Ship Hull and Tank Gauging at the Port of Ajaccio, Corsica

Inspection services for ships at Ajaccio

Each service has its own page with the method, the class requirements and what the report contains.

Where gauging is realistic at Ajaccio

Ajaccio has repair capacity for small craft and fishing boats, but not a drydock for ferries or sea-going cargo ships. A vessel that needs its shell, sea chests or propeller area examined out of water goes to a yard on the mainland, most often in the Marseille or Toulon area. What we can do at Ajaccio is the afloat portion: vehicle decks, hatch coamings, ballast tanks, void spaces, deck piping and the machinery-space and scrubber piping that the engineering team is ready to release. For many owners that is exactly the data a docking specification needs.

Berth stays at the ferry terminal give the longest uninterrupted time, since the ship is stationary while vehicles load. Cargo coasters at the commercial quays offer a window during discharge, when holds are empty and can be inspected after ventilation. Ships at anchor in the gulf, whether cruise ships or vessels waiting for a berth, can be reached by launch via the agent. Every compartment needing entry is gauged only under the ship's own entry permit system, and tank spaces on tankers wait for a gas-free certificate.

• Ferry terminal berths — gauging of vehicle decks, ramps, stern door structure and ballast tanks during turnarounds.
• Commercial cargo quays — hold, hatch coaming and deck gauging on coasters while they discharge.
• Fuel berth — deck plating, deck piping and accessible ballast tanks on small tankers, with gas-free tanks left for a yard stay.
• Gulf of Ajaccio anchorage — launch-served gauging on cruise ships and vessels awaiting a berth, in settled weather.
• Lay-by berths in the harbour — owners' condition checks on ships idle between charters.
• Mainland yards in Marseille and Toulon — the usual docking destination, fed by readings taken in Ajaccio.

Port state control and rules that apply to ships at Ajaccio

France belongs to the Paris MoU, and port state control inspections of foreign ships in French ports, including those in Corsica, are carried out by the national ship safety centres under the maritime administration. Ferries on island routes may be French-flag or foreign-flag, and the inspection regime treats them according to their risk profile. A visible deficit in structure or watertight integrity found at inspection can delay a sailing, which is a practical argument for an advance gauging check before the winter refit.

European regulation touches the same ships. Maritime transport has been part of the EU ETS since 2024, and the FuelEU Maritime rules have applied since 2025; both influence how long an owner keeps an older ferry or coaster in service, and so how much steel renewal it is worth spending on. The EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires an Inventory of Hazardous Materials on ships calling at EU ports. Because Corsica is an island with limited yard capacity, a thorough pre-docking gauging report also helps an owner book the dock slot and steel on the mainland with confidence.

Since 1 May 2025 the whole Mediterranean has been a sulphur emission control area, so ships calling at Ajaccio burn 0.10% sulphur fuel or run a scrubber. Scrubber wash-water piping, the overboard discharge and the hull penetration around it corrode quickly in service and are worth adding to the gauging scope at every docking.

How a thickness measurement job runs at Ajaccio

Most of the work on a Ajaccio job happens before the team boards: scope, plan and access are settled first, so the time on board goes on measurement.

Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport serves the town, and flights from mainland France and several European cities connect it. Many technicians would route through Paris or another French hub on their way from India. The ship's agent arranges port access and any launch boat. France is part of the Schengen area, so Schengen visas are obtained in India before travel, usually once the ship's call or docking date is confirmed and the owner has supplied an invitation letter. Ferry and coaster calls are known in advance, which helps schedule the trip.

• Send the vessel name or IMO number, ship type, class society, the survey due (annual, intermediate, renewal survey number, CAP or owner's condition survey), the port and dates, and the scope you expect.
• We confirm the scope against the class rules for that survey, prepare the thickness measurement plan with frame and section references, and say whether the measurement will be credited to a class survey.
• Mobilisation is planned around visa lead times and the vessel's schedule; the ship's agent arranges port access, and the yard or ship arranges staging, lighting, ventilation and gas-free certificates.
• Gauging with calibrated ultrasonic thickness gauges: through sound coatings only where the gauge's through-coating mode has been verified on a coated reference, otherwise on cleaned bare steel, with every reading tied to its frame, strake and location on the sketch.
• Readings are compared with original thicknesses as work proceeds; substantial and excessive corrosion and any cracks are reported to the attending surveyor and the superintendent the same day.
• The final report is issued on the class thickness-measurement formats with sketches, a summary of locations exceeding the allowable margins, piping tables where piping was in scope, and the gauge calibration and technician certificates.

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