Common Issues Observed with Ventilation Logs: Grain & Oil Seed

CARGO HOLD VENTILATION OF GRAIN AND OIL SEED CARGOES: COMMON ISSUES OBSERVED WITH VENTILATION LOGS

Published: 11 December 2025

Common cargo claims in the carriage of grain and oil seed cargoes include wetting, mould, and caking damage. Lack of proper ventilation is often not the reason for such cargo damage; sometimes it is due to the inherent vice of the cargo or pre shipment damage and wetting. However, cargo interests often allege that improper ventilation caused the damage. Therefore, it is paramount that ventilation of these cargoes is carried out properly and that accurate records are kept. The Club recommends using the three-degree rule of ventilation for grain and oil seed cargoes over dewpoint rule, due to the difficulty in measuring dew point within a laden cargo space.

Night Ventilation

One issue often raised by cargo interests is that night ventilation of the cargo hold was not carried out. Conducting night ventilation can pose challenges, such as sudden, unforeseen rain and the limited availability of crew to take immediate action. This may not be a significant issue during passing showers because of the design of some ventilation inlets. However, when transiting areas where seasonal rains are expected, or where rain or heavy weather is forecast, not ventilating at night may be acceptable provided this is clearly recorded with remarks in the ventilation log, supported by logbook entries, and backed with documentary and photographic evidence.

For certain cargoes, especially rice in bags shipped from warm ports to colder regions, continuous ventilation is essential whenever the ventilation rule and weather conditions allow. Every effort should be made to achieve this. Consistently failing to ventilate at night throughout the voyage, when there were no adverse weather forecasts and the vessel was not experiencing rain or sea spray, may be used against the ship in the event of cargo damage.

Other Common Ventilation and Ventilation Log Inconsistencies

Below are some other common issues we have observed with cargo ventilation and ventilation logs:

Using an inappropriate rule for the circumstances. For example, if the cargo temperature at loading is provided and holds are sealed following fumigation, yet the dew point rule is used
Not stating which rule is being followed for determining whether to ventilate
Continuing ventilation when conditions for the chosen rule are not met or, vice versa
Stating “ventilation stopped due to high relative humidity or fog” as the only reason for not ventilating which is not acceptable reason for not ventilating
Ventilation stopped for all holds, though the aft holds could still be ventilated, as they were unaffected by shipping spray in the forward
Not recording in the log that no ventilation was conducted due to fumigation
Crew taking dew point measurements inside the hold while fumigation documents state the hold should not be entered
Ventilation logs showing only one set of measurements per day, which does not demonstrate that ventilation was carried out appropriately. The club recommends taking one set of measurements every 4 hours
Insufficient notes explaining why ventilation stopped. Ventilation can occur in the rain, provided the relevant rule is met and the onboard system prevents water ingress
Ventilation start and stop times not being recorded, preventing the duration from being determined
Ambient temperatures not being recorded when ventilation was not carried out
Recording wet bulb temperatures higher than dry bulb temperatures, which is impossible
Large, unrealistic variations in dry and wet bulb temperatures inside cargo holds, indicating measurement errors