A Transport Ship Should Always Be Leak Free

The sea weathers have always been unpredictable. Although we are now far ahead from the age when the sailors would look up at the sky and search for clues in the horizon to predict the weather. Today the modern science equipped technology of the weather stations can tell us about the weather we would be facing today. But when it comes to planning and learning about the weather for the future, it is unpredictable and no technology can tell us about what to expect in the next month. This means that even today we have to make sure that our ships are capable to handle every type of weather at the sea.

The sea weather can be very rough, it can easily create waves high enough to lash the biggest ship ruthlessly and snap the giant sailor in half. Normally there are no such fearsome storms every time, but there are thousands of rains pouring at one the seas of the planet. These rains can last a very long time and if the ship has leaks and holes in it, then it can be termed as the unluckiest when in rain. This is the reason why tightness of hatch with ultrasound is checked before setting sail for a voyage.

The shipping ships are the busiest ships in the entire industry. They are always booked for a route and have the neck breaking deadlines looming over their heads. This often does not leave the staff enough time to conduct the tightness testing of the ships. In case they do run the test on a portion of the ship, the repair crew has to work amid the loading and unloading of the goods on the ship.

This is why a transport ship is never leak free and as they return from a voyage; they are already queued up for the next voyage making them loaded with work every time. With the ultrasonic gadget at hand, tightness testing of hatches has become easier. The test can be run while the ship has already set sail, running the test even while on the go helps the crew to mark the damaged areas and have them repaired as soon as the ship reaches the very first dock. In this way the ship can be removed of many leaks without compromising the deadlines. But in case the destination is only one and the ship would be heading for a long voyage, then it is recommended to avoid taking such risks and have the ship repaired first then set for sail.

The Two Methods of Making Ship Leak Free

Finding leaks in ships and other marine vehicles is a very tough task. Because the ship’s lower portion is submerged in water, it causes even more difficulty when the lower body has to be tested for any weak spots. Small boats can be easily carried out of the water for inspection, but what would happen to a ship that is as huge as a building. Yes you are right; the transport ship is being referred here which has the capacity to carry thousands of containers on its deck and a thousand goods in its cargo hatches as well.

Today we have two methods of checking the integrity of the ship. To find the leaks in the ship’s body is a very tough task and it requires to be done accurately to know about the location of every leak in the ship. The two methods can be classified as the manual method and the other one is by checking the tightness of hatch with ultrasound using the gadgets.

The Manual Method
The manual method is the one that comprises of using the human labor. In this process water is pumped on the ship’s body using high pressure motor pumps. The pressure from the pumps creates enough force on the minute holes to make them big enough for the human eye to see. After the water is thoroughly pumped, it is noted from where the water is seeping inside.

At times chalk is also used for identifying the area having holes in it. Chalk is mixed in the water and then pumped on it. Chalk leaves marks after it flows away, this makes it easy for the staff to see where the holes are. The areas are marked and then the entire ship is washed. This process is not only time consuming, but it is also very expensive because it requires many materials to be used in the process.

Using the Ultrasonic Gadgets
The hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing method is the simplest and the least time taking one. By using the device every area of the ship is scanned and as the scanner reaches a leaking spot it gives a beep. The area is marked and then the repair crew is called in. using this simple and efficient method the entire ship becomes leak free and ready to be used for the next voyage within a day or two or a week if the repair works get delayed.

Every Transport Vehicle Should Be Tested With Ultrasound

The business objectives of a transportation business can be termed as, delivery on time and without destroying the goods taken up for delivery. These are the two core responsibilities of the transportation business regardless of what mode is selected. Unfortunately there has been an alarming increase in complaints about the goods being damaged by the transport companies. Most of the complaints filed revolve around the goods getting damaged due to water which come from the rains and storms, and a fraction of them also contain about the package getting delivered late than the agreed time. The complaints about late arrival connect to the same reason of the goods being damaged on board.

The main culprit in both of these cases is the leaking covers or hatch covers of the transport vehicle. No matter if the vehicle would be traveling on land or the sea, if there is a leak in the covers then the result would probably be the same, damaged goods. This is a huge concern for the people who book their goods with the transport companies. Because of these issues people feel unsafe when sending sensitive goods through the transport companies but do it reluctantly when there is no alternate option available.

