[[File:Kanon MLA Bahamas.jpg|alt=|thumb|Four of eight marine loading arms connected to two oil tankers<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kanon.nl/marine-loading-arms/|title=Marine Loading Arms}}</ref>]] A '''marine loading arm''', also known as a '''mechanical loading arm''', '''loading arm''', or '''MLA''' is a mechanical arm consisting of articulated steel pipes that connect a tankship such as an oil tanker or chemical tanker to a cargo terminal. Genericized trademarks such as '''Chiksan''' (often misspelled '''Chicksan''') are often used to refer to marine loading arms.<ref name="h83">Huber, 2001, p.83.</ref><ref name="hkg7">Hayler and Keever, 2001, p. G-7.</ref>
==Operation and design== A marine loading arm is an alternative to direct hose hookups that is particularly useful for larger vessels and transfers at higher loading rates and pressures.<ref name="h83"/> Controlled manually or hydraulically, a loading arm employs swivel joints and can, to some extent, follow the movement of a moored vessel.<ref name="h83"/><ref name="hk1410">Hayler and Keever, 2001, p. 14-10 to 14-11.</ref> Many loading arm systems feature quick-connect fittings.<ref name="h83"/> Gasket or o-ring arrangements are required to make a secure seal to the ship's manifold flange.<ref name="h83"/> A loading arm must be drained or closed off before the connection is broken off.<ref name="h84">Huber, 2001, p.84.</ref> This is usually done in two ways. For fuels such as gas oil and diesel, the lines can be blown out with high pressure air. In the case of fuels such as kerosene or petrol, the lines can be stripped with pumps.
Loading arms can handle both liquids and gases, in a wide range of viscosities and temperatures.<ref name="fmcchik"/> Cargoes from liquid sulphur to liquefied natural gas are moved through marine loading arms.<ref name="fmcchik"/> Loading arms service vessels in a wide range of sizes, from small river barges to the largest supertankers.<ref name="fmcchik"/>
Various designs exist, and specific installations can be tailored for a given port based on considerations such as vessel size, cargo flow rate and cargo temperature.<ref name="fmcchik"/> Environmental constraints, such as the range of tide, wind conditions, and earthquake tolerance, can also affect choice of loading arm.<ref name="fmcchik">FMC Technologies, 2005, ''Chiksan Marine Loading Arms''.</ref> A loading arm installation may include add-ons such as hydraulic or manual quick connect couplers, position monitoring systems, emergency release systems, and piggyback vapor return lines.<ref name="fmcchik"/>
Compared to cargo hoses, the loading arm's main drawback is its comparative lack of flexibility.<ref name="h83"/>
==History== [[File:Chassiron main deck.jpg|thumb|right|A chemical or oil tanker connected to the pier with a marine loading arm.]]Since the earliest days of tankships, the need to safely and efficiently transfer bulk liquid to a moored ship has been fundamental. An insufficient solution to this problem led to one of the world's first oil tanker disasters.<ref name="to55">Tolf, 1976, p. 55.</ref> In 1881, the Branobel tanker ''Nordenskjöld'' was taking on kerosene in Baku.<ref name="to55"/> The ship was connected to the pier with a simple piece of pipe.<ref name="to55"/> While loading, the ship was hit by a gust of wind and the cargo pipe carrying was jerked away from the hold.<ref name="to55"/> Kerosene then spilled onto the deck and down into the engine room, where mechanics were working in the light of kerosene lanterns.<ref name="to55"/> The ship then exploded, killing half the crew.<ref name="to55"/> Ludvig Nobel responded to the disaster by creating a flexible, leakproof loading pipe which was much more resistant to spills.<ref name="to56">Tolf, 1976, p. 56.</ref>
Chiksan brand marine loading arm manufacturer FMC Technologies claims to have built the world's first all-steel marine loading arm in 1956 and to have over 8,000 units installed worldwide.<ref name="fmcabout">FMC Technologies, 2005, ''About Us''.</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Transport}} *Oil tanker *Chemical tanker
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== *{{cite web |url=http://www.kanon.nl |title=KANON Loading Equipment |access-date=20 April 2015 |author=KANON Loading Equipment | author-link=KANON Loading Equipment |year= 2015|work=KANON Loading Equipment website |publisher=KANON Loading Equipment}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.fmctechnologies.com/LoadingSystems/EngineeredProducts/ChiksanMarineLoadingSystems/ChiksanMarineLoadingArms.aspx |title=Chiksan Marine Loading Arms |access-date=2008-10-04 |author=FMC Technologies |author-link=FMC Technologies |year=2005 |work=FMC Technologies web site |publisher=FMC Technologies |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820181634/http://www.fmctechnologies.com/LoadingSystems/EngineeredProducts/ChiksanMarineLoadingSystems/ChiksanMarineLoadingArms.aspx |archive-date=2008-08-20 }} *{{cite web |url=http://www.fmctechnologies.com/LoadingSystems/AboutUs.aspx |title=About Us |access-date=2008-10-04 |author=FMC Technologies |author-link=FMC Technologies |year=2005 |work=FMC Technologies web site |publisher=FMC Technologies |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905112348/http://www.fmctechnologies.com/LoadingSystems/AboutUs.aspx |archive-date=2008-09-05 }} * {{cite book |last=Hayler |first=William B. |author2=Keever, John M. |title=American Merchant Seaman's Manual |year=2003 |publisher= Cornell Maritime Pr |isbn= 0-87033-549-9 }} *{{cite book |first=Mark| last=Huber |title=Tanker operations: a handbook for the person-in-charge (PIC) |publisher=Cornell Maritime Press |location=Cambridge, MD |year=2001 |isbn=0-87033-528-6 }} *{{cite book |author=International Chamber of Shipping |title=International Safety Guide for Oil Tankers and Terminals (ISGOTT) |publisher=Hyperion Books |location=New York |year=1996 |isbn=1-85609-081-7 }} *{{cite book |last=Tolf |first=Robert W. |title=The Russian Rockefellers: The Saga of the Nobel Family and the Russian Oil Industry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3DmsQLtWq1wC |year=1976 |publisher=Hoover Press |isbn=0-8179-6581-5 |chapter=4: The World's First Oil Tankers |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3DmsQLtWq1wC&pg=PR38&dq=%2BNobel+%2Btanker+%2BZoroaster&num=100&sig=CpA2y3iTadVv_iihDA5mp_sN92M#PPA50,M1 }} * {{cite book | last = Turpin | first = Edward A. |author2=McEwen, William A. | title = Merchant Marine Officers' Handbook | edition = 4th | year = 1980 | publisher =Cornell Maritime Press | location = Centreville, MD | isbn = 0-87033-056-X }}
* M.K.S. Sastry, Larry Haynes Seekumar, (2012) "Automation of Real Time Monitoring and Controlling of a Marine Loading Arm", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 10 Iss: 2 Emerald Articleid: 17020853
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marine Loading Arm}} Category:Petroleum technology Category:Tankers