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VISUAL CARGO CAREThe Manual

version 1.0.1

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Copyright © 2011 | Visualcargocare All Rights Reserved.

DISCLAIMER: These materials and the information contained in this document are provided by Visualcargocare for informational purposes only, and do not constitute legal advice. You should not rely upon this information for any purpose without seeking legal advice from a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction, as the information provided here is very general in nature and legal advice must be tailored to the specifics of each case. VISUALCARGO-CARE PROVIDES THIS INFORMATION ON AN “AS IS” BASIS. VISUALCARGOCARE MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES ABOUT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR ADEQUACY REGARDING THE INFORMATION PROVIDED AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ITS USE.

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Preface

Every time we have a loading or discharge operation we prepare our job with care.We calculate up to 3 digits behind the comma. Preparation of the job is very important and we know a lot of preparation is based on experience from previous load-outs throughout the years.Still, we encounter a lot of professionals with different opinions about a lot of topics.What we hope to achieve with this software and of course with this manual is, that we all speak the same lan-guage, we all mean the same things and perform in the same way.

The audience level for the manual ranges from beginning to intermediate, with a smattering of advanced topics for the seasoned user. If you’re new to VCC, then you’ll want to start at the beginning and move methodically through the manual. If you are relatively comfortable making your way around VCC, then review the Table of Contents for sections that can enhance your fundamental base. If you’re a seasoned pro, then you’ll want to watch for coverage of the features in this Release 2010.Another goal is to make it a complete reference for VCC. To achieve this goal, We’ve gone into painstaking detail to cover almost every feature in VCC, including coverage of every basic detail.As this manual has come together, we’ve tried to write the type of manual that I’d like to read. After all, that’s what turns Visual Cargo Care from work into a safe and professional load-out.

Who Is VCC?Before you go any further, I should explain my naming convention. The official name of the software product in this release is Visual Cargo Care, but I simply refer to it as VCC. This reference is given to a piece of software that has become more familiar to me then the family pets.

Note: I have not been successful in training VCC to come when I call or to sit on command, but it will on oc-casion play dead.One way we humans develop our personalities is to incorporate desirable personality traits from those around us. VCC’s personality is developing as well: Every new release has incorporated a plethora of desirable new features. Many of these features come from the many additional plug-ins being developed to enhance VCC. With each new release, VCC has adopted many features that were available as plug-ins for previous releases. Several new features has been magically assimilated into the core product. These addition’s make VCC’s personality much more likeable, like a human developing a sense of humor.

Other personality traits are gained by stretching in new directions. VCC and its developers have accomplished this feature as well. Many of the new features are completely new, not only to VCC, but also to the industry. As VCC grows up, it will continue to mature by adopting new features and inventing others. Along with adopted features and new developments, the development teams at Global Software have sought feedback from VCC users. This feedback has resulted in many small tweaks to the package that enable new topics to be created more quickly and easily.Some additional factors have appeared in VCC’s house that certainly affect VCC’s development. We changed the VCC installation file, previously it was for32-bit and 64-bit versions, now we created one installation file which detects on what kind of system you are working. It will install all that is needed in the correct folders, to make your system work in the best possible way.

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About This ManualLet me paint a picture of the writing process. It starts with years of experience, which are followed bymonths of painstaking research. There were system crashes and personal catastrophes and the always present, ever-looming deadlines. I wrote into the early hours of the morning and during the late hours of the night—burning the candle at both ends and in the middle all at the same time. It was grueling and difficult, and spending all this time staring at the VCC interface made me feel like . . . well . . . like an animator. Sound famil-iar? This process actually isn’t much different from what Cargo superintendents, surveyors, shipping Lines etc do on a daily basis, and, like you, I find satisfaction in the finished product.

Tutorials aplentyI’ve always been a very visual learner—the easiest way for me to gain knowledge is by doing things for myself while exploring at the same time. Other people learn by reading and comprehending ideas. In this book, I’ve tried to present information in a number of ways to make the information usable for all types of learners. That is why you see detailed discussions of the various features along with tutorials that show these concepts in action.

The tutorials appear throughout the book and are clearly marked with the “Tutorial” label in front of the title. They always include a series of logical steps, typically ending with a figure for you to study and compare. These tutorial examples are provided on the web to give you a firsthand look and a chance to get some hands-on experience.

For example, many of the early tutorials don’t have any cargo applied because I felt that usingcargo before I’ve been explained would only confuse you. I’ve attempted to think of and use examples that are diverse, unique, and interesting, while striving to make them simple, light, and easy to follow. I’m happy to report that every example on the web is included in the manual along with the models and textures required to complete the tutorial.

The tutorials often don’t start from scratch but instead give you a starting point. This approach lets me “laser focus” the tutorials even more, and with fewer, more relevant steps, you can learn and experience the concepts without the complexity. On the web, you will find the VCC files that are referenced in Step 1 of most tutorials.

I’ve put lots of effort into this manual, and I hope it helps you in your efforts. I present this manual as a starting point. In each tutorial, I’ve purposely left out most of the creative spice, leaving room for you to put it in—you’re the one with the vision.

Designed for educatorsSince I’ve begun teaching at the local university, I’ve begun to rethink how the manual is organized. This is a fine approach for experienced users who are getting up to speed with VCC, but for students just starting out, this comprehensive approach easily overloads beginners before they even get out of the starting gate. The new approach splits the manual into beginning-level topics that cover projects, cargoes voyages before mov-ing on to the advanced features in each topic. This allows the first half of the book to be used for beginning students as an introduction to the software without digging too deep into the advanced, trickier features.

How this manual is organizedMany different aspects of Heavy-Lift & Project engineering, and in some larger heavy-lift shipping Lines, you might be focused on only one specific area. However, for smaller organizations or the general self-employed user, you end up wearing all the hats—from lifting plans and stowage-plans to Lashing & Securing and deck-strength. This manual is organized to cover all the various aspects of loading, stowage and Lashing & Securing of your cargoes , regardless of the hat on your head.

If you’re so excited to be working with VCC that you can’t decide where to start, then head straight for the Quick Start. The Quick Start is a single chapter-long tutorial that takes you through the calculation, Lashing & securing an entire project. This Quick Start was included in response to some feedback from readers of the first edition who complained that they didn’t know where to start. For those of you who were too anxious to wade through a mountain of material before you could create something, this Quick Start is for you.

The manual is divided into the following parts:• Quick Start — This single chapter (which is actually a chapter in Part I) is an entire project presented in

several focused tutorials. It is designed to whet your appetite and get you up to speed and producing a safe & secure load-out immediately.

• Part I: Getting Started with VCC — Whether it’s understanding the interface, working with the viewports, dealing with files, or customizing the interface, the chapters in this part get you comfortable with the interface so you won’t get lost moving about this mammoth package.

• Part II: Calculation Methods — VCC uses various calculation for its program. All calculation will be dis-cussed, explained how they work and when to use them.

• Part III: Working with Projects — VCC projects can include ships, voyages, cargoes, acceleration calcula-tions, holds & deck panels, and anything that can be viewed in a viewport. This part starts by introducing the various objects and also includes chapters on how to select, change, load, transform, and modify these various objects.

• Part IV: Add Ships, Cargo and Image sets — VCC includes several different ways to create or add ships, cargo and other objects. This part includes chapters covering the basics of methods and constructs including working with holds, and deck panels.

• Part V: Toolbox, Lashing & Securing — This part shows how to apply basic lashing & securing materials to cargoes including mirror function of these items.

• Part VI: Reporting explanatory — The report will be explained in all its ways, including ship definitions, voyage, Lashing & securing.

• Part VII: Default settings — The VCC Default settings involve default values for calculations, Lashing & Securing items from the Toolbox.

• Part VIII: Advanced data — After users are comfortable with the basics of VCC, they can move on to ad-vanced users. When using this option, you will be able to work more precisely, accurate and will be able to influence the program, in all its good features.

• Part IX: Backup, Restore, Export & Import — It will be easy to share files between your laptop and your desktop, or between users, office, clients or anybody who needs VCC

Also it is very easy to make a backup file which will be kept in a safe place and you will be able to restore if ever needed.

