Home
> Client Support
> GL PROTOS
GL PROTOS
Certification of dry cargo ships for the carriage of solid bulk cargoes, which in the past was a requirement in particular of the Italian Administration, is being increasingly demanded by various Administrations, which have adopted the Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes (BC Code) into their national legislation. Moreover the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is working on making mandatory the BC Code by 2011. Germanischer Lloyd is prepared for this development and has introduced PROTOS (Provision for Transportation of Solid Bulk Cargoes), a database-aided procedure for certification of bulk carriers and multi purpose vessels in view of compliance with the special provisions specified for bulk cargoes in the BC Code.
PROTOS has been introduced by Germanischer Lloyd in 2004 and since then provides invaluable assistance to shipowners, operators and shipyards, reduces handling time and provides ships with a document specifying in detail ship’s fitness for the carriage of bulk cargoes.
Requirements for Transportation of individual bulk cargoes according to the BC Code are available online with a tool called GL PROTOS.
Document of Compliance for the Carriage of Solid Bulk Cargoes
Based on a survey conducted by GL in accordance with the PROTOS Survey Program and the review of documents and drawings, the ship is provided with a Document of Compliance for the Carriage of Solid Bulk Cargoes, the so-called Bulk Certificate, see specimen (PDF, 52 KB), with the following supplements appended:
- List of Cargoes, specifying all individual bulk cargoes the vessel if suitably equipped for, see specimen (PDF, 44 KB).
- List of Footnotes, covering operational aspects for individual cargoes and individual cargo spaces, see specimen (PDF, 20 KB).
- List of Equipment, specifying constructions details of cargo holds, equipment and documentation provided on board, see specimen (PDF, 44 KB), which is relevant for the carriage of those bulk cargoes included in the List of Cargoes.
The Bulk Certificate is valid for 5 years, harmonized with the ship’s class period. Germanischer Lloyd is authorized by major Flag State Administrations for this newly introduced certification procedure.
Background
SOLAS Regulation II-2/19 (former Reg. II-2/54) and the respective Document of Compliance for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods covers dangerous goods in packaged form and bulk in solid form leaving specific safety measures for individual bulk cargoes to the provisions of the BC Code. Regardless of the Document of Compliance according to SOLAS Regulation II-2/19 (as applicable) GL-certification of ship’s fitness for the carriage of solid bulk cargoes is of vital importance for the following reasons:
- The document issued specifies individual bulk cargoes, not only the IMO classes as referred to in SOLAS.
- SOLAS does not completely cover all requirements for transportation specified in the BC Code.
- SOLAS is not applicable for ships the keel of which was laid before 1st September, 1984 (
500 GT).
- The Bulk Certificate comprises MHB-cargoes, material hazardous only in bulk, which are not covered by SOLAS.
Due to the inconsistency between SOLAS Regulation II-2/19 and the BC Code, certification of ships in view of compliance with the provisions of the BC Code is being increasingly requested by the industry.
Your Benefit
The Document of Compliance for the Carriage of Solid Bulk Cargoes provided by Germanischer Lloyd covers the requirements of all parties involved. Your benefits in detail are:
- Avoidance of waiting time for your ships due to drown out certification procedures involving coordination with local port authorities and Flag State Administration prior to commencement of cargo operation.
- Certification procedure on a comprehensible basis.
- Transparency for all parties involved.
- Contribution to vessel’s acceptance by cargo operators.
- Customer service on bulk matters available with GL PROTOS on the GL website.
Process Description
- Commissioning a bulk survey by the client offers various options, as for individual bulk cargoes, cargo groups or for all cargoes listed in the BC Code. If the bulk survey is ordered via a Survey Request by fleet online, the corresponding information is automatically transmitted to the expert in charge at Germanischer Lloyd Head Office, too. The Survey Program is generated by the PROTOS data base in accordance with the client’s requirements for the respective ship and transmitted to the GL inspection office on site.
- Conducting of bulk survey onboard according to the PROTOS Survey Program, see specimen and reporting to GL Head Office (completed Survey Program).
- Evaluation of the survey program completed by the attending surveyor and review of relevant drawings and documents, e.g. fire safety plan, tank plan, system drawings, Document of Compliance for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods (SOLAS II-2/19), exemption certificate (CO2 system for cargo holds), as applicable.
- Input of all data on construction details of cargo holds and equipment relevant for the carriage of bulk cargoes and provided onboard into the PROTOS database and generation of the supplements List of Cargoes, List of Footnotes and List of Equipment.
- Issue of the Document of Compliance for the Carriage of Solid Bulk Cargoes with the supplements attached to it on behalf of the competent Administration and handling of all administrative operations necessary.
- Assignment of class notation “DBC” in the class certificate. The class notation “DBC” stands for equipped for the carriage of solid bulk cargoes in accordance with the BC Code.
- The Document of Compliance for the Carriage of Solid Bulk Cargoes together with a certified true copy is sent out to the client, in urgent cases by email directly onboard or via courier to the ship’s agent in the loading/discharging port.
Conditions of Procedure
Certification of ship’s fitness for the carriage of solid bulk cargoes is an optional service of Germanischer Lloyd and requires individual commissioning (a separate application) by the client.
Certification of ship’s fitness for the carriage of solid bulk cargoes does not supersede the “Document of Compliance for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods” according to Regulation 19 (former Reg. 54) of SOLAS Chapter II-2.
