Ultrasonic Thickness Gauging for Ferries Calling at Igoumenitsa

Inspection services for ships at Igoumenitsa

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

Gauging options at Igoumenitsa

There is no shipyard at Igoumenitsa, so all gauging here is done afloat. On the international ferries, the work takes place at the ro-pax berths while vehicles are off: vehicle-deck plating and stiffeners, internal and stern ramps, shell door surrounds, mooring decks and the structure beneath lashing points. On a ship whose line terminates here, or which spends a lay day in port, ballast tanks and voids can be added if the crew empties and certifies them. Corfu ferries are best gauged during their overnight stop or on a quieter winter day, when the vessel can be held at its berth for a few hours without breaking the island link.

When steel renewal is needed, the ships leave. International ferries usually dock in Attica, at Perama, Salamina or the Elefsina bay, or at yards in Italy or further afield chosen by their operators, and the domestic ferries go to whichever yards their owners use. Gauging at Igoumenitsa beforehand gives the operator a measured scope to send ahead, and lets the yard prepare plate and labour so the refit fits the winter window. For lorry-heavy ferries, readings on the main freight deck taken over successive calls also show how fast wastage is progressing, which helps decide whether a deck can wait for the next docking or needs attention now.

• International ro-pax berths: vehicle deck, ramp, shell door and lashing-point gauging while the ferry is discharged
• Terminating-line and lay-day berths: longer scopes with ballast tanks, voids and shell framing from inside
• Domestic ferry berths: deck, ramp and tank gauging on Corfu and Paxi ferries during overnight stops or winter lay-ups
• Igoumenitsa bay anchorage: condition and pre-purchase gauging by launch on vessels waiting off the port
• Attica and overseas yards: where Igoumenitsa ferries usually dock for bottom gauging and steel renewal

Ferry inspection rules and the Corfu link

Igoumenitsa falls under the Paris MoU, with port state control and harbour supervision exercised by the Hellenic Coast Guard through the Igoumenitsa harbour master. The international ro-pax ferries are subject to EU host-state inspections for ro-pax ships in regular service, and the domestic ferries to Corfu and Paxi are surveyed by the Greek flag administration and their class under EU standards for passenger ships on domestic voyages. Ships calling at EU ports must carry an Inventory of Hazardous Materials under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, and the Italy routes count as EU voyages for the Emissions Trading System and FuelEU Maritime.

The Corfu link is a lifeline for the island as well as a tourist route, so its ferries carry fuel trucks, supply lorries and construction traffic alongside holiday cars, and they run in every season. Open vehicle decks on some of these ships are wetted by rain and sea spray on every crossing, and their deck plating, coamings and drainage arrangements corrode faster than the enclosed decks of larger ferries. Operators deciding whether to keep or replace these ships need measured data on decks, ballast tanks and hull framing to judge how much life is left. The international ferries face a different pressure: freight from the Egnatia corridor keeps their decks loaded, and they must stay on schedule to keep the hauliers' business.

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

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

Ioannina and Preveza (Aktion) airports are the closest mainland arrival points, with onward travel by road, and Corfu airport is across the strait by ferry; Athens and Thessaloniki give more international connections, with a longer road journey. The international terminal is an ISPS-controlled area, so the operator or the ship's agent arranges passes and boarding with the technicians' certificates and equipment lists. Technicians travel from India on Schengen visas. Because ferry lay days are usually fixed well ahead, we tie the visa application to the operator's published schedule.

• 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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