Hi everyone! I’m Daniel Valenzuela 💪, Third Officer in charge of cargo operations on our chemical tanker. Today I want to take you behind the scenes of our loading process—where big hydraulics, precise flow meters, and automated safety systems turn a potentially risky operation into a well-choreographed dance.

When we pull up to the berth, the first thing I do is review the berth’s cargo manifold layout and connect our high-reach loading arms. These arms, each weighing several tons, are not simple pipes on hinges—they’re fully articulated, computer-controlled units. With just a few taps on the touchscreen control panel, I can position an arm to within a few centimeters of the tank connection flange. The system vision cameras guide the final alignment, so there’s no stress checking clearances by eye.

Once the arm is locked in place, we engage the interlock sequence: pneumatic clamps seal the flange, metal-to-metal seals are pressurized, and onboard sensors verify zero leakage. Now comes my favorite part—flow control. Instead of manually throttling valves, we use Coriolis mass-flow meters that measure cargo flow rate and density in real time. As soon as I input the target temperature and volume, the PLC (programmable logic controller) ramps the pump speeds and valve positions to hit those numbers exactly. No more overshoots or sudden surges.

Throughout the transfer, the SCADA system continuously monitors pressure, temperature, pump vibration, and gas-in-cargo alarms. If anything drifts out of its safe band—say a pressure spike from a partly closed check valve—the automation pauses the flow, sounds an alarm on the bridge, and even sends an alert to the chief engineer’s phone. This gives us precious seconds to investigate before any situation escalates.

At each stage I log key events—arm connect time, flow start, temperature adjustments—directly into our digital cargo plan. That way, by the time we finish loading hundreds of cubic meters of aggressive chemicals, all data is already compiled for the tanker’s cargo manifest and shore-based reporting. No more paper logs or late-night data entry.

Working with these advanced loading arms and automated systems has transformed a high-risk evolution into a controlled, almost surgical operation. If you’ve ever wondered how modern tankers handle hazardous liquids safely and efficiently, this is it: hydraulics, sensors, and smart controls working together so we can deliver cargo on time—and return home in one piece.