At sea, careful Sounding of Cargo Hold Bilges is paramount to early detection of potential damage to cargo due to ingress of sea water or leakages from water or oil systems on board.
Water accumulated inside Cargo Holds due to rain or other reason shall be removed well before it rises to a level where the lower tier containers are affected and cargo within may be subject to Wet damage.
Bilge sounding shall be carried out at least once a day, In port, cargo hold bilges shall be drained into a holding tank where provided and pumping overboard shall be avoided as far as possible.
Careful checks must be made before pumping Cargo Hold Bilges overboard to ensure no danger of Pollution by Oil or Contaminants