Hull Structural Integrity · Ghent, Belgium

Structural Condition Assessment of Hulls Calling at the Port of Ghent

A hull that works the Ghent canal trade takes damage from three directions at once: abrasive and corrosive cargo in the holds, repeated contact with quays and lock fendering on the passage from Terneuzen, and ordinary fatigue at the structural details that always crack first. Atlantis NDT assesses that condition by combining ultrasonic thickness gauging with a record of pitting, grooving, deformation and magnetic particle crack checks, so the owner and the attending surveyor see the pattern behind the numbers. Our technicians travel from India to the ship at the berth.

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Cargo damage and canal contact together

Ships here accumulate grab impact in the holds and scrapes along the shell from lock and quay contact. The assessment records both, because a dented plate that is also wasted behaves differently from one that is merely thin.

Pattern of wastage written down

General thinning, pitting, grooving at weld lines and edge corrosion each call for a different repair. The report names the pattern at every measured location instead of leaving the reader to infer it from a column of readings.

Fatigue details checked on the same visit

Hatch corners, bracket toes, ramp hinges and crane foundations are examined by magnetic particle testing while the team is aboard, so cracks and wastage are found in one attendance rather than two.

Where can a hull structural assessment be carried out in Ghent?

The assessment follows the ship's own routine at the berth. At the steelworks quays, bulk carriers are inspected once discharge ends: holds can be lit and staged, and the sides, frames and tank tops are accessible for a close look. At agribulk and forest-product berths the holds are cleaner, which lets the team examine coatings and plating without a layer of cargo residue, and the weather decks and coamings are reachable from the quay side.

Ro-ro ships and vehicle carriers are examined during rotation gaps, with car decks, ramps and lashing points accessible once the vehicles have gone. The tank terminals along the canal host tankers whose deck structure and exposed ballast tank boundaries can be assessed alongside, while the cargo tanks wait for a gas-free certificate.

A dry hull is not available here for deep-sea ships, so the underwater shell is left for a docking elsewhere. What Ghent allows is the whole above-water structure, the holds and any tank the crew can ventilate, which is where most of the structural judgement for bulk carriers is made anyway.

Holds, hoppers and topside tanks of bulk carriers after discharge
Weather deck, coamings and hatch corners at any cargo berth
Car decks, ramps and ramp hinges on ro-ro ships between rotations
Deck structure and ballast boundaries on tankers at the canal terminals

Which ships at Ghent need a structural integrity assessment, and when?

The usual trigger is age combined with trade. A bulk carrier approaching its second or third renewal survey after years of ore and coal needs to know whether the hold frames are healthy before the yard is booked. A buyer inspecting a handysize bulker at an agribulk berth wants the same answer before the sale closes, with no wish to discover wasted steel after delivery.

Charterers and technical managers also ask for assessments after an incident: a hard contact in the lock, a grab dropped on a tank top, or a heavy-weather passage reported by the master. These events produce local deformation that needs a measured record, since a surveyor will ask whether the plating is still within its margins.

Port state control is another reason. Under the Paris MoU a bulk carrier of a certain age and profile can be selected for a more detailed inspection, and holds are easy for an inspector to examine. An owner who arrives with a current structural record and documented repairs is in a stronger position than one who relies on visual impressions.

How is the assessment scoped for a canal-trade hull?

Scoping starts with the ship's own history: the last thickness measurement report, the survey status, the cargo trade and any damage reports. From these the team builds a list of structure to examine and gauge, grouped by area: the holds, the weather deck and coamings, ballast tanks, the shell above the waterline and, for ro-ro ships, the ramps and car decks.

Gauging follows the thickness measurement plan, but the visual record is as important as the readings. The technician notes coating condition, the form of corrosion, the presence of pitting or grooving, deformation of plating and stiffeners, and any cracks found. Where a plate looks buckled or dented, its flatness is recorded and the surrounding readings are densified so that the extent of damage is defined.

Magnetic particle testing is added at the details that fatigue most often: corners of hatch openings, toes of brackets, crane pedestal welds and the hinges and stoppers of ramps. Surface preparation is arranged with the crew and the yard, and the work is sequenced around hot work, cargo operations and any rain.

What do structural assessments typically find on these ships?

In holds the dominant finding is wastage of frames and brackets at the lower levels, accompanied by mechanical damage from grabs that bends or tears flanges. Coal trades add corrosion on plating behind the frames. Tank tops are commonly pitted, and where pitting is dense the assessment records its depth and distribution, because scattered shallow pits and a cluster of deep ones lead to different decisions.

In ballast tanks the typical picture is coating failure at the upper corners and along the weld seams, producing grooving that is easy to miss visually. On the shell above the waterline, contact with lock walls leaves local dents and sometimes buckled plating with associated stiffener distortion, and the readings around these areas show whether steel has been lost as well as deformed.

Ro-ro ships show cracking and wear at ramp hinges and at the lower corners of car-deck openings, along with corrosion at drainage areas where water remains. Each finding is reported by location, with the physical condition separated from the gauging result, so a repair specification can address cause as well as symptom.

How do you plan a structural assessment around a Ghent call?

Plan around the canal timetable. The ship's time at the berth depends on lock slots and the cargo plan, and the assessment needs a known window with the holds empty and access arranged. Send us the expected discharge end, the sailing time and the spaces that can be entered, and the team will rank the areas so the most informative ones are done first.

Share previous survey reports and any damage or repair history. If the purpose is a sale, tell us whether the buyer's surveyor will attend. If the purpose is a class survey in preparation, say which survey and whether a docking is booked, so the findings can be arranged to support it. Visa processing for the team travelling from India begins once the call is confirmed.

