Stowage - The placement or loading of cargo in an aircraft or ship in a manner that provides optimum safety for the vessel and the cargo, giving maximum space usage, and allows easy access to cargo at the point of offloading.

The ultimate responsibility for the stowage of cargo rests with the Master. In practice, while the Master retains overall responsibility, the supervision of stowage of cargo normally is delegated to the 1st Officer. His task is to see that neither the vessel nor her cargo is damaged. Furthermore he is responsible for safe handling, loading, including custody of the cargo throughout the voyage. Above all, he must ensure that the safety of the vessel is not imperiled by the carriage of cargo.
His aim must be to have the …show more content…
Such cargo are generally loaded in vessels with numerous decks, including tweendecks, which act as pigeon holds to facilitate stowage. This situation is made more difficult not only by the variety of cargo loaded, each with its own characteristics, such as fragility, tainting, sweating, humidity, etc., but also by the variety of ports served by breakbulk vessels. Sometimes you have 1-3 load ports and, say, up to four discharge ports. Thus cargo for a later port, i.e., the 2nd, 3rd or 4th discharge port has to be loaded first, and the cargo for the 1st discharge port be loaded last. This can cause many problems for the stevedores in charge of loading and discharging, with the ultimate responsibility for proper stowage resting with the Master. However, he is assisted by a stowage plan, normally worked out by the 1st officer in conjunction with the stevedores, in which is entered the exact position in each hold of all stowed cargo. It is customary that the stowage plan should be in the hands of the stevedores at the discharge port(s) prior to vessel's arrival, so that discharge stowage shed arrangements can be made. Failing such an arrangement can delay the commencement of discharge costing the owners time and money. (Source: ww.muellermar.com; …show more content…
Similarly cargo which is fragile, taints very easily, is liable to leakage, scratches easily, has strong odors, or is liable to sweat, requires proper segregation; otherwise the vesselowner faces heavy claims and possible loss of much goodwill from his shippers. Obviously, a crate of oranges with a penetrating odor cannot be stowed adjacent to a consignment of tea, which taints easily, and steel rails cannot be placed on top of crates of eggs.
These are examples, since, with the exception of steel rails, and similar bulky cargo, all the aforementioned cargo are nowadays carried in containers or reefer vessels.
4. Finally, a proper segregation of stowage of different consignments for various ports must be made, to prevent delay in discharging and avoid double handling, which is not only costly and increases the risk of cargo damage and pilferage, but also increases turn-around time. The stevedore is helped considerably by a well thought-out stowage plan in realizing this objective. The stowage plan is 'completed' after the cargo is