Maritime inspection · Romania
Ship Thickness Measurement in Romania
Romania's maritime work divides between the coast and the river. Constanța is the largest port on the Black Sea, with grain, ore, coal, container and tanker berths, a shipyard inside the port and the entrance to the Danube–Black Sea Canal, while Midia serves the Petromidia refinery and Mangalia, near the Bulgarian border, is a shipyard port. Up the Danube, seagoing ships reach Tulcea, Galați and Brăila through the Sulina channel. Atlantis mobilises its team from India for each job and meets the ship at the berth, the yard or the anchorage.
Grain carriers between cargoes
Constanța and the Danube ports load large volumes of grain, and grain trades leave holds open between discharge and loading. That window suits frame, bracket, hopper and tank-top gauging on bulk carriers before the next cargo goes in.
River-sea ships on the Danube
Ships trading between the Black Sea and the Danube ports work in fresh and salt water and in shallow, changing river reaches. Gauging at Galați, Brăila or Tulcea covers internal structure afloat, with the bottom plating planned for a drydock on the coast.
Dockings at Constanța and Mangalia
Constanța Shipyard inside the port and the yard at Mangalia take ships for repair and conversion. Gauging early in the stay gives the steel list a measured basis while the ship is dry and the staging is in place.
Maritime inspection services
Start with the survey or problem; each service page explains the method, the class requirements and the report. Marine NDT and Advanced NDT list every inspection method.
Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement (UTM)
Hull, tank, deck and bulkhead gauging recorded on the class thickness-measurement formats, with sketches and corrosion flagged against the allowable margins.
ExploreSpecial Survey Thickness Measurement
Gauging for the 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25-year special (renewal) surveys and intermediate surveys, plus pre-docking steel estimates.
ExploreCAS (Condition Assessment Scheme)
Thickness measurement and survey support for the IMO Condition Assessment Scheme, and what CAS asks of an older tanker today.
ExploreCAP Thickness Measurement
Gauging and close-up survey data for a Condition Assessment Programme, the voluntary class service charterers ask for on older tankers and bulk carriers.
ExploreESP Gauging
Thickness measurement and close-up survey support for oil tankers, chemical tankers and bulk carriers under the ESP Code.
ExploreHull Structural Integrity
Substantial and excessive corrosion, pitting, grooving, buckling and fatigue cracks, with magnetic particle and penetrant crack detection.
ExploreShip Piping Inspection
Wall-thickness gauging of cargo, ballast, fuel, sea-water and fire-main piping, with minimum-wall checks and isometric sketches.
ExploreScrubber Piping Inspection
EGCS wash-water and overboard discharge piping, the hull penetration area and scrubber welds, checked between dockings.
ExploreHatch Cover Ultrasonic Tightness Testing
Ultrasonic weathertightness testing of hatch covers, doors and closing appliances, with leak locations marked for the crew or the yard.
ExploreIHM (Inventory of Hazardous Materials)
IHM Part I surveys, sampling and maintenance for the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and the Hong Kong Convention.
ExploreShip Noise Survey
Noise level measurement in accommodation, work and machinery spaces to the IMO Code on Noise Levels on Board Ships, with a survey report for the ship.
ExploreInfrared Thermography
Thermal surveys of switchboards, motor control centres, machinery and exhaust insulation to find hot spots before they fail.
ExploreMarine NDT Services
Every NDT method we use on ships, from visual inspection and MPI to PAUT and ACFM, chosen by the defect you are looking for.
ExploreAdvanced Marine NDT
PAUT, TOFD, ACFM, eddy current and corrosion mapping for the jobs conventional NDT cannot do well on a ship.
ExploreConstanța, Midia and Mangalia: the Romanian coast
Constanța is the hub. Its basins handle general cargo, grain, ore, coal and passenger traffic, and Constanța South and Agigea, where the Danube–Black Sea Canal meets the sea, hold the container terminals. Constanța Shipyard, inside the port, builds and repairs ships, and a docking there opens up the bottom, bilge and side shell for a full programme. Ships queuing for grain and other berths lie at the anchorage off the port, where they can be boarded by launch.
North of Constanța, Midia port at Năvodari serves the Petromidia refinery, so its traffic is crude and product tankers, gauged on deck, deck piping and accessible ballast tanks during cargo work. To the south, Mangalia is built around a large shipyard rather than a cargo trade, and ships come there for repair, conversion or lay-up. Arrangements at the Mangalia yard have changed in recent years, so we confirm with the agent which facilities are available before a docking programme is planned.
The Danube ports: Galați, Brăila and Tulcea
The maritime Danube is open to seagoing ships from Sulina on the Black Sea as far as Brăila, by way of the Sulina channel and the river past Tulcea and Galați. Galați is a large river port and steel town, with ore and coal arriving for the steelworks and grain, fertiliser and steel products leaving; Brăila, just upstream, handles grain and general cargo; and Tulcea, at the head of the delta, takes bulk and break-bulk cargo and delta passenger craft.
The yards on the river at Galați, Tulcea and Brăila are mainly building yards, so a seagoing ship that needs its bottom plating gauged usually docks on the coast at Constanța or Mangalia, or in Bulgaria or Turkey. A Danube call is the time to gauge holds, tanks, decks and piping afloat. River-sea ships and barges between trips can also be measured at lay-by berths, where there is time for a thorough internal programme.
