Section 10 in The Merchant shipping (Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil) Rules, 1974.
10. Precautions to be taken by tankers while loading, transferring and unloading operations.
(1)in the case of any tanker to which these rules apply, all loading, transferring and unloading operations, whether in respect of cargo or ballast, shall be supervised by the master of the ship o a other experienced officer appointed by him in this behalf. Throughout any such operations close cooperation shall be maintained with responsible shore staff or, as the case may be, barge crew.(2)Before commencement of loading operations the tanker shall be inspected to ensure that-(a)all sea valves and deck and overboard discharge valves on the oil and ballast lines are tightly closed;(b)all deck line valves which not to be used are properly closed and, where practicable blanked off; and(c)all valves which are to be used are free and in good order.(3)During loading operations of a tanker, the following precautions shall be taken, namely:(a)loading shall always commence at a slow rate;(b)after loading has commenced, tanks which are being loaded and water round the ship's side shall be inspected to ascertain that no oil is escaping;(c)if loading is proceeding satisfactorily, the rate of loading may be gradually increased until the desired loading rate is obtained;(d)after obtaining the desired rate of loading, a further inspection shall be not of the tank being loaded and water around ship's side for detecting any possible escape of oil:(e)only such number of tanks may be loaded simultaneously as could be-safely watched and controlled;(f)the depth of oil in each cargo tank which is being loaded shall be constantly watched and the receiving rate shall be appropriately reduced towards the final stages of loading(g)to allow time for orderly control, the slowing down of receiving rate that may be necessary during the topping off process shall be anticipated and appropriate notice given to the shore staff;(h)after any tank valve has been closed, the liquid level in the tank shall be checked to ensure that the valve is properly closed.(4)Before commencement of unloading operations, the tanker shall be inspected to ensure that-(a)all cargo deck line valves, sea valves and any stren loading and discharge valves are tightly closed; where practicable all such valves shall be blanked off;(b)Valves in the pump room and on deck are set to the, discharging position and checked to ensure that they are free and in good order.(5)During unloading operations of a tanker the following precautions shall be taken, namely-(a)cargo discharge valves shall not be opened and the cargo pumps shall not be started unless it is ascertained that - hosesare connected and shore staff have indicated their readiness to receive cargo;(b)where back pressure in the shore line is such as to give rise to a possibility of oil flowing from shore to the ship, the ship's valve at the hose connection shall not be opened until the pressure is equalised;(c)the cargo pump shall be started slowly and the working pressure shall be built up gradually;(d)during the process of unloading a constant watch shall be kept on the discharge pressure so as to ensure that shore receiving lines are clear and that an excessive pressure is not being built up in the cargo hoses;(e)when the desired rate of discharge is reached a further inspection shall be carried out of"(i)the stern valve and other valves which are not in use;(ii)cargo hose and hose connections;and (iii) the water round the ship's sides; so as to ascertain that no oil is escaping;(f)at frequent intervals, the conditions in the pump-room, the operating pressure in the cargo system and possible points of leakage shall be inspected;and(g)the ship shall always be kept in readiness to stop discharging on a very short notice from shore authorities.(6)Before commencing ballasting in respect of a tanker, the following measures shall be taken, namely :-(i)all cargo lines and particularly deck lines and rises shall be drained into a selected cargo tank;(ii)manifolds hose connections and stern discharge valves shall be closed;(iii)blank flanges shall be fitted as Soon as possible;(iv)all valves between the pumps and the deck discharge lines shall be closed;(v)when cargo pumps are to be used for ballasting purposes it shall be ascertained that only such valves are kept open which are needed for this operation so as to minimise the risk of release of oil through sea suction valves;(vi)before pumping commences, sea valves shall be opened very slowly so as to avoid any sudden rush of water which may cause turbulence resulting in the release overboard of any oil in the lines;(vii)if ballasting is intended by gravity system, ballast shall first be pumped in for about ten minutes after the sea valves have been opened so as to wash out all bottom lines before relaying solely on gravity.(7)During ballasting operations of a tanker, tanks shall be inspected to ensure that only such tanks as are intended to be used as ballast tanks are receiving ballast.(8)If any spillage of oil takes place in the dock waters or harbour waters despite precautions taken in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this rule, the owner, master or agent-of the ship shall report the incident of such spillage to the appropriate harbour authorities without undue delay.
