Crew operating a Toby gun
Bilge suctions must be tested both before and after washing and the results entered in the cargo notebook and/or deck log book.
Salt water chemical wash and hand scraping
To remove any greasy deposits from the hold steelwork, all the holds should be high-pressure chemical washed using the hold cleaning gun complete with air line booster. The degreasing chemical used, as previously advised, should be environmentally acceptable for marine use, and safe to apply by ships staff, who have had no special training and do not require any specialised protective equipment.
Numerous degreasing chemicals are available (eg. Sea Shield detergent) and work quite effectively, if they are directly injected into the firemain via the general service pump strainer cover. Manufacturer’s instructions must always be followed, but in general the recommended chemical injection rate is approx. 5 litres/min.
Fixed hold cleaning gun under hatch lids and fixed hold cleaning connection on deck
After all excessive cargo residue has been removed then the holds can be washed with salt water using a high-pressure hold cleaning gun, supplemented by the deck air line to provide increased pressure. This is the most commonly used method of hold cleaning, however the hold cleaning gun normally requires two seamen to safely control the increased water pressure. Some ships are fitted with fixed hold cleaning equipment, normally fitted under the hatchcovers. This method of hold cleaning is less labour intensive. A flexible high-pressure hose is connected between a flange on the hatchcover and the deck high-pressure hold washing line.
Other ships have permanent high-pressure hold cleaning equipment that can be lowered through a flange on the main deck, turned ninety degrees and bolted to the high-pressure deck wash service line. All cargo residues washed down must be removed via the hold eductors or mucking winch. Special attention should be given to cargo residues wedged behind pipe brackets, hold ladders, and on the under-deck girders and transversals. Special attention should be paid to ventilators to ensure that remnants of previous cargo have been removed and the area is grain clean. Binoculars are quite useful for spotting cargo remains in high places. Hold bilges and recessed hatboxes should be cleaned out and all cargo remains removed.
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