• Appendixes — At the very end of this manual, you’ll find two appendixes and stepping stones which will make it easier to look through the software, and follow it step by step.

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Part I: Getting Started with VCC

Quick startWhen you first got your hands on VCC, you were probably focused on one goal—load, lash & secure your next load-out. I know that many of you bought VCC to make a professional calculation, use it in your method statement or check the last load-outs, if what you did in the past was safe. If you’ve pre-used this manual’s Table of Contents or thumbed through its many pages, you’ve seen sections on loading, ships, cargoes, and other topics.But if you’re like me, you don’t want to wade through all the beginners stuff before you have something to show off to. The purpose of this Quick Start is to give you a taste of what VCC can do. This soaring view of the software from 20,000 feet is intended to show you the bigpicture before you delve into the details. It exposes you to some of the most common features and, I hope, whets your appetite for the more in-depth chapters to follow. This part of this manual is intended for those new to the software. If you’re an experienced user, so you can happily advance to whichever chapter appeals to you. (Forgive me for catering to the “newbie,” but we were all beginners once.)

Transformer 100mt - Hold 2For this Quick Start, you’re going to load, Lash & secure a Transformer on a ship, look at the acceleration cal-culations, change details and adjust the lashing and securing.

Go to the website http://www.visualcargocare.com/samples/gettingstarted/sample01.vcceand download this sample file. Then open your import file handler and open the file you just downloaded. The sample will automatically put your sample01 project in the project explorer.

Click on the ship ‘VCC Default’ in your project explorer and you will see the just imported file in the tree-view named ‘2010-002 Getting Started01’ shown to you as a voyage.

By clicking on it you will see the cargo in hold 2 of the ship. When you then click on the ‘plus (+)’ in front of the voyage you will see the cargo loaded on this voyage.

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Again click on the ‘12-3456 Sample01’ and the Lashing & Securing viewport will appear in the centre of the screen.What you see in this examples is that we loaded a i.e. Transformer of 100 mt in hold 2 of the ship called VCC-default. When the Lashing & Securing viewport is in front of you will see that the cargo is already lashed & secured and that the calculation in the Lashing calculations property box shows all green numbers, this means the cargo is safe for transport.

We will work around this example, just to show how you can play with the cargo on the ship and change all settings.

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Let’s start to play aroundWhen clicking on the voyage the main view port will be looking like the one below.

Here you see that the Transformer is loaded in the Lower hold of the vessel called ‘VCC Default’.By the way, this vessel is always present in your program. On the left side of the screen you will see the prop-erty form ‘Cargo during voyage’. In this form you will see the specification of the cargoes properties. If you have more than one (1) item loaded, you can easily navigate through the records by clicking on the arrows on the bottom of this property form.

Position of the cargoLet’s take a closer look at the property form ‘Cargo during voyage’. If the form is not show directly, it must be ‘hidden’ on the left-side of your screen. By hovering over it with your mouse, it will re-appear. By clicking on the pin in the top, you can choose to permanently stay there or hide it after your mouse leaves the form. Most of these properties you filled out when adding the cargo into the program, but I will highlight a few topics. One of the most important is where did you load the cargo and how can you change the stowage position of your cargo. When you click under the header ‘Location’ on the field where is ‘hold 2’ you will see a dropdown list, which shows you the option where to load the cargo.

In this case the vessel has three holds and of course a weather deck, which covers the area over all holds available. This is used for longer items. From the dropdown list you select hold 3. The cargo will automatically change to the forward part of hold 3. The cargo then can be moved with your mouse all over the hold. When you go to top view of the lower hold (tank top), you can also change position to the port or starboard side of the vessel. Please try also to put the cargo on the weather deck of hold 1. You’ll see that it is easy to change the position of the cargo.

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PositionWhen playing the cargo around your ship with your mouse, you will notice that under ‘ Location ‘ the numbers will change where it says ‘cargo to....’ These are the coordinates from your cargo in that specific hold. Where it says minus it means that it will be on the portside of the centre line of your hold. By changing the numbers in the property box you can also change the position of your cargo.Just try and play around a bit.

RotationHere you can rotate the cargo. You have the option when degrees is selected to enter 0,90,180,270 as a number, the cargo will rotate. When your COG ( Centre of Gravity) is in the middle of your cargo (transverse and longitudinal) this will make no difference. But when your COG is offset, rotating the cargo will affect the position of the COG and therefore have influence on your acceleration forces.

FrictionHere you can select what friction-coefficient you want to use between the cargo and the deck. The value will be deducted from the acceleration forces.

- 0,0 for Steel - Steel (wet)- 0,1 for Steel - Steel (dry)- 0,3 for Steel - Timber (for Steel -Rubber)- 0,4 for Timber - Timber

So depending on what you choose, you have to put more lashing to your cargo.When you are surveyor or Cargo Superintendent, it will be wise to put the friction to zero (0).This will give you some pocket change for bad weather. If you are a shipping line which has to give a method statement to their client I would suggest to put 0,3 for Steel - Timber. This will reduce your lashing and securing to a minimum, but still within IMO limits.

Estimated draughtWhen you choose the IMO CSS Annex 13 as your calculation for Acceleration this field appears to give the user the exact sailing draught after loading, this for better and more precise calculations.As default the program will take the maximum draught from the ships properties. When filling out this field, the program will then calculate with this number.

When you choose the DNV Pt. 3 Cha. 1 Sec 4 as your acceleration calculation then this field will disappear.

So in a few minutes you learned already something:- changing holds- positioning of cargo, by mouse or by numbers- rotation- friction- estimated draught

This is already something, maybe it is time to get a cup of coffee, or just to turn the page to the next topic.

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Acceleration CalculationsOn the right side of the screen you will find the ‘Acceleration Calculations’ form.Here you will find the differences of calculation between IMO CSS Annex13 and DNV.

Both calculation methods uses input values which are more or less the same.In IMO calculations the cargo is always centered in the vessel, in DNV it uses the exact location (TCG) of the cargo. The DNV result is more precise. The results of the acceleration calculation are shown in the status bar in the bottom part of the form.

GMNormally a vessel will leave the port having a GM ( stability figure) for the whole vessel.Because in this program it is possible to plan more cargoes to load in different port, on different voyages, we decided to put the GM of that particular cargo, on that particular voyage , in that particular port with the ac-celeration calculation of that specific cargo. When loading a new cargo this field will be empty and shown to you in red color.

This means you have to add the GM, before the program can calculate. When all is okay in the bottom will be shown in green ‘Successful Calculation’.

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In the lower part of the form you will find the calculated accelerations for that specific cargo.Acceleration numbers are calculated for:

IMO CSS Annex 13• Longitudinal• Transverse• Vertical Head Seas

DNV Pt.3 Ch.1 Sec 4• Longitudinal• Transverse• Vertical Head Seas• Vertical Beam Seas

In the Status bar, at the lower part of the viewport you will see also the calculated values, just as a quick refer-ence.

In the status bar on the right side you will find the calculation method, which was selected in the options-calculation method.

So now you know how to work your way around in this part of the program.In this short lecture you learned, how and where the cargo can be loaded, change friction, rotation and accel-eration calculation for your cargo, how to read the data, and of course the result.Lets’s go to the playground.

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Lashing & SecuringWhen you click in your project explorer on the cargo we loaded, the Transformer 12-3456 Sample01.Your viewport will automatically change to the Lashing & Securing viewport. In the main screen you will see different views of the cargo, starboard, portside, top, front and aft view of the cargo.

Because this is an example already some chains and stoppers are attached to the cargo.Let me first explain what you see.

On the left side, you will see three forms (undocked or docked, in this case docked) Toolbox, Chains, belts & Wires and Stoppers. The last two forms are the property forms from Chains, Belts & Wires and Stoppers.

In the centre you’ll see the different views. When your screen is not big enough you have to scroll down to show all. Also you get your views smaller or bigger using the sliders on the left side. The top slider is a standard zoom function, the bottom slider gives the opportunity to increase the relative space around the cargo where lashings can be placed.

On the right side, you will see one form (undocked or docked, in this case undocked) Lashing Calculation. Here you will see the result of all the tools you used on the form. When you scroll down on this form you will see that all requirements are met, because all the numbers are shown in green. Would this not be the case then some of them would be in red, meaning something is still not okay.I will come back to that form later.

