Ship Thickness Measurement and Ultrasonic Gauging in Germany

Where ships are gauged on the German coast

The German North Sea coast is a chain of estuary ports, each with a character of its own. Hamburg lies well upriver on the Elbe and is the country's largest port, handling containers, project cargo and a wide mix of general cargo; its repair and docking capacity makes it a natural place to gauge a ship before she goes into dock. Bremerhaven, at the mouth of the Weser, is built around container and vehicle traffic, and Bremen, Brake and Nordenham further up the river take bulk, breakbulk and forest products. Emden on the Ems is best known for vehicle exports, and Cuxhaven has become a base for offshore wind installation and service vessels as well as fishing and ferry traffic.

Wilhelmshaven stands apart because it is Germany's deep-water port, with a crude oil terminal and a container terminal that can take the largest ships. Large tankers and bulk carriers that cannot reach the Elbe or Weser call here, which makes it the place where deep-draught tonnage is most often gauged afloat. Brunsbüttel and Stade, on the lower Elbe, serve the chemical and energy industries along that river, so chemical and gas carriers feature in the work there.

The Baltic coast is smaller in scale but busier in ferry and short-sea traffic. Kiel is a major passenger and ro-ro port and the eastern entrance to the Kiel Canal; Lübeck, with the Travemünde ferry terminals, serves Sweden and Finland; Rostock handles ferries, bulk and cruise ships; Wismar and Stralsund handle forest products, bulk and general cargo; and Sassnitz offers ferry and rail-ferry links across the Baltic. Flensburg, near the Danish border, and Rendsburg, on the canal, are the smaller harbours where coasters and workboats are gauged.

Port state control, emission areas and the rules that shape the work

Ships calling at German ports are inspected under the Paris MoU. Port state control in Germany is carried out by the ship safety division of BG Verkehr, and an older ship with visible wastage in a cargo hold, ballast tank or on deck is exactly what an inspector will notice. Arriving with recent gauging readings and a plan for any renewal answers the first questions before they grow into a detention.

German waters lie inside two emission control areas: the North Sea on one coast and the Baltic Sea on the other, both capping marine fuel sulphur at 0.10% unless an exhaust gas cleaning system is fitted. The same ship can therefore be a scrubber ship on every German call, and the wash-water and overboard piping carry the wear. As an EU member, Germany also applies the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, which matters for ships carrying an inventory of hazardous materials, and for older ships being prepared for sale or recycling. Rules on wash-water discharge in port can differ by authority, so the ship's agent confirms the position for each call.

Which services Germany asks for most

Four jobs account for most German enquiries, and ultrasonic thickness measurement sits at the centre of each. Pre-docking hull structure gauging sets the steel list before a ship enters a German or Danish yard. Renewal and intermediate survey support follows the thickness measurement plan for the ship's survey. Tank gauging on chemical and product tankers and on bulk carriers is planned around gas-freeing and ventilation. Piping checks on scrubber wash-water, overboard, ballast and cargo lines measure remaining wall, which matters most on ships that have run scrubbers for several years.

Pre-purchase and on-hire gauging is the fifth regular request, particularly on secondhand tonnage changing hands through the Hamburg brokerage and finance community. In each case the readings are located against frame and strake references and reported as as-built thickness, measured thickness and diminution, so the owner, charterer or buyer can compare like with like.

• Pre-docking hull gauging to fix the steel list before the yard slot
• Renewal and intermediate survey thickness measurement support
• Cargo and ballast tank gauging after gas-freeing
• Scrubber wash-water and overboard piping wall checks
• Pre-purchase and on-hire condition gauging of secondhand ships

Port pages in Germany

There are 18 Germany port pages: Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Kiel, Rostock, Bremen, Emden, Cuxhaven, Brunsbüttel, Lübeck, Wismar, Stralsund, Sassnitz, Flensburg, Brake, Nordenham, Stade, Rendsburg. Each covers the ships that call, the yards and berths where gauging happens, the port state control picture and the jobs we see there; the links are under "In this section" below.

Frequently asked questions

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