Hold Cleaning Solutions

Name the residue to be removed and the next cargo, the number of holds and the hold surface area if known, and whether you need the barrier coat, the cleaner or both. The products in this group are made for a specific residue (petcoke, cement, bauxite, lime), so "hold cleaner" alone does not get comparable bids.

Require the safety data sheet with every product. In the GHS format an SDS has 16 sections, including hazards, composition, handling and exposure controls, and section 14 transport information such as UN number, hazard class and whether the product is a marine pollutant under the IMDG Code.^[2]

Ask the supplier for a signed and dated statement that the product is not harmful to the marine environment, in the SDS or as a separate document — without it the wash water cannot be shown to meet the discharge rules below.^[1]

Since 1 January 2013 MARPOL Annex V allows cleaning agents and additives in cargo hold wash water to be discharged only if they are not harmful to the marine environment: not defined as a harmful substance under the criteria of MARPOL Annex III, and containing no carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic components. The ship must keep records showing this, and IMO recommends a signed statement from the supplier.^[1]

Inside special areas, hold wash water containing non-harmful residues and cleaning agents may be discharged only under further conditions, including at least 12 nautical miles from land, both ports within the same special area and no suitable reception facilities.^[1]

COSWP asks for the SDS to be checked to identify hazards before hazardous substances are used, and warns that some cleaning or descaling products react to give asphyxiating, explosive or otherwise hazardous atmospheres.^[3]