Let’s take the top view as starting point for my explanatory.

Here you see that I’ve added two (2) F1 stoppers on the portside and on the starboard side of the cargo.In longitudinal direction I added for each side one (1) F1 stoppers and I also added four (4) chains on port and four chains on star-board side. According to the calculation this was sufficient to Lash & secure this item, the transformer 100mt.

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From the toolbox you can easily add more and different stoppers or chains, belts and wires, just simply drag & drop them on the top view. Keep in mind that for good visual contrast we only allow stoppers to be placed on the top view. The chains, belts or wires can be added on any view.

StoppersWhen dragging & dropping a stopper onto the form, the default values are given to that item. In Tools-Options -Stoppers, you can changed the default settings.Once you drag and drop them on your form you can access the properties of the item in the property form of each item. So let’s start with the stoppers. Click with your mouse on one of the stoppers on the form, then click on the docked form called stoppers. The following form will appear:

SizeYou will see at the size header, that different sizes are shown. When changing one of these settings the forces which are calculated are subject to change immediately, the result will be show in the low part of the form, where it says “securing capacity”. Very important is the impact height. When your cargo bottom is flat and you stow your cargo on normal dunnage (20mm), then your impact height will be 20mm. When you put your cargo on 120x120mm timber, your impact height will be 120mm.When you change this by example you will see the result in the bottom part.The capacity of your stopper will be minimized from 199,2 kN to 127,3 kN (keep in mind the safety factor of 1,5), so it is very important to measure exactly the impact height of your stopper.Play with it and you will notice some remarkable changes on capacities. Changing the length of the stopper (welding seam) or the weld throat thickness will have great influence on the result.

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MiscHere you see what type of stopper you selected, the rotation of the stopper and the safety factor. You can change the type of stopper by clicking on F1, a dropdown list will be shown and given you some options.

When changing F1 to F2, you will see that the securing capacity doubles. Also you can change the direction of the stopper, here you can select for ps, sb, for, aft as direction. Of course the result will change in favor of the selected direction. You can also achieve this by double-clicking on the stoppers in the main viewport, the stopper will rotate clockwise.

Changing the safety factor will also have influence on the securing capacity. Securing devices normally use a safety factor between 1,35 – 1,5.

Securing capacityHere you’ll see the result of the securing capacity for the stopper in the direction in which the stoppers is posi-tioned, in this case portside. Because you calculated forces, all is expressed in kN (Kilo Newton) .

Chain, Belts & WiresWhen dragging & dropping a chain onto the form, the de-fault values are given to that item. In Tools-Options – Chains, Belts & Wires, you can changed the default settings.Once you drag and drop them on your form you can access the properties of the item in the Property form of each item. Click with your mouse on one of the chains on the form, then click on the docked form called Chain, Belts & Wires. Follow-ing form will appear:

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Calculated ValuesHere you see in the angles which are used for calculating the moments. The vertical and horizontal angles are derived from the position of each end of the chain. The end of the chain which is attached to the cargo we call ’cargo cap’ and has three (3) coordinates: longitudinal, transverse and vertical. The end of the chain which is attached to the ship we call ‘ship cap’ and has also three (3) coordinates: longitudinal, transverse and verti-cal. When you calculate with these coordinates you can derive a direction of the chain, the length of the chain and the distance to the tipping axis of the footprint of the cargo. When using this coordinates system we can calculate in all directions with the chain. This means that a chain, which is normally used for tipping, also can have a longitudinal component. Therefore a chain calculation can result in more than one (1) direction. You can change the angle of the chain by typing in the desired angle in both vertical and horizontal direction, also you can do this by dragging one of the caps with your mouse to a different position.When a ship cap is attached horizontal or higher than the value is not longer used for calculating uplift, only for tipping.

ChainsHere you see the MSL (Maximum Securing Load) which can be changed on this form. When you drag & drop a chain onto the form it will be set with default values. To change the default values go to Tools – options – Chains, Belts & Wires.

Also the safety factor can be changed here. Any changes you made will directly affect the result in this form.

Securing CapacityHere you will see the result of what the chain will hold against external forces in shear force, tipping force and uplift force.

Securing capacity in Shear forces will prevent the cargo from sliding in transverse and longitudinal direction.

Securing capacity in Tipping will prevent the cargo from tipping in transverse and longitudinal direction.

Securing capacity in Uplift will prevent the cargo from coming lose from the deck when the ship falls down in a wave pattern. At this moment the cargo will lose its grip on the friction and might become ‘light’. Depending on the user, you can select what is important for you: Tipping, uplift or both.

You can change the calculation settings in Tools-Options-Calculation method.

So in this topic you learned how to drag stoppers, chains, belts & wires to the form and change their position by entering different figures or using the mouse pointer. Also you learned to adjust the default values, how to change them, and using safety factors and change dimensions of welding length, welding throat, impact height, contact area.

I know this is a lot of data to remember, but one good thing is there. Tomorrow you can read the manual again.

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Lashing Calculations

I will split the screen in two (2) parts and try to make it easier for you, can promise anything.

Cargo detailsIn the field ‘width and length cargo footprint’ the width and length of the cargo footprint is mentioned. Say your cargo is like in the example 8000 x 4000mm but the footprint is smaller i.e. 6000 x 3000mm then you can change this here. By default the width and the length of the cargo is used.We need this to calculate the tipping and the uplift.

Wind area & SloshingWhen cargo is stowed on deck, it is submissive to wind and sloshing (water spray).For calculating acceleration forces we use the full height of the cargo in the calculation for wind and up to two (2) mtr height for sloshing. For Tipping & Uplift we use only ½ of the area. The figures in longitudinal and transversal direction will automatically be filled by half the cargo height. We see this as the impact height for the wind, so the lever, calculated by the program is from half the height to tipping axis. You can change this into max height, it will increase your lever and therefore you need to add more lash-ings. If you add a number which is higher than the cargo height a msgbox will appear and warns you for this, it will be reset to max height.

Sloshing as a moment is set to 2 mtrs of height, but again the sloshing lever to the tipping axis is set to 1 me-ter, half the height of the sloshing moment. This will automatically be calculated by the program, you have no influence on this.

Transverse and longitudinal offset of the COG is derived from input when cargo was added.If the COG is offset in both longitudinal and transverse direction, the result might be that only one corner of your cargo has uplift.

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User Defined accelerationsSome shipping lines have a certain minimum what they require in any load-out. If the DNV or IMO acceleration calculations are below their minimum they can adjust it to write the minimum requirements. You can change anything, you only have to meet the minimum requirements of DNV or IMO.

Calculated accelerationsThis you cannot change. Here the calculated accelerations are shown. This will result in the following capaci-ties:

Actual Shear ForcesHere the calculated acceleration are multiplied with the weight of the cargo, mentioned in kN.(when loaded on deck additional forces will be added). Where it says actual forces, it means these are the requirements you need to complete.

Securing capacity Here you see what the stoppers and chains you added will bring you. If the figures are less than the actual needed forces then the figures will be shown in red, meaning you have to add more lashing & securing, is it green then it is okay.

This also goes for tipping & uplift, there is only one, additional to tipping.

Additional tippingThe tipping moment acting on a cargo unit in heavy weather, according to the Annex 13 calculation method is simply derived from the nominal transverse or longitudinal force, acting at the centre of gravity of the cargo unit, multiplied with the vertical distance of the force vector from a distinguished tipping axis. This approach is precise only for a cargo unit of the pin point size of COG and sufficiently precise for cargo units of moderate dimensions e.g. up to 10 mtr height and/or breadth in the plane rotation

Now you learned how to use the lashing & securing calcula-tions form. You are able to change footprint, change the wind lever and sloshing. You also learned how to enter user defined acceleration values. You learned to interpret the result of your lashing & securing plan.

Now the final printing the whole data. You did good so far, keep it up, almost there.

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PrintingWhen the loading is completed, the lashing & securing applied, then we can go for the final step.Printing all documents and sign for approval.

When you go to File - print the following form will appear.

When you want to print, first you decide what to print. The options are not so much and most of the time you want to print Acceleration or Lashing & Securing.

