Hull and Tank Gauging for Ships at Newport Docks on the River Usk

Inspection services for ships at Newport (Wales)

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

Gauging locations in and around Newport docks

The quays of North and South Docks are where almost all of the work is done. Steel and scrap berths have heavy cranes and open storage, and the team works around the stevedores, keeping clear of grab and magnet operations and entering only holds that have been released. Ballast tanks, double bottoms and topside tanks are entered under the ship's permit once the crew has ventilated them and tested the atmosphere. On ships with cranes of their own, the pedestals and jib rests are often added to the scope for magnetic particle checks.

Newport is a bulk and general cargo port rather than a ship-repair centre, so dockings for ships trading here are normally arranged elsewhere in South Wales, on the Mersey or in Cornwall. If a ship lies at a berth outside the dock, she is in fully tidal water, and any work there has to fit the hours when she is afloat and steady. For a superintendent, the sensible pattern is to gauge inside the dock during a cargo call and send the results to the docking yard, which can then plan steel work before the ship arrives rather than after she is on the blocks.

• North Dock and South Dock quays — hold, tank top and side shell gauging on steel, scrap and bulk ships while cargo is worked.
• Scrap loading berths — empty holds measured before the first load goes in, while access is at its easiest.
• Lay-by berths in Alexandra Dock — condition surveys on ships waiting for cargo, with time to open tanks in turn.
• Project cargo quays — deck, hatch cover and crane pedestal checks on multipurpose ships during heavy lifts.
• Ship's cranes and hatch covers — MPI and thickness readings on pedestals, cleats, coamings and jib rests.

Inspection pressure on tramp ships calling at Newport

Port state control at Newport is carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency under the Paris MoU regime, which the UK still follows through its own legislation. Tramp bulk carriers and general cargo ships fixed into scrap and steel trades are often older tonnage, and older ships with a poor inspection record attract more frequent and more detailed inspections. Structural deficiencies in holds, such as wasted frames, holed bulkheads or damaged tank tops, can lead to a detention that loses the charter. Gauging the areas most exposed to grab damage during a quiet day alongside is the straightforward way for an owner to know where the ship stands.

The scrap trade has its own pattern of wear. Heavy, sharp-edged pieces dropped by grab or magnet strike tank tops and lower hopper plating, and residues left in the holds keep moisture against the steel. Charterers fixing ships for scrap may want hold condition documented before loading, and owners need to know whether a ship coming off a scrap voyage needs steel work before her next cargo. The UK rules carried over from the EU ship recycling regulation also expect visiting ships to keep an Inventory of Hazardous Materials on board, which superintendents often review alongside structural condition when deciding how much longer to trade an older ship.

Wherever a ship is outside a sulphur emission control area, the global 0.50% sulphur cap applies, and many of the ships calling at Newport (Wales) meet it with an exhaust gas cleaning system rather than compliant fuel. Scrubber wash-water piping, the overboard discharge and the hull penetration around it corrode quickly in service, especially on open-loop systems, and are worth adding to the gauging scope.

How a thickness measurement job runs at Newport (Wales)

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

International arrivals are normally through London Heathrow, with onward rail to Newport station on the main line between London and South Wales; Cardiff Airport and Bristol Airport are alternatives for European connections. The team comes from India on UK visas, so we start applications as soon as a Newport call looks likely. The ship's agent books ISPS gate passes for the dock and keeps the team informed of lock times, which govern both boarding and the ship's departure.

• 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