---
kind: "section"
citation: "46 C.F.R. § 154.406"
title: "46"
number: "154.406"
heading: "Design loads for cargo tanks and fixtures: General."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/46/154.406"
---

# §154.406. Design loads for cargo tanks and fixtures: General.

- (a) Calculations must show that a cargo tank and its fixtures are designed for the following loads:
  - (1) **Internal pressure head.**
  - (2) **External pressure load.**
  - (3) **Dynamic loads resulting from the motion of the vessel.**
  - (4) Transient or stationary thermal loads if the design temperature is colder than −55 °C (−67 °F) or causes thermal stresses in cargo tank supports.
  - (5) **Sloshing loads, if the cargo tank is designed for partial loads.**
  - (6) **Loads resulting from vessel's deflection.**
  - (7) **Tank weight, cargo weight, and corresponding support reaction.**
  - (8) **Insulation weight.**
  - (9) **Loads of a pipe tower and any other attachments to the cargo tank.**
  - (10) Vapor pressure loads in harbor conditions allowed under [§ 154.405](/cfr/46/154.405.md).
  - (11) Gas pressurization if the cargo tank is designed for gas pressurization as a means of cargo transfer.
- (b) A cargo tank must be designed for the most unfavorable static heel angle within a 0° to 30° range without exceeding the allowable stress of the material.
- (c) A hydrostatic or hydropneumatic test design load must be specially approved by the Commandant (CG-ENG).

## Notes

### Amendments

[CGD 74-289, 44 FR 26009, May 3, 1979, as amended by CGD 82-063b, 48 FR 4782, Feb. 3, 1983; USCG-2014-0688, 79 FR 58284, Sept. 29, 2014]

### Authority

Authority: 46 U.S.C. 3703, 9101; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1.

### Source

Source: CGD 74-289, 44 FR 26009, May 3, 1979, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[CGD 74-289, 44 FR 26009, May 3, 1979, as amended by CGD 82-063b, 48 FR 4782, Feb. 3, 1983; USCG-2014-0688, 79 FR 58284, Sept. 29, 2014]