In the top part you can choose between the ship definition, Voyage Cargo & Accelerations or the Lashing and securing. you decide whatever you want.

Then we proceed to the ship status, this I will ex-plain a little bit. When you are using a lot of differ-ent ships in your project explorer, the view might get full, and of course we created the option to clean up a bit. just like home you have to clean up a bit, same goes here.

In the project explorer you have the option (right mouse click on ship, voyage) to select Close or hide. When you click on a ship or a voyage that particular item will be closed or hidden in history. If you want to revive it you can always go to the history form and ‘restore it again’.

Note:Everything in your project explorer is ‘active’ if the icon in front of it is full colored. all other is inactive or so called ‘Close’ or Hidden. Below this option you select the vessel you want, the active or inactive voyage you would like to print and then you select the cargo. Because there could be many cargoes on the voyage, here you can select which one.

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Below this area you can select which images you want to see or which you don’t. if you play around it will be quite easy to look at the differences. Sometimes, when there is a lot of data to retrieve, it might take a little while to present it to you. The result will be shown when you click the large button ‘show report’, following might appear:

Here you’ll see the basic data about vessel, cargo and calculation details used in the program.

Here you see the graphics where the cargo is loaded on the ship and how it is lashed.If you played not so much around, it might look the same as the above.

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In the manual, more extended explanation, I will show you what everything means.

The last page is the page where it comes to the point. Here you see what was required and if all these require-ments are met, green is good, red is not sufficient.

I hope you learned a little bit on ‘Getting started’. You will learn a lot with the trial & error way, like we all do, and later when you ran into problems you will take the manual and read more.

Hope you enjoyed the basic explanation from my side, any comments, please send me a message.

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Exploring the VCC InterfaceWell, here we are with a new version of VCC, and the first question on the minds of existing users is “How is the interface?” The answer is a happy “easy to use.” Most serious users would rather go through root canal surgery than have their user interface (UI) change, and Visual Cargo Care has learned and respected this val-ued opinion by keeping the interface the best way. As you look around the interface, you’ll see that everything is still there but that VCC has a few additions. You may find yourself saying, as you navigate the interface, “Where did that come from?” But, just like encountering a new house in your neighborhood, over time you’ll become accustomed to the addition and may even meet some new friends. Why is the software interface so important? Well, consider this: The interface is the set of controls that enable you to access the program’s features. Without a good interface, you may never use many of the best features of the software or spend a frustrating bit of time locating those features. A piece of software can have all the greatest features, but if the user can’t find or access them, then the software won’t be used to its full potential. VCC is a powerful piece of software with some amazing features, and luckily the interface makes these amazing features easy to find and use. The interface’s purpose is to make the software features accessible, and in VCC you have many different ways to access the features. Some of these access methods are faster than others. This design is intentional because it gives beginning users an intuitive command and advanced users direct access.

Has the VCC interface succeeded? Yes, to a degree, but like most interfaces, it always has room for improve-ment, and we hope that each new version takes us closer to the perfect interface (but I’m still looking for the “read my thoughts” feature). Visual Cargo Care has built a loophole into the program to cover anyone who complains about the interface—customization. If you don’t like the current interface, you can change it to be exactly what you want.

Learning the Interface ElementsIf you’re new to the VCC interface, the first order of business is to take a stroll around the block and meet the neighbors. The entire interface can be divided into three easy elements. Each of these interface elements, in turn, has groupings of sub-elements viewed in dock panels.

The three main interface elements are listed here and shown separated in Figure 1.1:• Menus: This is the default source for most commands, but also one of the most time-consuming interface

methods. The menus are found along the top edge of the VCC window.• Toolbars: VCC includes several toolbars of icon buttons that provide single-click access to features. These

toolbars can float independently or can be docked to an interface edge. The main toolbar is the only toolbar that is visible by default.

• Dock panels: Configurable panels provide quick access to data features for several topics.• Viewports: Separate views into the main viewport show the Left, middle and right viewpoints.• Lower Status Bar: Along the bottom edge of the interface window is a collection of miscellaneous controls

and information about results and calculation methods.

This section will help you to find your way in VCC. The main window, Menu, Dock panels and Tool- box are outlined in more detail. Although most of these tools and menus have a common design and usage, some features might be new and worthwhile to try out. Once all the navigation is clear, you can continue with the next chapter to learn how to use this application.

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Controlling the viewportsVCC opens in a blank window, with only the main toolbar and status bar visible as shown below. When a project is opened, the centre viewport contains the graphical images, which gives you a detailed view of the ship, cargo, its position on the ship. Both sides of the window contain dock- panels with property grids, options and menu’s. These can be enlarged to display data or properties, accompanying the specific objects that are displayed in the centre. In this chapter you will discover and navigate through all these elements.

VCC IconA click on the VCC icon opens the standard menu which allows you to change the size of the active window or to close the application;

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Main ToolbarThe main bar contains sub menu’s with various commands. This paragraph gives a brief explanation for each command. The complete functionality however, will be described in more detail in the VCC Stepping Stones chapter.

Menu bar

File Menu / Sub menu’s

• Print, will give all voyages details on a document. By selecting various print options you can choose to in-clude or exclude specific elements.

• Exit, of course close the program, all data will be saved automatically.

• Cargo / jobs, opens the cargo and jobs win-dow, where all defined cargo and jobs are stored. New cargo and jobs can be created, the existing ones can be changed.

• Ships or Voyages, creates new ships in the Project Explorer and new voyages on al-ready existing Ships.

• Here existing Cargo / Jobs or Projects can be opened.

• Projects, voyages can be exported and im-portant to make live easy. Clicking here will open a dialog box, which shows you where to locate the export file or where the import file is located.

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Tools Menu / Sub menu’s

• History will show you all ship, voyages and cargo which are temporarily hidden.

• Check for new ships / image sets, enables downloading standard images of cargo, ships and colour sets which are stored on the central VCC server.

• Check for new program updates, enables downloading it automatically. All updates are stored on the central VCC server.

• Options, opens a form showing multiple tabs with default values and standards, which are used by the VCC application to perform correct calculations in the preferred unit of measure.

• Here you can create backups and restore them if needed. Always good to be safe.

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Windows Menu / Sub menu’s

Depending on where you are in the program, the application gives you the option to go to the forms via the windows menu. Sometimes a dock-panels is clicked away, with this option you can restore the viewports.

1. Ship’s viewport

2. Voyage viewport

3. Lashing & Securing viewport

• Status bar, allows you to show (check) or hide (uncheck) the Status bar.

• All sub menu’s are related to the ship viewport.

• Status bar, allows you to show (check) or hide (un-check) the Status bar.

• All sub menu’s are related to the voyage viewport.

• Status bar, allows you to show (check) or hide (un-check) the Status bar.

• All sub menu’s are related to the Lashing & secur-ing viewport.

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Help Menu / Sub menu’s

Status barAt the bottom of the screen the Status bar is populated, which informs you on the calculated accelerations related to the current selected ship and cargo.

Here it shows the accelerations forces from the cargo on the specified vessel and cargo.Longitudinal, Transverse and Vertical, all expressed in g- force.

Here it shows the calculation methods used on the specified vessel and cargo.Acceleration method, Tipping, Additional tipping and buckling.

Dock panelMost information is captured in the property grids placed on the dock-panels. This provides as much as pos-sible space for the visual part at the centre of the screen.

You can arrange the screen to your own preference by moving the menu’s and tables to the top, bottom, left or right. To do this you need to select (hold the left mouse button) and move the menu exactly to one of the pre-ferred docking icons that appear as soon as you start moving around. Once the arrow moves over the docking icon it indicates where the menu will be positioned. You can then confirm by releasing the left mouse button and the menu will stick to that position.

You can also arrange the menu’s and tables horizontal or vertical or arrange them as tabs. This can be ex-ecuted via the tab icon that will appear in the centre of the docking icons by moving the menu across an exist-ing docked menu.

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Property Grid formsThe property grid form can be enlarged to display metrics, standards, calculations or properties, accompa-nying the specific vessel and/or cargo displayed in the centre of the window. The following paragraphs will explain the various types of menu’s and tables and their specific properties.