Ahead of boarding the ship's agent arranges gate passes, and the master confirms lighting, staging and safe access. Anything not accessible is listed in the report as outstanding.

What does a scope look like for a ro-ro ship and a bulker?

For a ro-ro ship on a Scandinavian rotation, the work covers main-deck plating, ramp structure, lower car-deck stiffening and the shell sides above the waterline, with magnetic particle testing at ramp hinges and stoppers. The report separates corrosion at drainage areas from wear at moving parts.

For a bulk carrier at the steelworks quay, the scope centres on all holds: frames and brackets, hopper plating, tank tops and coamings, with topside tanks added if they can be emptied. Deformation from grab damage is mapped, and each hold receives a summary of wastage pattern and cracks.

Where hull structural integrity sits in the survey cycle

Every renewal survey asks for more thickness measurement than the last, and for oil tankers, chemical tankers and bulk carriers the ESP Code adds close-up survey on top. The table is the usual shape of the work; the class rules and the surveyor set the exact extent, which is why the measurement plan for a job at Ghent is agreed in writing before mobilisation.

Survey	When it falls	What the thickness measurement usually covers
Annual survey	Every year, within three months of the anniversary date	General examination. Gauging where the surveyor finds suspect areas or where substantial corrosion was recorded at an earlier survey.
Intermediate survey	In place of the second or third annual survey	Suspect areas, and on older ships and ESP ships selected ballast and cargo spaces with close-up survey; the extent grows with age.
Renewal survey No. 1	Around 5 years	The first full baseline: suspect areas and selected plating and stiffeners, usually with modest steel renewal.
Renewal survey No. 2	Around 10 years	Wider gauging of deck, bottom and side plating, transverse sections across the cargo area on ESP ships, and more close-up survey.
Renewal survey No. 3	Around 15 years	Extensive gauging of cargo and ballast tank structure and more transverse sections. The survey most likely to turn up steel renewal.
Renewal survey No. 4 and later	Around 20 and 25 years	Gauging extended to most structural members in cargo and ballast spaces. Charterers often add a Condition Assessment Programme.
Docking survey	Twice in each five-year period	Bottom and side shell, sea chests, rudder and stern area while the hull is dry; suspect bottom plating gauged.

How the job runs at Ghent

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

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.

Who does the work, and when class approval applies

We send the team from India to the ship for each job rather than keeping staff at the port, and plan the mobilisation around visas and the vessel's itinerary. The work is planned and supervised by the founder, our Responsible NDT Level III (ASNT NDT Level III in UT, RT, MT, PT and VT, with more than eleven years of international field experience). Technicians hold certification under the company's written practice to ASNT SNT-TC-1A; Atlantis is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified.

Thickness measurement that a classification society credits to a class survey has to be carried out by a firm approved by that society under IACS UR Z17. Atlantis is in the process of obtaining UR Z17 approval from DNV, Lloyd's Register and ABS. Until a certificate is issued, the readings we take are for the owner's own decisions, not for credit to a class survey, so tell us the vessel's class and the survey due when you enquire and we set the scope for the right purpose. Owner's and charterer's condition gauging, pre-docking steel estimates, pre-purchase and on-hire or off-hire gauging, and scrubber and piping condition checks between surveys do not need class approval.

Governing codes and standards

IACS UR Z10.2 and Z10.5 (hull surveys of bulk carriers)
IACS UR Z7 and Z7.1 (thickness measurement and survey extent)
IACS Recommendation 47 (shipbuilding and repair quality standard)
SOLAS Chapter XI-1 and the ESP Code
ISO 17638 (magnetic particle testing of welds)
ISO 16809 and ASTM E797 (ultrasonic thickness measurement)

What you receive

Thickness readings by member with corrosion pattern named at each location
Deformation record with plate and stiffener position and extent
Crack indications from magnetic particle testing, marked and photographed
Summary of substantial wastage and areas for monitoring
Annotated sketches for the surveyor and the repair yard
Calibration records and technician certificates

Industries served

Bulk carriers on ore, coal and grain
Ro-ro ships and vehicle carriers
General cargo and multipurpose ships
Open-hatch forest-product carriers
Product and biofuel tankers
Short-sea cargo ships

Frequently asked questions

What does a hull structural integrity inspection include at Ghent?

Ultrasonic thickness gauging of accessible structure, a visual record of corrosion form, deformation and coating state, and magnetic particle checks at fatigue-prone details. The scope is set from the ship's survey history and what the crew can make accessible during the call.

Can lock or quay contact damage be assessed at the berth?

Yes, above the waterline. The team records the extent of dents and buckled plating, measures the plate around them, and reports whether steel has been lost as well as deformed. Underwater damage needs a dry hull, so it waits for a docking.

Is this assessment useful before buying a bulk carrier at Ghent?

It is a common use. Hold frames, hopper plating, tank tops and coamings are measured and the pattern of wastage and any cracks recorded, so a buyer sees the real condition of the structure before the sale is concluded.

How are cracks at hatch corners and ramp hinges found?

By magnetic particle testing on cleaned steel at the known details. Indications are measured and photographed on the part. The result is an NDT record for the owner and yard, and the attending surveyor decides what the class requires.

What should we send before the team travels from India to Ghent?

Vessel name or IMO number, ship type, class, trade, previous thickness measurement and survey reports, any damage history, and the expected discharge end and sailing time. With these we shape the scope and start visa processing once you confirm the call.

Can hull structural integrity at Ghent be credited to a class survey?

Planning a survey or a drydock?

Send the vessel name or IMO number, the class, the survey due and the port. We reply with the scope, the mobilisation plan and a quote for that vessel.

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Request a ship gauging quote

Send the vessel name or IMO number, the class society, the survey due and the port. We reply with the scope, the mobilisation plan and a quote for that vessel.

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