Pj Kwong and Teddy Katz, on behalf of SGS North America, describe the development of a device designed to obtain more accurate draft measurements of fertilizer cargo in vessels and prevent costly disputes.
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t is said that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, which aptly describes the process that led to the development of the Draft Survey Tool (DST) and the DST Lite. The emergence of these new devices has changed the way the fertilizer industry is able to obtain draft measurements of cargo in vessels transporting their product around the globe. Imagine, with the millions of tonnes of fertilizer being shipped on an annual basis, what an advantage it would be if inspectors could utilise modern technology to have timely and more precise measurements to remove altogether the costly and lengthy disputes common in the industry. This same technology would help the inspectors determine accurate readings of a ship’s cargo without the risks that have been part of the process for years. 43
