Marina di Carrara: Ultrasonic Thickness Gauging for Heavy-Lift and Marble Cargo Ships

Inspection services for ships at Marina di Carrara

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

Quays, holds and offshore waiting areas at Marina di Carrara

Gauging at the quay concentrates on the structures that stone cargo attacks. After discharge or before loading, holds are empty and accessible, and tank tops, tween deck plating, frames and hatch coamings can be measured. Hatch covers, crane pedestals and lashing points on deck complete the picture, with magnetic particle testing at welds that carry concentrated loads. Ballast tanks that the chief officer can ventilate and release for entry are measured alongside, and deck piping and fire mains can be checked at the same visit.

Because the ships are often geared, ultrasonic readings on cranes and their foundations are common, with the owner's permission and the crane maker's drawings. Heavy-lift ships bring a different set of questions about deck strength and lashing arrangements. For ships at anchor off the coast, the agent arranges a launch, and weather decides whether the plan holds. When a full renewal or intermediate survey is due, the practical route is a docking at a larger yard along the coast, and Carrara serves as the place to size the work in advance. The technicians travel with their own equipment and do not need shore gauges or staging from the port.

• Marble and general cargo quays: hold, tank top, tween deck and hatch coaming gauging on multipurpose ships between cargoes
• Heavy-lift berths: deck structure, crane pedestal and lashing point gauging with crack detection at highly loaded welds
• Ballast tank gauging alongside where the officers can release spaces for entry
• Deck piping, fire main and sea-water line gauging during the loading stay
• Offshore waiting area: pre-purchase and charter condition gauging by launch, subject to swell
• Yards in La Spezia and Genoa: where readings from Carrara feed the steel estimate for a docking

Port state control and the logic of stone and project cargo

Italy belongs to the Paris MoU, and port state control on foreign ships at Marina di Carrara is carried out by the Guardia Costiera, the Italian Coast Guard, through the local port office. Cargo ships with worn holds and corroded hatch covers can be flagged, and wasted structure around cargo handling gear can lead to deficiencies. The Mediterranean SOx emission control area applies here, so ships burn low-sulphur fuel or run scrubbers, and scrubber piping on larger vessels is gauged alongside the structure.

The commercial drivers differ from a container port. Stone shipping is cyclical, and multipurpose ships move between cargoes, so charterers and buyers often ask for condition reports before fixing a ship or taking one on hire. Heavy-lift ships are valued for their gear and deck, and a gauging record of the deck and foundations supports a sale or charter. EU carbon rules, namely the Emissions Trading System since 2024 and FuelEU Maritime since 2025, add pressure on older small tonnage, which is common in the multipurpose trade. Ships calling at EU ports also need an Inventory of Hazardous Materials under the Ship Recycling Regulation, and a clear structural record helps owners plan the last years of a ship's life.

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

A gauging job at Marina di Carrara runs the same way whatever the ship type. The sequence below is what the superintendent, the attending surveyor and the yard can expect from us.

Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport is the nearest main airport, and Genoa and Florence are alternatives for longer-haul links. Technicians from India usually connect through a European hub and complete the journey by road or rail. Italy is within the Schengen area, so Schengen visas are needed and travel is booked once they are issued. Quay access, ISPS passes and launches for ships waiting offshore are arranged through the ship's agent, and our team brings its own equipment.

• 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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