Ultrasonic Safety & Survey Equipments

Monday 7 April 2014

Testing Various Parts for Leaks to Ensure Safety

Ships are no longer considered an extra type of vehicle, but they are now one of the most prized possessions of the rich and one of the biggest industries worldwide. The transport ships are one of the most widely used and the busiest of all the ships. They are on the go round the year and they make it possible for the entire world to keep on trading and think about expansion and growth. It is one of the biggest profit generating industries of the world. But as this industry is one of the most profitable and the busiest, it also gets damaged from time to time due to various factors and requires to be up kept.

The biggest problem of the shipping industry is none other than a leak in the body or the hatch covers.  A leak can be of any size, big or small, but the consequences are greater than thinkable. In a transport ship, the hatch covers get the most damage and they require checking and testing for leaks. The hatch cover maintenance and watertight integrity testing is one of the most important tasks assigned to the maintenance staff of the ship. As the leaks are usually hidden from plan view, they have to be hunted and dug out to apply the repairs. Unless these holes are found, there is no way water drainage into the cargo holds can be stopped and prevented.

When the water has once entered the ship’s body, it does not stand still but starts touching the different parts also. And as the ship sails for months before reaching a destination and having the hatch cover opened again, the water finds enough time to start rusting the inner body of the ship and also weakens other parts. The water creates rust and ultimately holes in the walls and the duct pipes of the cables running along the walls. The heavy cables which are used to provide electricity through the ship for lighting and other purposes are passing through these ducts.

As we all know that after some years of being in use, there are times when the cables are cut from some places to make extra branches and to provide electricity to some extra installations. As these cables are cut, they are wrapped with a special heavy duty tape to conceal the naked wires and save them from any kind of short circuit. But human error is non negligible and there are huge chances that some wire may have found its head out of the tape and be able to cause damage. If water gets access to this wire by any chance, the damage would be huge and this is one main reason to justify cable transit areas watertight testing.

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