The menu’s give you the option to select values. As a first example the Project menu is described to show you how to open and move it. To activate the Project menu, you need to select it first from the Toolbar, via File -> Open -Projects

The Project menu will pop up on the right side. The menu open in the auto hide mode as default, which means that it can be minimized by a double click on the right mouse button at the blue header. The window reappears if you move the pointer over the Projects icon.

By selecting the auto hide icon (as marked) you can disable the auto hide function.

The menu remains visible and you can move it! Select the blue header (hold the left mouse button down) and drag the form to any area of the screen. Drop it (release left mouse button) where ever you please.

Further you can stretch or shrink the menu by grabbing the border and dragging it to the desired size. To grab the border you need to move the pointer exactly on any line until the pointer changes into .

Secondly, the toolbox is described to show how to switch between different tabs ( tool set). In this example you can click (left mouse button) on the Stoppers label to populate the Stoppers tool set.

 

 

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Some tables contain an information pane, to provide details, explanation or instructions related to the selected value. In this case an instruction is given on what to fill in for ‘Length Over all’.

If there is a lot of text stored in the information pane, you can enlarge the information section by selecting the pane and dragging it upwards.

The Cargo during voyage dock-panel is used to illustrate the property grid characteristics and its specific but-tons which allow you to navigate through the table records.

The records can be grouped or ungrouped, if applicable, by clicking this icon

Records within the table can be arranged in an alphabetical order via

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The record toolbar at the bottom of the table supports you to navigate through the set of records. The arrows let you move forward or backward from one record to another, one by one. If there are many records you might prefer to scroll via the small record slider, above the record counter.

In some tables you are allowed to append or delete records;

to add a new record,

to delete a record.

Main viewportthe centre of the screen contains the graphical images of the cargo, ship or tools for lashing or securing. The image of the ship can be enlarged to provide you a detailed view of the cargo’s position on the ship and let you precisely apply the tools for lashing and securing.

At the left side of the image you will find the image size control. The slider allows you to adjust the image size by moving the it up (larger) or down (smaller). At the top of the control the size factor is displayed.

As soon as the image is larger than the screen, the vertical and horizontal scroll bars appear, to let you move the focus as preferred. Another scrolling-option is to click somewhere on the image and just drag it around or use your scroll wheel on your mouse.

So, after reading all this you are able to adjust your views , drag and drop your dock-panels, hid or unhide your forms and once you lost them you can restore them by selecting it under your windows button.

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We experienced a lot with some view and found the following view the best way to work.

Selecting a vessel in the projects explorer the view should look like this:

The project explorer on the right, visible, ship properties nested in the project explorer, visible and the holds, panels and hold restrictors on the left side, please look at above image.

Selecting a voyage in the projects explorer the view should look like this:

The project explorer on the right, the acceleration properties nested in the project explorer, visible and the Tool-box on the left with the Cargo during Voyage nested in it. The property forms of the load spreader platforms and the elephant feet are hidden on the left side, hovering them with the mouse will make them re-appear again.

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Selecting a cargo in the projects explorer the view should look like this:

The project explorer on the right, the lashing calculations properties nested in the project explorer, visible and the Toolbox on the left with the all tool set property forms nested in it. The property forms of the tool set forms are hidden on the left side, hovering them with the mouse will make them re-appear again.

Of course, you can re-arrange everything for your own desire. Maybe you have the option to use two screens, so your view is not troubled.

Data basicsThere are several objects that need to be defined before VCC can perform the necessary calculations. The objects can be divided into three types; ships, cargo and lashings. The easiest way to use the downloader form by clicking on Tools --> Check for new ships / cargo from the menu. The form ‘Downloader’ will appear and makes connection to the online DataBase and shows you ships and cargo sets which are currently not in your system. You can add them by check the boxes in the front and click the download button. Another way is to download them from the VCC website. Click on below links for respectively Ships and cargoes.

Another option is to copy and modify existing images, but you can also create ships and cargo from zero onwards. The object definition consists out of two main elements, the image and the object properties. The last element is of course the most important, all object specific values need to be absolutely right to assure a correct calculation by the VCC application. This section will show you how to perform all the steps to define your objects.

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Create and Modify ShipsAll ship’s properties can be changed. By selecting an object the properties table will become active and you can alter the values if needed. Please be aware that this will have its effect on the calculations! This means that you can also change predefined ships into your own specific ship with its own values, including the name of the ship.

Besides downloading objects or modifying existing ships and cargo, you can also choose to add a new ship with blank properties and without a pre defined image. When creating a new ship you will also have to define the holds and deck panels.

Within the Projects window, click the right mouse button. An action list will pop up, select Add ship.

A new ship is created as ‘New ship’.

Ship properties form

Enter the name of the ship, the new name is directly reflected in the projects window. Next, select an image for the new ship, for example the VCC default image.

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You need to complete all other properties as Measurements and Acceleration as they are applicable to the new ship.

Ship propertiesThe ship properties consist out of three elements, the ship itself, the holds and their deck panels. First the ship standard measurements and values are shown in the example here beside.

Second, the holds and deck panels, they always belong to-gether. A hold has its own set of deck panels. In the example below the ship contains three holds (record 1 / 3), where the first hold contains 4 deck panel records (record 1 / 4). Each deck panel record can contain multiple deck panels, in that case the panel numbers are separated by a comma.

For most values, the UOM (unit of measurement) can be changed, by selecting a UOM from the drop down box, becoming available when selecting the value field in the table. Standard we use mm.

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Add ship propertiesWhen creating a new ship, all properties for the ship are blank and need to be completed. While entering the measurements in the properties table, the ship image will appear with the same proportions as entered. The ship is displayed as a side view, and a top view for tanktop, tweendeck and weatherdeck.

This same applies for the holds and deck panels, when the hold record is entered the hold will be displayed on the ship, in the exact proportion as entered. The horizontal lines in the side view represent the level for the tweendeck and weatherdeck.

The example hold as displayed on the ship has got the following values.

Deck panels can be entered as soon as the hold is defined. There are two types of deck panels, Weatherdeck panels and tweendeck panels, indicating the level where they are applied. There can be multiple panels for one deck panel record, in that case the panel numbers should be separated by a comma. The width of the panels should be the same or a little less than the width of the specific hold. In the example below there is one record having six panels.

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In this example, weather deck panels are show. All panels have the same size, but it is also possible to have a different size for each single panel.

Because a lot of vessels have obstruction in the holds from tanks, void spaces etc we created the hold restric-tor form. All is related to the active hold, so if you have hold 3 selected i.e. then the hold restrictors will apply only to that hold. Here you can do the following:

• Select the shape, triangle or square.• Location of the restrictor• If it should be mirrored to the other side• dimensions of the restrictor• the colour used for it

Both holds and panels can be removed by deleting the record from the table. A dialog bow appears to ask for confirmation for the removal.

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Remove / close or hide shipShips can be removed from the projects explorer by selecting the ship name, clicking the right mouse button and to select “Remove ship”.

By selecting “Hide ship”, the ship will move to “History”, where they can be unhidden again for further usage.

By closing the ship it will show an inactive status by having a non filled circle, as shown in this example.

It can be re-opened, by selecting the ship, clicking the right mouse button and selecting Re-open ship.

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Create and modify Cargo

Equal to ships, cargo can be downloaded and new created. To create a new cargo object, select Cargo / jobs, via Menu bar > File - New - Cargo / Jobs. The Cargo entry window allows you to add new cargo or change existing cargo. All defined cargo and jobs are stored in the Cargo entry table.

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Part II: Calculation Methods

VCC uses various calculation for its program. When the program is installed the calculation will be used by default which is set to -IMO CSS Annex13.

IMO Annex13 Compliancy The 1994 amendment of the IMO CSS-Code has presented a new Annex13 with the title “Methods to assess the efficiency of securing arrangements of securing arrangements for non-standardized cargo”. The Annex13 enables the maritime community to muse an internationally agreed approach for non-standardized cargo se-curing calculations, which meanwhile has been accepted worldwide by ship operators as well as legal disputes.

Annex13 Rule-of-ThumbRules-of-Thumb may be used for a raw estimation of the lashing effort. Another rule of thumb is provided by the Annex13 that reads:

“The total of the MSL, values of the securing devices on each side of a unit of cargo (port as well as starboard) should equal the weight of the unit.”