To bring the matter under considerable control and to keep their business running companies have started using the ultrasonic gadgets. Checking the tightness of hatch with ultrasound provides them the best result in learning about the presence and the location of the leak. It also identifies them about the size of the hole that has emerged in the body of the vehicle. While the gadget gives them an almost perfect description of the hole with the help of ultrasonic sounds, the need to have a closer inspection is still necessary. Because the human eye is the best device to let decide the horror that could be caused by that hole, it is recommended to immediately have the damaged area brought out and repaired.

With the hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing now available and used by most of the leading transport companies, the complaints have reduced about those companies. But there are still many companies operating today that are either ignorant of the benefits of the ultrasonic hatch cover tester or are simply defiant to use them. The negative reports of these companies are damaging the industry on the whole and it won’t be long before these companies would start being delisted from the good ranks of the industry.

Checking Tightness of Hatch with Ultrasound Hatch Cover Tester Is a Routine on Navy Ships

One of the biggest prized possessions of the United States is its navy. It is one of the biggest among all the other countries and it comprises of the most advanced ships, submarines and staff. Comprising of hundreds of small and many gigantic ships, it houses thousands of troops who spend most of their careers out in the oceans protecting the boundaries from all unwanted menaces. On the governmental note, managing the huge fleet is not an easy task. The ships and all other transports used by the naval staff should be faultless. Because of their nature of work, every machine is at risk of corrosion because of the salty and humid air of the oceans.

The navy ships have hatch covers just like a normal commercial transport ship. The only difference between the two is that the transport ship carries consumable goods in its cargo holds while the navy ships carry missiles and bombs in its cargo holds. Like every other ship out in the ocean, the hatch covers of the navy ships also develop leaks which can be very dangerous especially when the cargo holds are filled with explosives. To stay ahead of any disturbance in their warfare activity, the Hatch Cover Ultrasonic Tightness Testing has been made a daily routine.

A special team has been assigned the task to run the test on every ship on a daily basis. This keeps the ships clean and free from corrosion at all times. Since a navy’s ship is equipped with much more things than a civilian ship, the testing procedure can take a lot more time than on a civilian’s ship. There are a thousand movable parts that need to be checked and oiled regularly to ward of corrosion. The different parts of the ship are tested for leaks, and the cabins are also checked for leaks on a regular basis.

Protecting the explosives is a very crucial task of the crew on board. No leak can be accepted in the cargo hold that comprises of explosives and the fighter planes. Any wetness can easily cause it to malfunction which would be a disaster in times of emergency. The checking of tightness of hatch with ultrasound is even done twice a day if there are any doubts of leaks emerging after the first test has been conducted. Usually leaks occur due to the humid air, water and the cracks that appear from the wear and tear caused by the moving of cargo or loading and unloading. If any cargo is moved from one hatch to another, the officers may ask for the test to be conducted again just to be sure that nothing has been damaged.

Hatch Cover Ultrasonic Tightness Testing Is Fast and Precise

Fighting the leaking hatch covers is a never ending battle among the ship owners and nature. Because of the high levels of humidity in the seas and ocean’s air, the steeled hatch covers can corrode. Corrosion is the natural process to degrade metal and form holes in it. The transport industry is responsible of transferring goods of all nature. They ship finished products and raw products alike. Humidity and water can damage every good present inside the cargo holds of the ships.

Every year the shipping industry pays fines and reimburses claims worth millions of dollars. The huge amount is enough to take the industry to a whole new level, but unfortunately a lot of money is gone by these means. The shipping industry has been using various methods to dig out the leaks in hatch covers and other parts of the ship’s body. These methods are expensive, time consuming and stressful. Due to the prolonged procedures, many companies have failed to meet deadlines which resulted in paying more fines or in some rare cases, the voyage was cancelled totally.

With the introduction of the ultrasonic hatch cover testers, the shipping industry has heaved a sigh of relief. The ultrasonic hatch cover tightness testing has enabled the ship’s crew to manage finding leaks in a better way. Now with the help of the ultrasonic leak detector, digging out the damaged areas is just a matter of scanning. Since the ultrasonic device is portable, handy, easily operable and easy to put together, scanning with it is just a matter of minutes.

