Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement for Ships in Poland

Where ships are gauged in Poland

Gdańsk is the country's largest port. The northern port takes the deep-draught traffic, with a large container terminal, crude and product handling and dry bulk, while the inner port and canal serve general cargo, ro-ro, grain and the ferry link to Sweden. Gdańsk also has shipbuilding and repair yards, which makes it the natural place to gauge ships before a docking, as the readings can be handed to the yard when the ship arrives.

Gdynia, a few kilometres up the coast, is a container, ro-ro and ferry port with regular services across the Baltic and to Scandinavia, and a base for naval and offshore traffic. Szczecin lies up the Oder estuary with Świnoujście at its mouth, and handles bulk, general cargo, steel and ferries; its yards build and repair smaller ships. Police, close to Szczecin, specialises in chemicals and bulk and is linked to the nearby chemical industry.

Port state control and rules

Port state control in Poland is carried out by the maritime offices at the main ports, and the country is a member of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding. Inspectors use the common risk-based targeting, and older ships with visible hull wastage are likely to be inspected closely. As an EU state, Poland applies the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, so a hazardous materials inventory is a standing requirement for ships under European flags.

Polish waters are part of the Baltic Sulphur Emission Control Area, so fuel sulphur is held to 0.10% unless an exhaust gas cleaning system is fitted. Scrubber ships call at Gdańsk and Gdynia, and the wash-water and overboard pipework they carry wears faster than most systems aboard. Ships that also trade into the northern Baltic may be built to Finnish-Swedish ice class rules, which sets the plating expected in their ice belt.

Planning a job from India

Poland sits inside Schengen, so a Schengen visa of the right category covers entry; we decide which applies when the ship's call is confirmed. The ship's agent obtains the berth, shore pass, port registration and the safety briefing, and passes on what the gangway, lighting and shore power are like.

Before tanks are opened, the ship confirms gas-free status and a rescue plan under its safety management system. The brief for each job lists the thickness measurement plan, the frames and strakes in scope, the piping to be measured and the report format the owner or yard needs, so readings can go straight into the repair specification.

Where a ship is booked into a yard, the gauging programme is usually split in two. The first part, at a berth before docking, covers hull, tanks and piping that can be reached afloat; the second, once the ship is in dock, covers bottom plating, rudder and sea chests that can only be reached when the water is out. Splitting the work this way keeps the dock period short, because the yard receives most of the renewal list before the ship arrives.

Szczecin and Police are reached by a long river passage, so a ship's arrival time depends on pilotage and river conditions. We keep the programme flexible and confirm the berth with the ship's agent shortly before the team travels, so that no one is mobilised for a call that has moved.

Port pages in Poland

There are 5 Poland port pages: Gdańsk, Gdynia, Szczecin, Police, Świnoujście. Each covers the ships that call, the yards and berths where gauging happens, the port state control picture and the jobs we see there; the links are under "In this section" below.

Frequently asked questions

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