Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement for Ships at Mersin and the Iskenderun Bay Ports

Inspection services for ships at Mersin

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

Where gauging happens at Mersin and around Iskenderun Bay

At Mersin International Port, container ships are gauged on ballast tanks, deck structure and scrubber systems during their berth windows, and bulk and general cargo ships have holds measured as cargo work allows. Access at the port is governed by the terminal's ISPS and safety procedures, with every visit booked through the ship's agent. Ships waiting at the Mersin anchorage are reached by launch, and a wait for berth is often the best time for a full ballast tank programme, because the crew are not occupied with cargo and tanks can be ventilated without pressure on time.

Across the bay, the Iskenderun ports handle iron ore, coal and steel for the steelworks and the region's industry, bringing larger bulk carriers than Mersin usually sees, and the Ceyhan marine terminals load crude tankers. Gauging at those locations follows the same pattern, with deck, ballast tanks and accessible holds measured during cargo calls or anchorage waits, and it can be combined with Mersin jobs in one trip by road along the coast. Ceyhan tanker gauging is limited by the terminal's rules on loading days, so it is best combined with anchorage time before or after the call.

• Mersin International Port container berths — ballast tank, deck and scrubber piping checks on container ships during scheduled calls
• Mersin International Port bulk and general cargo berths — hold, hatch cover and coaming gauging as discharge frees each hold
• Mersin anchorage — pre-docking and condition gauging on ships waiting for berths, reached by launch arranged by the agent
• Iskenderun Bay steel and bulk berths — gauging on larger bulk carriers discharging iron ore and coal, within terminal rules
• Ceyhan crude terminals — deck, deck piping and ballast tank gauging on crude tankers during loading calls, subject to terminal permits

Regulation and trade context on Turkey's Mediterranean coast

Turkey belongs to both the Mediterranean MoU and the Black Sea MoU on port state control, and Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast, sees inspections of a traffic mix that includes many older bulk carriers and general cargo ships. The Mediterranean SOx ECA has applied in these waters since 1 May 2025, which means 0.10% sulphur fuel or an exhaust gas cleaning system. For scrubber-fitted ships, wash-water and overboard piping is a predictable source of leaks and thinning that is better found at a berth in Mersin than at sea.

Commercially, Mersin connects Turkish industry with eastern Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and European markets. Voyages between Mersin and EU ports bring EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime obligations, and ships trading to Egypt and the Levant cross several port state and customs regimes in a short time. For managers, the practical issue is distance from the repair yards: with heavy repair concentrated in the Marmara, a ship that discovers excessive wastage in Mersin faces a long ballast leg to dock, so readings taken during a call here are worth having early. Owners of tankers loading at Ceyhan face oil-major vetting as well, and a CAP rating is often expected on older tonnage.

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

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

The team flies into Çukurova International Airport near Tarsus, between Mersin and Adana, usually connecting through Istanbul, and travels by road to Mersin, Iskenderun or Ceyhan. Port passes under ISPS at Mersin International Port, terminal permits at the bay's steel and crude terminals, and launches for anchorage work are arranged through the ship's agent, with crew lists and certificates sent ahead. A Turkish visa is needed for each technician travelling from India, so we begin the application once a likely call is identified and keep it valid across the ship's expected window.

• 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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