It must be noted that this rule does not take the size or speed of the vessel into account, neither her stability nor the location of stowage on the ship. It further addresses only the weight of the unit, but not its dimensions, which may become very important for forces by wind and sea sloshing. The rule ignores the effect of lashing angles and friction at the stowage place, but an explanatory text in the IMO Code reminds that lashing angles to the deck should not be greater than 60 degrees and ace should be taken for adequate friction.

The Annex13 Advanced Calculation MethodThe advanced calculation method, presented in the Annex13 to the CSS Code, is still a simplified model of the reality, but it has certain advantages against the various even more simple rules-of-thumb. In order to obtain reliable results from the advanced calculation method certain typical misuse practices must be avoided:- Use of invalid MSL-figures in the balance of forces of moments,- Ignorance of limiting conditions, as lined out in the Annex13- Mixing with elements of other calculation methods- Converting the balance formulas into target oriented equations.

The Annex13 Alternative Calculation MethodThe alternative calculation method has been developed in IMO, on the initiative of the late marine surveyor Capt. Edward Boyle, NCB New York, and adopted in 2002. It contains only minor changes to the basic ad-vanced calculation method and does not replace the latter.

The changes are:- Horizontal lashing angles are taken into account.

This is the key issue of the improvement and solves the frequent question on how to treat a lashing at, e.g. 45 degrees to the transverse direction. However, the amount of entry data to the calculation is considerably increased and it is advisable to use an approved computer program for avoiding calculation errors within the processing of the lashing data.

- Calculation strength CS = MSL/1.35

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This is a consequence to the more precise consideration of horizontal lashing angles, which allows to reduce the safety factor.

- Small changes in the balance calculation.

The changes are insignificant, in particular if a computer program is used. The amended version of the An-nex13 contains a calculated example, which demonstrates that each lashing must be treated separately, duly distinguishing its direction of action (fore, aft, port, stb). For each lashing two f-values must be taken from an appropriate table with the entries of the vertical and the horizontal lashing angle, and utilized within the ap-plicable balance.

Computer based calculationThere are numerous versions of suitable computer programs for the application of the advanced and alterna-tive calculation method presented by the Annex13. One of the most commonly used is LashCon (TM) by Olav Lyngard, available from the Det Norske Veritas.

The program offers to choose between the basic advanced calculation method and the alternative method with recommendations with the latter. It provides a storage stack where a number of calculated cases can be stored. It also offers print-outs of each page. The calculated accelerations can be replaced by figures adapted to condition of sheltered waters.

However, there are several minor drawbacks, which must be known and overcome on occasion by manual calculation or by using Lashcon in a dual approach.

- The program does not offer intermediate entries in the stowage levels. This may become particularly impor-tant for interpolation between the stowage levels “on deck low” and “on deck high”.

- The program does not allow to exclude steep transverse lashings from the transverse sliding balance while using the same lashings for the transverse tipping balance.

- The program does not use tipping prevention levers “C”, as proposed by the Annex13. these levers are ex-pressed by c= d . sin(alpha), where d is the horizontal distance from the tipping axis to the secure point on the deck. This approach appears easier to handle but fails if the securing is not on deck but higher, e.g. on the ship’s side between deck or lower hold.

- In the basic advanced method the program requires to enter a lashing a second time for checking the effect from it longitudinal component.

- The number of securing devices is limited to 10. Grouping of devices is therefore indispensable in larger securing arrangements. this may become difficult with the alternative method.

Due to the above mentioned limitations, the request for a workable program in all matter was of the essence.

As you know that normally everyone can use the IMO CSS calculation for all loading operations. This com-monly know and worldwide accepted method. The acceleration however uses a few different aspects in cal-culation then DNV does.

When you start a calculation you first need to know how you want to calculate all items.

In acceleration calculations, we currently provide 2 options:- IMO CSS Annex 13- DNV Pt.3 Ch.1 Sec.4

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TippingThe “tipping philosophy” in the annex 13 is a general and fundamental approach, which is independent from any specific securing arrangement.

The transverse tipping can be calculated by using vertical securing angle (alpha), horizontal securing angle (beta) and tipping lever C, which is calculated in the program, this means we do not use the horizontal se-curing distance in calculation, what many people do. However we show in our report the horizontal securing distance (next to the lever C). We give this figure to make it more acceptable for the user who is used to work with it.

The longitudinal tipping has not been described in the Annex 13, because it will be scarcely critical. However, large cargo units placed on deck may tip longitudinally and the appropriate securing arrangement should also be checked by a longitudinal tipping balance. In accordance with the balance of longitudinal sliding, which assumes a longitudinal force in conjunction with reduced weight of the cargo unit due to downward vertical ac-celerations of the ship, also the stabilizing moment of the cargo unit should be reduced in the tipping balance.

A remark is that in the IMO CSS Annex 13, the centre of gravity is always centered, you understand in practice, this is hardly ever the case.

UpliftThe “uplift philosophy” has its roots in those days when people started to transport large items on barges to offshore locations. When they calculated the necessary welding, they found the primary challenge in sliding prevention, but with high units also in the prevention of lifting the edge of the unit opposite to the tipping axis This was solved by welded clips / clamps providing a purely vertical holding effect or directly welding the units to the barge. So the uplift calculation was born. In comparisation with the tipping, (who has 2 components named ‘’Uplift’ and ‘rolling’ = tipping) the uplift has only one (1) component, in vertical direction.

Most of the heavy-lift companies use uplift. When the COG of your cargo is offset the uplift calculation shows you the uplift for each side separately, so you know exactly what to do.

Additional tipping moment The tipping moment acting on a cargo unit in heavy weather, according to the Annex 13 calculation method is simply derived from the nominal transverse or longitudinal force, acting at the centre of gravity of the cargo unit, multiplied with the vertical distance of the force vector from a distinguished tipping axis. This approach is precise only for a cargo unit of the pin point size of COG and sufficiently precise for cargo units of moderate dimensions e.g. up to 10 mtr height and/or breadth in the plane rotation. For larger cargo units, the real distribution of mass and the inherent variation of distances from the rolling axis of the vessel creates an additional tipping moment, which should be taken into account when designing and implementing a securing arrangement.

This additional tipping moment results in fact from the rotational inertia of the cargo unit, when subjected to the rotational acceleration of a rolling or pitching vessel. It is independent from the vertical stowage position in the vessel, but will practically only appear with huge cargo units stowed on deck.

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Part III: Working with Projects

What is a project?A project is a load-out where you add cargo on a voyage of a specified ship, in order to calculate the accelera-tion forces and based on them, apply lashing and securing to the cargo for safe transport from loading port to discharge port.

The VCC projects include ships, voyages, cargoes, acceleration calculations, holds & deck panels, lashing and securing devices, loadspreader platforms etc. and anything that can be viewed in a viewport. This part starts by introducing the various objects and also includes chapters on how to select, change, load, transform, and modify these various objects.

A project consist of the following items:1. Ship or substitute2. Cargo3. Voyage ( adding cargo to your voyage )4. Lashing & securing5.Print out

To obtain them we will start to explain.

1. Ship You will have five options for selecting a ship. You can select an existing ship from the project explorer or add a new vessel. To do the latter go to File -> New -> ship and select ‘ship’ from the submenu or you can go to the project explorer and right mouse click in the centre of the form and select ‘ ship’ from the dropdown submenu.

You also have the option to import a ship via the File -> Export/Import -> Import and browse for the import file having the *.vcce extension, this will automatically install the vessel in your project explorer, so you see there are many options to add a ship to your project explorer.

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How to get an existing ship.vcce file?Anyone who works with VCC can export a ship into an *.vcce file and send it via email everywhere in the world. Look for this topic at the Export/ import section.

A ship’s export file contains the image set of the vessel and all data such ship properties, holds, deck panels, so all that is needed to make a complete ship. Easy interaction between users is possible in this way.

On the VCC website http://visualcargocare.com you can find additional vessels, which can be downloaded onto your computer and import them. Another option is to download them via the downloader form in your program, go to Tools ->check for new ships / cargo image sets.Look at the topic ‘Download new ships / cargo image set’.

