Tanker and Industrial Ship Gauging in the Porto Marghera Canals

Inspection services for ships at Porto Marghera

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

Industrial berths and what can be measured on them

Gauging at Marghera happens at the berths on the industrial canals, and the cargo being worked decides what is possible. On tankers, ballast tanks, cofferdams, pump rooms excluded unless declared safe, forecastle spaces and deck structure can be gauged while cargo operations continue, subject to the terminal's permit to work and the master's enclosed-space procedures. Cargo tanks themselves are measured only after gas-freeing, which is normally done at a yard rather than at the loading jetty.

On gas and chemical carriers, the same principle applies: the team stays outside the cargo containment and measures hull and ballast structure, deck piping supports and accessible machinery-space piping. Bulk ships discharging at the quays offer holds after they are empty. Ships that need a full docking go to a repair yard elsewhere on the Adriatic, and the readings from Marghera are passed to that yard. As in every industrial port, access depends on terminal security, so passes and induction need arranging well in advance.

• Oil and product jetties on the industrial canals: ballast tank, forecastle and deck piping gauging on tankers during cargo operations.
• Chemical terminal berths: cofferdam, ballast tank and deck structure gauging on chemical tankers within the permit regime.
• Gas carrier jetties: hull, ballast and deck readings outside the cargo containment, with gas-safety rules observed.
• Dry bulk quays on the canals: hold frame and hatch cover gauging on bulk carriers after discharge.
• Lagoon anchorage outside the canals: launch-served condition gauging for ships waiting for a berth, subject to harbour master clearance.
• Handover to a repair yard: readings in TM plan format for docking elsewhere on the Adriatic.

Seveso-type industry, Italian rules and the lagoon

Porto Marghera is a major hazard industrial area, so safety rules at the berths are strict and well enforced. The Italian Coast Guard, through the harbour authority, controls port operations and carries out port state control under the Paris MoU. Terminal operators apply their own gas, fire and hot-work regimes, and any visiting contractor must follow them. For a technician team, that means detailed risk assessments, personal gas monitors and a clear agreement with the terminal on permitted spaces before boarding.

The lagoon is a protected environment, and discharge limits are watched closely, so scrubber ships and chemical carriers draw attention to their wash-water systems and tank cleaning. Owners of older tankers on this trade also face EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime accounting, and many have an Inventory of Hazardous Materials updated under the Ship Recycling Regulation. A thickness record from a Marghera call supports decisions on deck-line renewal, tank coating and whether an older ship should stay in the trade.

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

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

Venice Marco Polo Airport is the closest international gateway, with a road transfer across the causeway to the mainland industrial zone, and Treviso is an alternative for some European flights. Technicians from India need a Schengen visa for Italy, arranged once the call is confirmed. Terminal security, induction and port access are processed through the ship's agent, who needs the team's passport details and certificates ahead of arrival, since industrial berths do not allow last-minute entry.

• 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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