Ultrasonic Safety & Survey Equipments

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Authorities Implore Ultrasonic Hatch Cover Testing

The biggest ships have sunken to the deepest depths of the oceans all because of a small leak which grew so big that it filled the entire ship with water resulting in its doomed fate. Leaks in a ship’s body can be termed as cancer, one leak starts creating others and in the end the ship is no more than dead metal resting in the depths of water.

In the past when there was no way to check tightness of hatch with ultrasound as can be done today, many ships were at a complete risk of sinking because of unknown leaks. Leaks can be formed due to many different reasons. There is no specific way that can be termed as a reason for a leak, the only reason that is approved by the human sense is, due to excessive wear and tear and no proper maintenance.

Today while there are very less reports of ships sinking, yet there are many reports citing leaking ships especially the transport ships that destroy goods during the voyage. The most vulnerable part of a transport ship is none other than its hatch covers. They are the ones that receive the most wear and tear because they are used the most. The gigantic size of a ship cannot be loaded in one go. It takes many days to completely fill all the cargo holds. During that time the cargo hatches are removed and put back on many times and often the goods bump against them during the process.

This weakens the hatch covers while the bumping of goods and the crew members walking here and there also weakens the area around the hatch covers. This is one good reason why the hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing is implored by the authorities. By checking the area with the ultrasonic hatch cover tester not only the damages to the hatch covers are brought to light, but the areas around it also gets inspected automatically and losses can be prevented.

Due to the strict deadlines and many other matters revolving around the transportation business, they do not have a lot of time to concentrate on these issues. The paper work is also a huge responsibility which ensures that no wrong consignment is loaded on a ship. This would not only result in the customer’s anger, but recalling it can be a lengthy procedure and way too expensive for the shipping company.

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