Grain, the war next door and the ships it brings
Since 2022 the war in Ukraine has redirected grain and other exports from Ukraine through Constanța and the Danube ports, and the Danube route between Ukrainian river ports and Constanța has become a regular trade. Romanian berths and anchorages have filled with bulk carriers, general cargo ships and river-sea vessels, many of them older. For owners and charterers, condition gauging between cargoes is a way of keeping track of steel that is working harder than before.
War-risk conditions in the north-western Black Sea also shape planning. The ship's agent and the owner's security arrangements decide what is practical at any given time, and we plan boarding and anchorage work within them.
Port state control and EU rules in Romania
Port state control in Romania is carried out by the Romanian Naval Authority, which works under the Paris MoU and the Black Sea MoU and also oversees navigation on the Romanian Danube. Older bulk carriers and tankers calling regularly at Constanța fall into the higher-risk profiles and are inspected more often and in more depth, so the condition of holds, ballast tanks and hatch coamings counts. For river-sea ships, a clear thickness record also helps when the ship is assessed for service on inland waterways.
Romanian waters are outside any emission control area, so the global 0.50% sulphur limit applies. As an EU member, Romania applies EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime to voyages calling at its ports, and the EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires an Inventory of Hazardous Materials on Romanian-flag ships and on foreign ships calling there. The Danube Delta is a protected area, so leaking piping or corroded tanks attract particular attention on ships heading upriver.
Ice, low water and winter weather
The Danube sets constraints the coast does not. In severe winters, ice on the river can slow or stop navigation, and in dry summers and autumns low water limits the draught ships can carry upriver. Both change sailing plans at short notice, so Danube jobs are planned with flexible dates. On the coast, winter gales and swell can stop launch work at the Constanța anchorage, while summer is the easiest season for boarding by launch, with heat inside tanks the main limit on enclosed-space work.
Planning a gauging job in Romania from India
Romania joined the Schengen area fully on 1 January 2025, so the team travels on Schengen visas arranged for each job. Tell us the ship, her class, the purpose of the gauging and where she will be: a Constanța berth or anchorage, a yard at Constanța or Mangalia, the refinery berths at Midia, or a Danube port. For Danube calls, include the expected passage through the Sulina channel, because the time on the river affects when the team should arrive.
Boarding goes through the ship's agent and the ISPS arrangements of each port, and in the yards the yard's permit system applies as well. Preliminary readings can be sent daily, so the superintendent can open the docking discussion before the final report is issued.
Port pages in Romania
There are 5 Romania port pages: Constanța, Mangalia, Galați, Tulcea, Brăila. 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.
Governing codes and standards
- Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control
- Black Sea Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control
- IACS UR Z10 series: hull surveys and thickness measurement requirements
- 2011 ESP Code (SOLAS chapter XI-1, regulation 2)
- MARPOL Annex VI, regulation 14: the global 0.50% sulphur limit in the Black Sea
- EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU) No 1257/2013: Inventory of Hazardous Materials
What you receive
- Thickness measurement report to the ship's TM plan: as-built, measured and diminution at every point
- Hold, hopper and tank-top gauging records for grain and ore carriers
- Afloat gauging report for Danube calls, with the bottom programme handed on to the docking yard
- Steel renewal estimate for a docking at Constanța or Mangalia
- Deck piping and ballast tank records for tankers at Midia
Industries served
- Bulk carriers
- River-sea ships
- General cargo and multipurpose ships
- Crude and product tankers
- Container ships
- Ship owners, managers and charterers
- Repair yards
Frequently asked questions
Which Romanian ports do you cover for ship thickness measurement?
Constanța with Midia at Năvodari, Mangalia on the south coast, and the Danube ports of Galați, Brăila and Tulcea. Each port page describes the ships that call, the berths, yards and anchorages where gauging happens and the jobs we see there, and one mobilisation can often cover a coastal port and a Danube port.
Can you gauge a ship during a grain call at Constanța?
Yes, and the turnaround between discharge and loading is often the best window. With the holds swept and the hatch covers open, the team gauges frames, brackets, hopper plating, tank tops and coamings; ballast tanks are added if the crew can empty and ventilate them. The scope is agreed with the master and the agent so that it fits the cargo programme.
Can a ship be gauged on the Danube at Galați or Brăila?
Yes, afloat at the berth or a lay-by. We gauge holds, tanks, decks and piping, and readings on the shell are taken from inside where the structure allows. Bottom plating needs a drydock, which normally means a yard on the coast, so a Danube job often becomes the first half of a programme finished at Constanța, Mangalia or another Black Sea yard.
Does river ice or low water affect Danube jobs?
It can. Ice in a severe winter and low water in a dry summer or autumn both change ships' schedules on the Danube, sometimes at short notice. We plan Danube jobs with flexible dates, stay in touch with the agent about the ship's progress through the Sulina channel, and move the team's arrival if the ship is delayed.
How much notice do you need for a job in Romania?
As much as you can give. Schengen visas for the team, who travel from India, are arranged for each job, and their lead time sets the earliest start. Share the arrival, docking or loading date as soon as you know it, and we adapt the mobilisation if the ship's schedule moves.
Planning a survey or a drydock?
Send the vessel name or IMO number, the class, the survey due and the port. We reply with the scope, the mobilisation plan and a quote for that vessel.
Request a QuoteRequest a ship gauging quote
Send the vessel name or IMO number, the class society, the survey due and the port. We reply with the scope, the mobilisation plan and a quote for that vessel.
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