The ultrasonic hatch cover tester works the same as a handheld metal detector used by the security guards. The only difference between the two is, the handheld scanner beeps in the presence of a metal body while the ultrasonic leak detector beeps in the absence of a metal body. This allows the crew to learn about the missing chunk in the hatch covers and mark the area as damaged.

After checking the tightness of hatch with ultrasound, the repair crew can be called in to fix the areas that are marked. The repair work wouldn’t take long once the areas are perfectly marked. The repair would take a lot less time and the ship would be ready to get loaded. Because of the fast process, the shipping company would never have to pay a late fine in future nor would it ever miss a deadline again.

Hatch Cover Ultrasonic Tightness Testing Is the Best Today

Leaking hatch covers are the biggest dilemma of the transport industry of the United States and every other country that has the shipping industry working. Due to the leaking hatch covers, goods worth thousands of dollars are destroyed in every journey. When the entire loss amount is accumulated at the end of the year, it easily reaches in millions. This causes a great set back to the company because it eats up a greater chunk of their profits.

Managing these unexpected leaks has always been a problem for the shipping companies. Different methods have been applied to control the leaking in the transport ships. With the modern method of checking tightness of hatch with ultrasound has brought down the ratio of leaking hatch covers. It has enabled the ships to complete a voyage without getting any water inside the cargo holds.

In the past when there were no ultrasonic devices the testing of hatch covers was very tiresome. It was a lengthy procedure which cost a lot of time and money to the shipping companies. Due to this maintaining the integrity of the cargo transport ship was a great problem. The process began by shutting down all the hatch covers and doors of the ship. Then the entire ship was sprayed with a high pressure jet of water.

When the water was sprayed, a special person would look closely to find where the water was flowing to. Since the human eye can only look at a limit, the process was repeated many times to ensure that the leak was found. Depending on the size and condition of the ship, it easily took a lot of days to complete one hatch cover. Then the team of testers would proceed to another.

After finding all the leaks and marking the damaged areas, the repairmen were called and the repair work would start. The repair works cannot be completed overnight so another week was lost in the process. These processes easily cost the shipping company a lot of losses and many expenses to pay.

Today with the hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing none of these tiresome processes are needed. A single person conducts the entire test in a speedy way. The nature of the leak is found out instantly and the company can decide if they can bear with the leak and manage another voyage. When the situation seems necessary, they can send the ship to the workshop for repairs.

Testing Tightness of Hatch with Ultrasound on the Go Is Best For Goods Safety

A common example we can see about stopping leaks is by an ordinary bottle. As we tighten the bottle cap completely, it stops every way of the water to find a way out and the water is contained perfectly in it. If the bottle cap is left loose, the water may come out of it with a full flow or it would start dripping drop by drop until every drop has left the bottle and is down on the floor. This can clearly create a mess and cleaning it up can also be a real problem.

Now consider a bigger scenario where the container is huge and the water level is also enough to fill a million bottles. Consider the transport ship which is used for shipping tons of weight from one destination to another. The transport ship is large enough to carry goods enough to fill thousands of homes and to feed millions of people at the same time. The gigantic cargo holds are capable to store the largest amounts of goods thinkable. Imagine the loss if a cargo hold containing goods of every nature is flooded with water and the goods are all destroyed. The calculations would simply be in millions and all these dollars would have to be paid by the shipping company, its insurance company or its stake holders.

To protect the cargo inside the hold from water that is sure to find in when sailing out on the unforgiving ocean waves, hatch covers are installed on the cargo hold. They act just like a lid, or a ceiling to keep the goods out of reach from the outside atmosphere. No matter how many sea storms erupt or how many waves lash the ship from all sides, the hatch covers are designed to keep the insides completely dry and unharmed by the tumults outside. To make sure that the hatch covers are able to seal the insides, the tightness of hatch with ultrasound is checked by the shipping company staff on a regular basis. If any leak is found during the checking, it is immediately marked and the repairmen are called to have it repaired.

Now the hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing is easily done by a single person because of the portability and compactness of the device. As it can be easily carried and operated by a single person, it can be done at anytime and anyplace. To be extra cautious about the safety of the goods they are carrying, many transport ship managers ask for a hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing to be done even while sailing so that the defects can be removed before any harm has been done to the goods on board.