200717 Choked sounding pipe

On one of our vessels, cargo damage resulted from ingress of water into no. 3 hold through a leaky hold-bilge valve which had gone undetected. An investigation revealed that both the P and S hold-bilge sounding pipes of the hold had been choked for nearly a year, even though ship's staff had documented information.

Editor's note: It must be remembered that the primary purpose of the hold bilge system is to preserve the ship from sinking due to flooding as a result of breach of the hull.
The secondary purpose of the system is to remove water and other liquids that may accumulate due to minor leaks, condensation or spills.
The purpose of sounding hold-bilges regularly is thus to ensure the safety of ship, and by extension, lives and cargo.
A diligent crew can easily rectify a choked bilge sounding pipe by opening up and cleaning out or renewing the suspect section. In the event that access is prevented due to overlying cargo, this can be accomplished soon after discharge.
Management, both ashore and on board, must ensure the implementation of a reliable system of obtaining and recording of tank and hold soundings and rectify cases of negligence with effective training and audits.