Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement and Hull Gauging in Piraeus

Inspection services for ships at Piraeus

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

Where gauging happens around Piraeus and Perama

Most hull work, and therefore most thickness gauging in Perama, happens in the ship-repair zone on the western side of the harbour, facing Salamina. The PPA operates floating docks there, and the repair quays are lined with steelwork, piping and machinery contractors. Ships come alongside for afloat repairs, while the docks take vessels needing bottom work, propeller and rudder attention or a docking survey. Because steel renewal at Perama is often fitted around other repair items, gauging done early lets the yard line up plate and welders before the ship is opened up rather than after.

Beyond the repair zone, gauging is done wherever the ship happens to be. Tankers and bulk carriers at the anchorages off Piraeus are reached by launch, and readings can be taken on deck, in empty ballast tanks and in holds that have been cleaned and ventilated. For heavier dockings, managers also look to the two large yards on the Elefsina bay a short distance north-west. Ferries and cruise ships in the main harbour are best gauged during winter lay-up and refit, when tanks, voids and car decks can be opened up.

• Perama ship repair zone — afloat repairs at the quays, with gauging of decks, hatch coamings, side shell and tanks while other repair work proceeds
• PPA floating docks at Perama — docking surveys and bottom work, with bottom shell, bilge and sea chest gauging done while the hull is dry
• Piraeus outer anchorage — ships waiting for orders or a repair slot, boarded by launch for pre-docking, pre-purchase or condition gauging
• Container piers at Neo Ikonio — ballast tank gauging and scrubber piping checks on container ships during port stays, arranged with the terminal and agent
• Passenger and cruise harbour — ro-pax ferries and cruise ships, normally gauged during winter refits when tanks, voids and vehicle decks are accessible
• Elefsina bay yards — larger dockings and heavy steel renewal a short drive away, often combined with Piraeus work in one trip

Regulation, vetting and the Greek management cluster

Greece is an EU member state and Piraeus falls under the Paris MoU, with port state control inspections carried out by the Hellenic Coast Guard. Since 1 May 2025 the Mediterranean has been an emission control area for sulphur oxides, so ships here burn 0.10% sulphur fuel or run an exhaust gas cleaning system. Greek owners were among the early adopters of scrubbers on large bulk carriers and tankers, and the wash-water and overboard piping on those installations, now several years in service, corrodes fast wherever linings have broken down. Shipping has also been inside the EU Emissions Trading System since 2024 and FuelEU Maritime since 2025, which occupy commercial departments but do not alter the gauging scope.

The management cluster shapes the work as much as the regulations do. Greek-owned ships fly many flags — Greek, Maltese, Liberian, Marshall Islands and Cypriot among them — and are classed with every major society, so one technical department may handle several class rule sets in the same month. Tankers over about 15 years meet oil-major vetting that frequently asks for a CAP rating, which means gauging in advance of the CAP survey. Superintendents here also want readings they can use commercially: a steel estimate to compare yard offers, or a measured condition picture to support a sale.

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

A gauging job at Piraeus 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.

The team flies into Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos and continues by road to Perama, the port or the launch landing for the anchorage. Gate passes for the PPA areas and the repair yards, and launch boats for ships at anchor, are arranged through the ship's agent; we send crew lists and technician certificates in advance for ISPS clearance. Greece is in the Schengen area, so each technician needs a Schengen visa issued in India. We plan applications around the docking date and recommend confirming the job as soon as the yard slot is fixed, particularly if the docking may be brought forward.

• 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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