(a) Before loading DRI lumps, pellets, or cold-molded briquettes—

(1) The master must have a written certification from a competent person appointed by the shipper and recognized by the Commandant (CG-ENG-5) stating that the DRI, at the time of loading, is suitable for shipment;

(2) The DRI must be aged for at least 3 days, or be treated with an air passivation technique or some other equivalent method that reduces its reactivity to at least the same level as the aged DRI; and

(3) Each hold and bilge must be as clean and dry as practical. Other than double bottom tanks, adjacent ballast tanks must be kept empty when possible. All wooden fixtures, such as battens, must be removed from the hold.

(b) Each boundary of a hold where DRI lumps, pellets, or cold-molded briquettes are to be carried must be resistant to fire and passage of water.

(c) DRI lumps, pellets, or cold-molded briquettes that are wet, or that are known to have been wetted, may not be accepted for transport. The moisture content of the DRI must not exceed 0.3 percent prior to loading.

(d) DRI lumps, pellets and cold-molded briquettes must be protected at all times from contact with water, and must not be loaded or transferred from one vessel to another during periods of rain or snow.

(e) DRI lumps, pellets, or cold-molded briquettes may not be loaded if their temperature is greater than 65 °C (150 °F).

(f) The shipper of DRI lumps, pellets, or cold-molded briquettes in bulk must ensure that an inert atmosphere of less than 5 percent oxygen and 1 percent hydrogen, by volume, is maintained throughout the voyage in any hold containing these materials.

(g) When DRI lumps, pellets, or cold-molded briquettes are loaded, precautions must be taken to avoid the concentration of fines (pieces less than 6.35mm in size) in any one location in the cargo hold.

(h) Radar and RDF scanners must be protected against the dust generated during cargo transfer operations of DRI lumps, pellets, or cold-molded briquettes.