2. Cargo In VCC we work with a library of cargo, meaning all cargo which is not loaded on your voyages will be visible in this library. Once you add a cargo onto a voyage, the item will then disappear from the library. Is the cargo deleted from the voyage, then it will automatically restored in the library.

* The best part is that, if you had a cargo loaded on a voyage, all lashed and secured and the cargo was de-leted from the voyage it will appear in the library as normal. But when re-loaded on another voyage (any ship or any voyage) it will appear with all previous lashing and securing. The only thing you have to check if the applied lashing and securing is still sufficient for that vessel.If you delete a cargo from the library, also all lashing & securing will be deleted. *

You have three options for selecting a cargo for your voyage. You can an existing cargo from the library or add a new cargo. To do the latter go to File -> New -> cargo / jobs and select ‘Cargo / Jobs’ from the submenu.

A dialog box will appear and you can point to the specific location where the file is stored.

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Creating a cargo:After selecting the option to add a ‘new’ cargo, following form will appear.

What you see is an empty screen on the left containing three COG marks and on the right side of the screen a property grid what needs to be filled, in order to create the cargo for use.

What we need to add is a:General• Job ID - Unique number for this Job.• Job Description - Description of the Job (Both Job ID and description will be shown in project explorer once the cargo is attached to the voyage).• Shape - Here the shape needs to selected (this is needed for to calculate the additional tipping moment)• Cargo Image Set - Here you select the image set from the dropdown box on the right.

Dimensions• Length - Here you add the length of your cargo.• Width - Here you add the Width of your cargo.• Height - Here you add the Height of your cargo.

Weight / Mass• Weight - Here you add the weight / Mass of your cargo

COG• Cargo front to COG - Here you add the distance from the front of the cargo to your COG.• Cargo left to COG - Here you add the distance from the left of the cargo to your COG.• Cargo bottom to COG - Here you add the distance from the bottom of the cargo to your COG.

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Once you added all those numbers and select the shapes and image-set the viewport should look like the example.

You see that the COG marks are positioned on the sport as indicated when adding the COG distances.This is just a way to make you see where it is positioned. When playing around with it you will how it works, very easy to use.

When you are finished you successfully added a cargo into the library. In the bottom part on the right side of the view port you will see how many cargo jobs are in your library.

You also have the option to import a cargo via the File -> Export/Import -> Import and browse for the import file having the *.vcce extension, this will automatically install in your cargo image-set in the library, so again you see there are many options to add a cargo to your library.

A dialog box will appear and you can point to the specific location where the file is stored.

How to get an existing cargo.vcce file?Anyone who works with VCC can import a ship from a *.vcce file. Only VCC can export cargo image-sets. All cargo image-sets are available on the internet. There you can download the cargo image-sets and import them if needed. Look for this topic at the Export/ Import section.

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A cargo export file contains the image set of the cargo but no further data. This is chosen because this way, you can use the image-sets in so many different way.

On the VCC website http://visualcargocare.com you can find additional cargo image sets, which can be down-loaded onto your computer and import them. Another option is to download them via the downloader form in your program, go to Tools ->check for new ships / cargo image sets.Look at the topic ‘Download new ships / cargo image set’.

3. VoyageYou can only add cargoes on your ship by creating a voyage. Thsi was done for the reason to keep a clear overview of all cargoes and voyages, if we would load everything on the a ship, you first had to removed all the cargo before you create your next projects.

To avoid that this, we created voyages. This gives the user lots of additional options.

A ship can be called a project, where you can add voyages attached to the ship and cargoes attached to the voyage. The previous section explained how to define ships and cargo, while this section will outline all ele-ments within a project using the ships and cargo as a basis. Starting point will be to show how to add a voyage to a ship, followed by positioning the cargo, calculating acceleration and applying lashing and securing tools.

The “Projects Explorer” provides a list of all active ships. By selecting the relevant ship and clicking the right mouse button a list with possible actions is populated. To create a voyage, select Add voyage from the list.

This results into a ‘New Voyage’ added to the selected ship.You also see that the icon in front of the voyage is yellow, indicating that it is a voyage

Cargo libraryShip

Voyage01 Cargo1

Cargo2

Cargo3

Cargo4

Cargo5

Cargo6

Voyage02

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By selecting the position next to the Voyage Nr, it will allow you to enter the voyage number. The same is ap-plicable for the other values. After completion the voyage number and description will be visible in the project explorer to identify the voyage.

Adding cargo on your voyage:Now you’ve selected a ship, created cargo and created a voyage, it is time to load the cargo on your ship. By click on the voyage in the project explorer the voyage viewport will appear with some additional forms.

You will see:• Projects explorer• Acceleration calculation• Cargo during voyage• Toolbox - Load spreaders like platforms, Steel Beams and Timber Beams - with own property form. - Storage like Elephant feet with beams - with own property form.

The voyage needs to be specified, like voyage number and ports of loading and discharging.

Shipping Lines can use their voyage numbers which they are already using.

CSI’s or Surveyors can add here their in-house Job number

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To add the cargo onto your voyage you have to go to the form ‘Cargo during Voyage’.

- Job ID & Description- Shape & cargo image set

- Location where the cargo is loaded- Position of the COG ( autimatically )- Rotation of the cargo.( 0, 90, 180, 270)- Friction values

- Dimensions of the cargo

- Weight / Mass of the cargo- Current Draught

- Position of the COG

- Number of cargoes on your voyage 1/2- Switch between forms.

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So when you want to add a new cargo on your voyage, simply click on the green + (plus) in the bottom of the form, the following will appear:

By clicking on the field next to the text ‘Attach new cargo’ a combo box will appear. Bly clicking on it you will see a list of all cargo which is in your library.

Select the desired item you want to load and all the data will appear on the form.

• Here you select the location where you want to load the cargo. The options are the defined holds or the weather deck.

When selecting the weather deck the cargo can be stowed overlap-ping holds, this is not possible when stowed in holds.

After selecting the location the cargo will be visible on your ship. Now you can drag & drop it anywhere you like in the cargo area.

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There is only one step more to go to start the calculation. The G’M (corrected).

• G’M (corrected)

Now all the acceleration calculations can be done in the correct way. Based on the above image you see the acceleration value, expressed in g.

Sometimes peoples have acceleration factors in m/s2. For converting them into g forces simply divide them with 9,81.

4,3 m/s2 / 9,81 = 0.438 g = 0,44g 0.44 g * 9.81 = 4.3 m/s2

When you followed this manual, you are able to define a ship, create cargo, create a voyage and add your cargo onto the voyage. The calculation of the acceleration forces will be done automatically by the program. Every time you change to position of the cargo on your ship, the program re-calculates the acceleration forces. I told you easy to use.

4. Lashing & securingNow comes the tricky part, this part needs good understanding in what you are doing. I will try to explain it as good as I can.

By loading a cargo on a ship, the cargo will get accelerations due to movement of the vessel whilst sailing, it will roll from port to starboard, maybe pitch or heave. All movements have an effect on the cargo. Due to this movements the cargo wants to slide of the ship when rolling or slide forward when pitching, so we have to counteract on this to prevent the cargo from changing position.

It is needless to say that a ‘loose’ cargo in the hold or on the weather deck can cause extremely dangerous situations for the vessel, the crew and the cargo itself. It can get damaged or even skip overboard, worth some-times multi-million dollars of values.

So, now I sketched the scenario which can occur I hope to have your full focus on the this chapter.This is all what’s it about. Lashing & securing in good way, and very well thought of.

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Due to the shape of the vessel, the G’M (corrected) and the position of the cargo on the ship, accelerations values are automatically calculated.

• Longitudinal Force• Transverse Force• Vertical Force

What will these figures tell us. These figures tell us that the cargo will slide in a certain direction when the force ( needed to move the cargo ) is reached by movement of the ship.So we must avoid her from sliding in those direction. We do this by lashing and securing the cargo to the ship. Let me explain it more easy.

When a cargo on ship has the weights of 100 ton and the Transverse acceleration is 0,43 g, then the force which we have to counteract is calculated as follows:

100 x 0,43 = 43mt

So we must make sure that we put in total 43 mt of lashing and securing devices to prevent the cargo from sliding to transverse direction, we have to this for port and starboard side of the vessel.

