Jessegaard looks after your cargo every step of the way

05 Mar 2000 - by Staff reporter

Cargo hold is not simply a 'floating
warehouse'

THE MARINE consultant is the unsung and often unknown expert who is a vital factor in the chain of risk management.
That's the view of Captain Eric Bismeyer of Jessegaard Marine.
A factor often overlooked by cargo owners is the rigours and risks to which their product will be exposed during ordinary sea transport.
Once a cargo has safely reached the port from which it is to be shipped, a new set of dangers awaits it.
South Africa is blessed with a number of excellent stevedoring companies who, under the direction of the marine consultant, ensure that the cargo is loaded properly into the ship's holds.
But while the inside of a ship's cargo hold may look like a large storage space, it is not simply a 'floating warehouse', says Bismeyer. That's where the product will be stowed together with a variety of other products and then subjected, for a period of sometimes several weeks, to climate changes, incessant vibrations, swinging movements of as much as 30 degrees caused by the ship's rolling, vertical movement caused by pounding and rapid acceleration and deceleration as a result of the ship's pitching.
Climate changes cause condensation within the holds, which are hermetically sealed to protect the cargo from the ingress of seawater. This too, in many instances, is a danger to the cargo.
While these problems were traditionally left to the ship's captain to solve, this is no longer possible due to the dramatic changes in sea transport, says Bismeyer.
Gone are most of the liner trades where vessels plied a fixed and familiar route, giving captains and officers the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the peculiarities of their cargoes and the ports.
Huge bulk carriers have replaced the familiar cargo ships, and although a great deal of cargo is now shipped in containers, vast quantities of steel products, timber, coal, ores, concentrates and ferro-alloys are still shipped in bulk.
Ships also no longer ply regular and familiar routes. Tramping is the order of the day and vessels carry vastly different cargoes to vastly different ports under totally different conditions.
A new type of expertise was required and developed in the form of the marine consultant, ideally someone with vast practical sea experience who knows what can and must not go wrong with the cargo in his care. Someone who has the confidence of both the cargo owner and the ship's captain with whom he works closely to reduce the risk of damage to the cargo.
Jessegaard Marine is the brainchild of Bismeyer, himself a master mariner with many years of sea experience. It was established almost 20 years ago and provides a service to a growing number of ship owners and operators.
From humble beginnings as a one-man, one woman team comprising Bismeyer and his wife, the company's experts can now be seen at work all over the world.
Headquartered in Johannesburg its operational base is Richards Bay.
Captain Mike Grindley is responsible for vessels in the USA, Captain Tim Stanley covers the African ports with Captain Bruce Copland and Rui Da Fonseca covering South Africa. Bismeyer is responsible for the two Chinas and other Asian ports.
The company plans the loading of vessels to the last detail in co-operation with the ship's captains.
Masters are given clear instructions regarding peculiarities of the cargo loaded, and Jessegaard ensures that safety regulations and legal requirements are strictly adhered to.
Once the ship is safely loaded and dispatched to her destination, one of the company's port captains follows the vessel by air and oversees the discharge.
His function is not only to prevent or minimise possible damage but also to protect principals' interests and ensure that if damage occurs, the correct party is held responsible, says Bismeyer.