Ship Thickness Measurement and Hull Gauging in Gothenburg

Inspection services for ships at Gothenburg

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

Where gauging happens in the Port of Gothenburg

Each harbour in Gothenburg has its own access arrangements and practical limits. At the energy port, tankers alongside are subject to strict terminal safety rules, so measurement is confined to areas the master and terminal approve while cargo operations continue. Ro-ro and car terminals are often the easiest places to work because the ships' decks are open and lay-by periods are common. The container terminal gives shorter windows, usually limited to deck and ballast spaces. Every terminal requires the team to be named in advance on the agent's access list, and some require a site safety briefing on arrival.

Ship-repair facilities in the port area take afloat and docking repairs, and Swedish-managed ships also dock in Poland, Denmark, the Baltic states and further afield. Anchorages off the port entrance are used by ships waiting for a berth, and those waits can sometimes be used for limited gauging by launch. Where a renewal survey is booked at a yard abroad, a Gothenburg call beforehand is often the best chance for pre-docking measurements, because ballast tanks can be emptied and ventilated while the ship works cargo and the results reach the yard before arrival.

• Torshamnen crude terminal — deck, void-space and ballast tank measurement on crude tankers alongside, subject to terminal and master approval.
• Skarvik product harbour — ballast tank and deck gauging on product and chemical tankers during discharge or loading.
• Älvsborg ro-ro and car terminals — car-deck, ramp and hoistable-deck measurements and ramp-hinge crack detection on ro-ro ships and car carriers.
• Skandia container terminal (APM Terminals) — ballast tank and deck gauging on container ships within the berth window.
• Stena ferry terminals — machinery piping and vehicle-deck measurements on ro-pax ferries during scheduled port time.
• Outer anchorages — limited pre-purchase or condition gauging on ships waiting for a berth, with launch access arranged by the agent.

Swedish regulation, ECA and market context in Gothenburg

Sweden is a member of the Paris MoU, and Gothenburg's high volume of tanker and ro-ro calls makes it a regular location for port state control inspections. As an EU member, Sweden applies the EU ETS to shipping from 2024 and FuelEU Maritime from 2025. Gothenburg was an early adopter of shore power at its ferry and ro-ro berths, and liner operators calling here have invested in retrofits such as shore connections, energy-saving devices and battery systems, which add penetrations, foundations and piping that need structural checks before and after installation.

The port lies on the Kattegat within the SOx ECA, at 0.10% sulphur. Scrubber-fitted tankers and ro-ro ships use their systems continuously in these waters, and operators also have to observe national restrictions on wash-water discharge near the Swedish coast, so ships may run in closed-loop mode or switch fuel close to land. That changes how wash-water and overboard piping are used and where corrosion develops, which is why a scrubber piping inspection at each docking is worthwhile. Gothenburg itself is rarely troubled by ice, but tankers and ro-ro ships calling here often continue to Gulf of Bothnia and Gulf of Finland ports in winter, where traffic restrictions based on Finnish-Swedish ice class apply and ice-belt condition becomes a gauging priority.

Ships trading to Gothenburg are inside a sulphur emission control area, where fuel must not exceed 0.10% sulphur unless an exhaust gas cleaning system (scrubber) is fitted. Scrubber wash-water piping, the overboard discharge and the hull penetration around it are among the fastest-corroding parts of a modern ship, so they belong in the gauging scope at every docking and, on open-loop systems, between dockings.

How a thickness measurement job runs at Gothenburg

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

Göteborg Landvetter Airport is the international gateway, with connections through European hubs, and the port is reached by road from the airport. All terminals are ISPS facilities; the ship's agent arranges gate passes for named technicians at the energy port and the ro-ro, container and ferry terminals, and books launches for anchorage work. Sweden is in the Schengen area, so the team travels from India on Schengen visas. Tanker berthing times at the energy port can move with cargo programmes, so we keep in close contact with the agent and plan the visa period with some margin.

• 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.

Related