We have different type of forces acting on the cargo:

• Shear forces (sliding forces)• Tipping forces (movement of two components, vertical and rolling)• Uplift forces (movement of one component, only vertical) - optional• Additional tipping forces

Depending on your selection you can calculate the Tipping or Uplift or both.Additional tipping is an option you can select.

There is actually one more item I have to explain, and that will be the different colors in the project explorer.

Here you see the three different stages of colors used for the lashing part. As you can see all three items are cargoes, attached to a voyage. When applying lashing & securing to the cargo it will tell you what is okay or not, it will tell you by the colors.

• Green - Cargo is lashed & secured is sufficient• Orange - Cargo is lashed & secured, but some variables are changed, like position of the cargo.• Red - Cargo is (most probably) lashed & secured but not sufficient.

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So when you change the position of a specific cargo, the icon ( if green ) will change to orange, so you know you have to check that particular cargo again, just by simply clicking on it in the project explorer. The lashing & securing viewport will appear and the program starts calculating it again.

User asked us to always calculate it without clicking on the icon. Hopefully you can imagine that if you have loaded 80 pieces on a ship, all lashed and secured, re-calculating all of them takes simply too much time and resources from your computer. In this way you can see what could cause you some problems.

If all is still okay, the icon turns green, if not it turns red. This is just an easy way to tell you what is okay or not or needs some more attention.

Now let’s start the fun part of it. Let’s play with chain, belts, stoppers, wires, clips/clamps, twist locks, timber and many more things.

Knowing your User Interface (UI) is of course very important, in this case some forms are important.The toolbox, for applying lashing & securing devices on your cargo and the property forms which comes with each tab and last but not the least the lashing & securing calculation.

Each tab indicates the various options used for lashing & securing the cargo onto the ship.

Simply click on the tab and it will show its con-tent.

On the property form, all the details will be shown from the applied and selected tool set.

First we start to counteract on the shear forces, so to prevent the cargo from sliding ( shear ) in any directions, we can do this with a lot of different options. Such as chains, stoppers, twist locks, timber etc. I want to choose the easy, secure way in the most cost effective way.

One question you have to ask yourself before starting this operation:‘’Am I allowed to weld on deck?’’

Because if you are I would recommend to use stoppers which will be welded to the deck.The various types of stoppers, like steel plates, H-Beams etc. will give you a lot of strength and capacity to prevent the cargo from sliding. Of course the calculated capacity of a stoppers is derived from some variables such as welding length, weld throat thickness. I will explain this later.

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So fro example we have the following forces acting on the cargo (calculated by the program):• Longitudinal Force = 0.11 g• Transverse Force = 0.48 g• Vertical Force = 0.53 g

Cargo is a GE generatorCargo weight is 174mt

So for the sliding forces we use the longitudinal and the transverse calculated forces, by calculation the force we have to counter act is as follows:

Longitudinal :174t x 0.11 = 19.14mtTranverse : 174t x 0.48 = 83.52 mt(we keep friction set to zero (0))

This means we have to position stoppers on transverse and longitudinal position to avoid the cargo from sliding in that direction.

We click on the tab ‘stoppers’ and the following screen will appear:

As you see you have various type of stoppers available to use. Depending on which one you have available on your vessel (or you are able to order) you can select them.

In our example we go for the Stopper F1, which in fact is consisting of two (2) steel plates in the picture on the left.

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The stopper always have to be welded on both sides, so NO single side welded stoppers.You can go with your mouse to the Stopper F1 in your toolbox, keep your left mouse button pressed and drag it from the toolbox on your top view of the cargo. Stoppers can only be applied in the top view. We found that using stoppers in the side view, it will obstruct your view and make your screen look full of rubbish.

So after you dragged and dropped it onto your form, you will see that it places itself to the side of the cargo where you dropped it. When you then check your stopper property form you will find some important information.

- Cargo description

- position of the stopper towards the centre of the cargo

- Dimensions of the stopper

- Type of the stopper.- Rotation of the stopper.- Safety factor

- Capacity of the stoppers

So applying this stopper, with these criteria, the force of 166,0 kN is calculated.When dividing the force 166,- kN by 9,81 you will get the amount of force it actually hold.In this case 166 / 9.81 = 16.92mt.

Changing criteria as weld throuat thickness of weld length have a big influence on your capacity.Just play around with it. You can change this stopper in an F2 stopper by selecting the field next to the Type of stopper field, change it to any kind of stopper you like.This also counts for rotation and safety factor, by changing them the effect of the stopper will change. We will pratice some more later.

Always distribute stoppers equally. A-symetrical weight distribution of the cargo we handle in a different topic.

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The result of applying this stopper will immediately be shown in the lashing calculation form.

- Cago description

- Width footprin

- Length footprint

- User defined acclerations forces

- Calculated acceleration forces

- Shear forces in Long and Trans direction.

- Applied forces against shear

- Tipping forces

- Applied forces against tipping

When a cargo is positioned to a bulkhead, that particular side is automatically set to the required force needed. We apply stoppers until the program tells us that it is okay. You can see the result in the above mentioned lash-ing calculation form. When the numbers turns green instead of red, you applied sufficient.

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Forward direction is blocked by a bulkhead, so cargo is stowed against it and no stoppers required for shear forces. When looking on the lashing calculation form, you will see it as follows:

- Applied stopper deliver enough capacity. All is green so okay.

- Due to the dimensions of the cargo (footprint) and the weight, the cargo has no tipping moment, its a negative number, there green

In this way you apply stoppers onto your cargo until you met all requirements.I will explain this more in detail in separate documents, all available on our website.

When all is done in a good way, you applied lashing and securing against all forces, all numbers are green, you are ready to print the lashing & securing document of this particular cargo item.

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5. Print outWhen the loading is completed, the lashing & securing applied, then we can go for the final step.Printing all documents and sign for approval.

When you go to File - print the following form will appear.

When you want to print, first you decide what to print. The options are not so much and most of the time you want to print Acceleration or Lashing & Securing.

In the top part you can choose between the ship definition, Voyage Cargo & Accelerations or the Lashing and securing. you decide whatever you want.

Then we proceed to the ship status, this I will explain a little bit. When you are using a lot of different ships in your project explorer, the view might get full, and of course we created the option to clean up a bit. just like home you have to clean up a bit, same goes here.

In the project explorer you have the option (right mouse click on ship, voyage) to select Close or hide. When you click on a ship or a voyage that particular item will be closed or hidden in history. If you want to revive it you can always go to the history form and ‘restore it again’.

Note:Everything in your project explorer is ‘active’ if the icon in front of it is full colored. all other is inactive or so called ‘Close’ or Hidden. Below this option you select the vessel you want, the active or inactive voyage you would like to print and then you select the cargo. Because there could be many cargoes on the voyage, here you can select which one.

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Below this area you can select which images you want to see or which you don’t. if you play around it will be quite easy to look at the differences. Sometimes, when there is a lot of data to retrieve, it might take a little while to present it to you. The result will be shown when you click the large button ‘show report’, following might appear:

Here you’ll see the basic data about vessel, cargo and calculation details used in the program.

Here you see the graphics where the cargo is loaded on the ship and how it is lashed.If you played not so much around, it might look the same as the above.

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In the manual, more extended explanation, I will show you what everything means.

The last page is the page where it comes to the point. Here you see what was required and if all these require-ments are met, green is good, red is not sufficient.

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Part IV: Add Ships, Cargo Image sets

VCC includes several different ways to create or add objects. This part includes chapters covering the basics of methods and constructs including working with holds, and deck panels. Download ObjectsThis chapter describes to download the pre defined objects from the VCC server Database. Images and prop-erties are already defined, but if needed the properties can be modified.

Via the Main Toolbar select Tools -> Check for new ships / image sets. The “Downloader” form will pop up and allows you to download standard images of cargo, ships and colour sets which are stored on the central VCC server.

First tab in this window is called ‘Ships / Ships images sets’ and allows you to download ships image sets and/ or ship definitions.

Difference between them is when you only download a ship image set, means you have to define your hold, deck panels etc. When you download a ship image set + ship definition, then the w