Palma de Mallorca Hull Gauging: Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement for Ferries, Cruise Ships and Superyachts

Inspection services for ships at Palma

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

Quays, repair berths and refit yards around the Bay of Palma

Structured gauging in Palma happens either at a repair quay, where a ship lies afloat while spaces are cleaned and opened, or at one of the yards that handle larger yachts and workboats on slipways and hoists. Ferries and commercial ships generally take their major dockings at yards on the mainland, so in Palma the common job is an afloat survey: ballast tanks, void spaces, vehicle deck plating, ramps and stern doors measured ahead of the mainland docking, giving the yard a steel list to plan against before the ship arrives.

Cruise ships and ferries on fixed rotations can be gauged in stages. A cruise ship returning every week gives a technician access to the same scrubber and sea-water piping on successive turnaround days, and the readings are compiled into one report for the superintendent. Yacht work follows the refit schedule of the yard, with the team arriving once the hull has been stripped back and the tanks are opened. Ships at anchor in the bay are reached by launch arranged through the agent, which is the usual route for pre-purchase and on-hire condition gauging; because a southerly swell can stop boarding, the plan needs a spare day. All equipment travels with the technicians, so no shore gauge or staging is requested from the port.

• Ferry berths along the city waterfront: vehicle deck, ramp, stern door and ballast tank gauging between sailings during the winter timetable
• Cruise berths at the outer piers: scrubber wash-water, overboard and sea-water piping gauged on turnaround days, repeated across visits where the ship returns weekly
• Repair quays in the commercial harbour: afloat gauging of tanks and voids opened for yard work, ahead of or after a docking elsewhere
• Refit yards for large yachts and workboats: hull, tank and shell gauging planned around stripping, blasting and recoating
• Anchorage in the Bay of Palma: pre-purchase and charter on-hire or off-hire condition gauging by launch, with a margin for swell

Regulatory picture for ships using Palma

Spain is a Paris MoU state, and port state control on merchant ships calling at Palma is carried out by marine inspectors working for the Dirección General de la Marina Mercante through the local Capitanía Marítima. Ro-pax ferries and passenger ships are examined with particular care, and a record of recent thickness readings on vehicle decks, ramps and ballast spaces helps an operator show that wastage is understood and monitored. The Balearic Islands are inside the Mediterranean SOx Emission Control Area, which is why scrubber-fitted cruise ships and ferries keep their systems running at Palma and why the wash-water pipework is a recurring gauging target.

Island shipping also feels the effect of EU carbon rules. Shipping has been covered by the EU Emissions Trading System since 2024, and FuelEU Maritime has applied from 2025, so ferry operators weigh the future of older tonnage against newer replacements. A sale, a charter extension or a decision to keep a ship in service is easier when the steel condition is documented. Regular readings also support the EU Ship Recycling Regulation's requirement for an Inventory of Hazardous Materials, since an owner who knows the structure's condition plans end-of-life decisions with better information. Large yachts above commercial thresholds may fall under different rules from merchant ships, so we confirm with the owner which framework the readings serve.

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

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

Palma de Mallorca Airport is close to the harbour and is linked to the main European hubs, so the technicians usually fly in from India through a Gulf or continental connection and reach the quay by road. Spain is part of the Schengen area, and Schengen visas have to be in hand before dates are fixed, so an early enquiry helps. Berth and terminal access, ISPS passes and launch bookings for the bay are arranged through the ship's agent, and yard access is agreed with the refit yard directly.

• 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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