Judging by a literature survey the data presented in this paper are the first that have been obtained from a continuous and comprehensive instrumented study of transient cargo effects in a ventilated ship's hold. The data may serve three purposes:

1. To provide basic information of value in establishing operating procedures for marine cargo ventilation.
2. To assist the air conditioning designer in evaluating loads when a ship's hold is to have controlled temperature and humidity.
3. To assist thermal engineers concerned with warehouses to more accurately evaluate the effect on stored material of transient environmental changes. After all, a moving ship's hold which undergoes a complete periodic change from cool-to-hot-to-cool outside conditions over a period of 25 days is in many respects analogous to a stationary warehouse which may be subject to the same cycle, but over a 365 day period.