Ladungssicherung in der Holzfahrt

The ongoing boom in timber transport by sea and the fiercer competition in this market have prompted shippers to reconsider the suitability of traditional loading methods and concepts for scuring packaged and round timber on deck. Since the mi-1990s experts in Canada, Sweden, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands have developed various ingenieous lashing systems for timber deck cargoes to meet current requirements. Designers are faced with the difficult problem of complying with indispensable technical safety regulations as well as meeting shippers' increasing requirements for simpler, faster and more cost-efficient handling. Some makers have already come up with innovative solutions, but none of them seem to be sufficiently robust to offer competition to the well-proven chain and wire lashings and stand up to the severe stresses involved, particularly when transporting timber in northern waters in winter. The following article sketches the various technical and legal parameters and gives an overview of state-of-the-art cargo lashing technology in this segment of conventional shipping.