Why Does Rice Sink Ships?

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In this video, we investigate the dangers of carrying grain cargo on merchant vessels and have a quick look at the reasons why special precautions need to be taken.

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All content on this channel is provided for entertainment purposes only. Although every effort has been made to ensure the content is accurate and up to date, it remains the responsibility of the viewer to determine its accuracy and validity. The content should never be used to substitute professional advice or education.

[vinland_viking]

Definitely not in the reports but some years ago, the ship I was working on was loading maize and the loading apparatus operator didn't listen when the officers told him to shift is loading position. The result was a sudden 40 degrees list towards the dock, with our mooring cable holding tight. We evacuated the ship and only the chief engineer and second engineer went back to pump water in the ballast to bring the ship back somewhat upright. In the following sea passage, we faced heavy gale and large waves. We arrived at destination with a good 20 degrees list on the same starboard side.

[Tom_Losh]

Both my grandfather and uncle were Merchant Mariners prior to the mid-fifties, and neither would crew on a grain ship. This mostly due to a very bad trip my grandfather had on one in the late 1930s, where they nearly lost the ship due to a cargo shift. Thanks for the very good explanation of the problems!

[memofromessex]

I thought initially that it was to do with the rice expanding if wet, but it's more to do with it moving

[YourTypicalMental]

When I woke up this morning I wouldn't have imagine I would have considered the design dynamics necessary to safely ship Rice of all things.

[HATECELL]

My first thought was the expansion of rice when it gets wet, like in that Horatio Hornblower story where a damaged but floating ship's hull eventually burst from the rice expanding.

[godalseif]

the most shocking thing i learned here is that grain is stored loosely during shipping. i would've expected it to be in crates or something

[herondeeyan]

When we load rice in Thailand, the holds carrying rice in bulk (not in sack) are only filled half full then the top layer was trimmed flat and loaded with two layers of tonner bags filled with rice. Other holds that are filled with 25 and 50kg bags are onky filled up to 90-95%.

[andrewhallock]

Tom Scott recommended your channel and now I see why. Thank you for a breakdown of hazards that even a non-seaman can follow!

[lord_matto]

the biggest difference between fluid and a pile of grain is that fluid changes with the ship but grain will move suddenly and alot at once so its not just shifting gravity its also carrying a great deal of momentum

[amariner]

Well researched and well done.
Speaking as a master mariner with grain experience.
High value rice would be put in supersacks, 1m x 1m x 1m cube bags, thus changing the angle of repose.

[arcticfox]

So this is one of those rare cases where trucking and marine problems converge. I run an end dump and ive run into this same issue. Even if i load my truck to the rim (which is not only illegal but imposible as the weight will break the truck) this stuff will shift quite easily and can roll a truck. So you gotta be careful both how you load the grain and drive. You see this quite a bit with overturned grain haulers. While we dont have the same listing issues as a ship. A lot of roads are slanted and many offramps have an extreme lean to them. Go too fast where the trailer leans too and the whole load can shift and you go over. Same with unloading. Unload on uneven ground and the grain can shift to one side suddenly and pull the trailer over. Or if the grain was loaded unevenly to one side or shifted to one side or another i can have the exact same effect and over goes the trailer.

Never thought how that would effect barges or ships till now though.

[bluefmi]

beautifully explained. short and sweet
no fluff to boost the length of the video
no loud music
thank you

[aixtom]

The 1957 incident of course being the "Pamir", basically one of the last cargo sailing ships. A lot of additional factors in that, too. A captain that was a last-minute replacement for the regular captain, a crew consisting mainly of cadets in training, and a dock worker strike that led to some shortcuts by those cadets taking over their jobs during loading.

[HeatherSpoonheim]

I believe that we've been hauling grain on ships for a very long time - like thousands of years - so there has been plenty of time for ship builders to work these things out. I once met a draft surveyor, and after he explained what a draft surveyor was, he mentioned that he was a member in the 'oldest guild' in continuous operation.

[JAD-fbur]

The Steamer Arlington was carrying 100, 000 bushels of wheat when the cargo shifted north of Manitou Island on Lake Superior. The vessel was only afloat for a half hour after the initial shift and she capsized taking 18 of her 24 crew with her. This was in 1942

[abd-elrahmankhalifa]

I think the best way to reduce cargo shift is to subdivide the hold longitudinally to minimize the transverse motion of the cargo

[rilmar]

Not 100% sure if it's also possible with rice, but dusts explosions in grain elevators actually aren't unheard of, even more so sugar, flour or instant coffee. Just a fun little fact

[xandrewvondiue]

I thought grains would've been transported in sacks and loaded in crates, but after your explanation, I'm surprised they don't use a design similar to oil tankers. The hull is divided into 3 longitudinal columns, and further partitioned to create smaller compartments where listing won't have that large an effect as compared to a single room where the grain would be piled in

[laredobenjamin]

Another advantage of vertical separation is that it can add longitudinal stiffness and resistance to the ship, rather than only having a huge hollow space.

[timmytenor]

I never would’ve thought rice sinking a ship was even a possibility but it makes perfect sense. Crazy how these things work.