Various views of steel products discharging. Highly susceptible cargo to damages from handling, both loading and discharging, and shifting during ocean passages. Some products are also very sensitive to water, whether by rain or salt water, and therefore care has to be taken with these products. A Marine Surveyor representing interested parties can be very worth while.

The five (5) Golden Rules of Stowage should always be followed when loading:

Before loading begins, check that there is adequate suction on all bilge lines. The date of the test and results should be appropriately entered in the deck log book.
A reasonable inspection of the cargo holds must be carried out before loading commences. The date and name of the vessel’s officer who inspected the holds must be entered in the deck log book.
Never go to sea with the top horizontal tier of a steel cargo not fully completed. If the tier cannot be completed it should not be loaded, as securing with wires to the ship’s side and tomming with timber cannot be considered as proper precautions against shifting with this type of cargo and in this particular situation. In certain circumstances this rule may not apply to steel coil cargoes.
Steel products should never be permitted to rest against the ship’s structure in stow: dunnage should always be used to prevent this occurring.

Underdeck steel cargoes should not be secured to component parts of the ship’s structure, with the exception of wire rod cargoes in certain circumstances (for example, half hatch stowage).

Excerpt from "Carriage of Steel Products" by Skuld.