Exporting New Zealand
All Aboard
Before a ship even arrives at the port, Ship Planners at the terminal are calculating how the containers will be placed aboard the ship. This is very important, as poorly planned loading may cause extra expense for the shipping company or even cause the loss of the ship.
The numbers above the ship indicate the numbers of the different compartments or holds.
Each red box is a container.
Each white box is an empty space where a container could go
This cross section of hold number 9, numbers the containers so that the straddle drivers will know the order that each container is collected from the 'stack' of containers at the terminal, and the crane drivers know the order and position of each container lowered into the ships hold.
The top 4 rows sit on the deck of the ship, the rest are in the hold.
If this ship will next unload its cargo in Sydney and then Singapore, use simple models like wooden blocks or match boxes to help explain to the class :
- Where the Planner would have placed the very heavy containers and why.
- Where the containers for Singapore would be placed.
- Why the container of chemicals was number 11 on deck while the container of milk powder was number 25 in the hold.
- Why the Planner has asked for the containers to be loaded in layers accross the ship rather than stacking up one side of the ship and then the other.