vessel planning
deciding how to load and unload container ships
careers at Felixstowe
Loading and unloading a ship is not as simple as it might seem. You cannot just take the containers off in any order: you might make the ship unstable. It might capsize. You cannot just load containers in any order. First of all you have to make sure you put the heavy ones at the bottom to keep the ship stable. But you also want the ones which are going to be unloaded at the next port at the top. Then some containers have refrigeration and heating units which means they have to be put next to electric power points on the ship so they can be plugged in. Some containers contain hazardous cargoes, perhaps dangerous chemicals or explosive materials. You cannot put those next to refrigerated and heated containers because of the risk of an explosion. In fact, loading and unloading is not simple at all.
So the loading and unloading has to be carefully planned. It is what the Vessel Planners do.
The SPARCS computer system, which you can see in the pictures, allows the Vessel Planners to work out exactly which containers will be moved where and in what order. Because a great many factors have to be taken into account, the computer system does not work out the actual plan. It provides the information about location, contents, weight limits and possible dangers, but it is the Planner who makes the decisions. For example, a Planner might decide to go beyond the weight limits in one part of the ship if other parts are well below their weight limits. When the Planner has finished the plan for unloading a ship, the computer system sends the plan to the crane operators.
Click on the picture to the left for a closer look (PDF file 739 KB).
Click on the Vessel Planner Game link to get an idea of what is involved in planning the loading and unloading of a ship.
