Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement for Ships at Bastia

Inspection services for ships at Bastia

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

Where gauging fits at Bastia

Bastia has no drydock that takes ferries or sea-going cargo ships. Hull work, shell gauging out of water and sea chest inspection take place at mainland yards: ferries to and from Italy often use Ligurian or Tuscan yards, and French-flag ships tend to go to the Marseille or Toulon area. That makes the Bastia call valuable for the afloat scope. Ballast tanks, voids, vehicle decks and internal ramps, hatch and door structure, deck piping and scrubber lines can be gauged with the ship alongside and handed to the dock yard as a measured wastage list.

The ferry terminal berths offer the longest regular stay because the ship is stationary while vehicles load and unload. The commercial quays suit cargo ships and coasters, and the fuel berth suits small tankers whose deck and ballast spaces can be inspected during discharge. Cargo tank interiors need a gas-free certificate and are not normally released for a short fuel call. Access to each berth is arranged through the ship's agent, with each compartment gauged under the ship's own entry permit.

• Ferry terminal berths — vehicle decks, ramps, stern and bow doors, ballast tanks and voids gauged during turnaround stays.
• Commercial cargo quays — holds, hatch coamings and deck structure on coasters after discharge.
• Fuel berth — deck, deck-piping and ballast-tank readings on small product tankers.
• Cruise berth and roadstead — short-window gauging of piping and released tanks on cruise ships, depending on weather.
• Lay-by berths — owner's condition checks and pre-purchase gauging on idle vessels.
• Mainland docking yards — Bastia readings supply the steel estimate for dockings in France and Italy.

Port state control and rules that apply to ships at Bastia

As a French port, Bastia comes under the Paris MoU port state control regime, with inspections carried out by the French ship safety centres. Ferries to and from Italy may be flagged in either country or elsewhere in the EU, and port state control applies to them on the same risk-based footing as any foreign ship. For an older ro-pax ferry, a record of wastage in vehicle decks, ramps and watertight doors helps both the superintendent and the inspector understand where concerns lie.

Shipping has been covered by the EU ETS since 2024 and FuelEU Maritime has applied since 2025, so owners of older Corsica ferries are weighing the economics of keeping them in service against emissions obligations. A thickness record helps decide whether a docking will include major steel renewal. The EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires an Inventory of Hazardous Materials for ships in EU ports, and updates often occur during the same docking. For ships that cross between France and Italy, the scope is set by class rules, whichever flag they fly.

Since 1 May 2025 the whole Mediterranean has been a sulphur emission control area, so ships calling at Bastia 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 Bastia

The sequence for a thickness measurement job at Bastia is short and written down, so the yard, the surveyor and the superintendent know who arranges what.

Bastia Poretta Airport serves the town, with flights from mainland France and other European cities. Technicians from India usually connect through a French or Italian hub. Port access for ferry terminals, cargo quays and the fuel berth is organised by the ship's agent, who also arranges a launch where needed. France is a Schengen state, so visas for the team are applied for in India after the ship's call or docking date is confirmed and the owner has supplied an invitation letter. Ferry timetables are published well in advance and that makes planning straightforward.

• 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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