder flanges,
ventilator trunkings, ledges, grills and the tank tops.

GENERAL
Where applicable, the outer/upper sides of the hatch covers should be clean and free from flaking
paint, residues or loose scale which could fall into the hold during loading and discharging.

BILGES AND WELLS

Bilges and bilge wells must be covered with hessian/burlap or similar permeable materials in such a
manner as to prevent the entry of Alumina into the bilge or well, but to permit the entry of water. The
hessian/burlap or permeable material must be sealed around the crown with a good quality marine
adhesive tape or cement.
The above information should be adhered to when preparing the cargo holds for Alumina loading.

LOADING
The cargo must be trimmed reasonably level to boundaries of cargo spaces.

PRECAUTIONS
Alumina dust is very abrasive and 'gets into everything'. Accordingly, precautions must be taken to
cover and protect machinery, accommodation and bilge wells from it. If wet, alumina is un-pumpable;
a very good cover on the bilge wells must be provided to prevent any possibility of water ingress.
In addition, and although briefly described under "General", all hatch cover track-ways are to be free
of any contaminating materials (usually rust scale from the h/covers) that will inevitably be "blown
into the holds" on the completion of loading, when the ship's crew clean the hatch track-ways prior
to closing the same.
1. Alumina is an abrasive and if allowed to enter any machinery (main engine, aux engine, main
air compressors, emergency generators etc), it will damage it in no time.
2. Please check all the fuel tank air vent pipes and sounding pipes from tank top for FULL LENGTH
upto the top, ALL AROUND. Check especially the section near pipe clamps and as a precaution,
wrap tape around pipe in this area as it may be wasted here. This check must be done seriously
and Master and C/E should get personally involved. FOT manholes to be sealed
3. During loading, please cover ALL the fuel tank air vent pipes with Plastic unless bunkering.
E/R blowers to be stopped, funnel flaps to be closed.
4. All accommodation doors to be closed, M/E t/c to be covered , all air vent Pipes of fuel settling
and service tanks and lube oil tanks to be covered. Intention is to prevent alumina from
entering fuel or lube oil system and hence into the liner where it can cause damage in a matter
of few hours.
5. Crane doors, windows, vents & access to machinery spaces to be kept tightly shut.
6. E/Room vents to have additional filters put to prevent ingress into the machinery space.
Skylight to be kept closed.
7. Accommodation A/C to be kept on recirculation & all doors to be kept shut.
8. Doors + vents of FPK store & mast houses to be kept shut.
9. Please put extra fine filter or mesh in the fuel transfer pump suction filter and booster pump
suction filters.
10. Purifier to be closely monitored and feed to be kept at minimum to allow good purification.

This list is not exhaustive, but basically all efforts to be made to prevent ingress of Alumina into FOTs,
Machinery Space & accommodation.

There have been cases where vessel loaded alumina and after only few days sailing, major damage
was noted in main engine such as all pistons rings of all units were found broken.
Alumina is like cyanide to machineries, instant damage. Alumina is by far the worst cargo to be carried
since poor handling and poor precautionary measures can expose vessel to major risks.

If vessel needs to procure any items (additional felt filters or plastic) to comply with above
recommendations then please feel free to contact the technical team.

Please be guided by above and request to strictly comply with the above recommendations. We would
like you to update us prior loading that individual points have been duly completed along with some
photographs.
CARRIAGE
No special precautions.

DISCHARGE
All machinery and accommodation must be protected against the cargo.

In case of doubt please do not hesitate to discuss