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Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders

Load and unload chemicals and bulk solids, such as coal, sand, and grain, into or from tank cars, trucks, or ships, using material moving equipment. May perform a variety of other tasks relating to shipment of products. May gauge or sample shipping tanks and test them for leaks.

What you’d do

  • Seal outlet valves on tank cars, barges, and trucks.
  • Verify tank car, barge, or truck load numbers to ensure car placement accuracy based on written or verbal instructions.
  • Start pumps and adjust valves or cables to regulate the flow of products to vessels, using knowledge of loading procedures.
  • Check conditions and weights of vessels to ensure cleanliness and compliance with loading procedures.
  • Observe positions of cars passing loading spouts, and swing spouts into the correct positions at the appropriate times.
  • Monitor product movement to and from storage tanks, coordinating activities with other workers to ensure constant product flow.
  • Operate ship loading and unloading equipment, conveyors, hoists, and other specialized material handling equipment such as railroad tank car unloading equipment.
  • Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, gauge readings, and operating times, manually or using computers.

Skills that matter

  • Operation and Control
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Time Management
  • Active Listening
  • Complex Problem Solving

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Loader
  • Loader Operator
  • Tankerman
  • Truck Loader
  • Load Out Person
  • Loading Operator

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