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Maritime & Shipping vocabulary · Cargo Handling

Hatch cover

Meaning in maritime & shipping, with examples

nounCommon term

In maritime & shipping, hatch cover means: The strong, watertight steel lid that closes the opening on top of a cargo hold. It is opened for loading and discharging and kept closed at sea.

In Turkish: ambar kapağı

How it is used

Common types are folding, side-rolling and lift-away hatch covers. Crews open and close the hatches, check the rubber seals and test them for tightness, because leaking hatch covers are a major cause of wet cargo claims.

Example sentences

  1. Close the hatch covers immediately, it is starting to rain.

  2. An ultrasonic test showed that the No. 4 hatch cover was not watertight.

Common collocations

  • open the hatch covers
  • hatch cover seals
  • hatch cover tightness test
  • hatch coaming
  • cargo holdA large space inside a ship's hull where cargo is carried. Holds are numbered from the bow, and each one is closed from above by a hatch cover.
  • bulk carrierA ship built to carry unpacked dry cargo, such as grain, coal, iron ore or fertiliser, loose in its holds.
  • stevedoreA worker, or a company, that loads and unloads ships in port. Stevedores operate cranes, handle the cargo and do lashing work.
  • deckOne of the floor levels of a ship, especially the open main deck. The word also names the department that handles navigation, cargo and the upkeep of the ship's structure.

More terms: Cargo Handling

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