Thickness Gauging and Hull Inspection for Ships in Thessaloniki

Inspection services for ships at Thessaloniki

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

Where gauging is done in and around Thessaloniki

Inside the port, gauging takes place at the bulk and general cargo piers and at the container terminal, always within ThPA's ISPS and safety rules and coordinated through the ship's agent. Bulk and multipurpose ships are the most practical: holds can be measured as they are cleared, and hatch covers and coamings are reachable whenever covers are open. On container ships the work usually concentrates on ballast tanks, deck structure and piping, including scrubber systems, because terminal stays are shorter and cargo spaces are rarely empty.

Outside the port, tankers serving the refinery berths and ships at anchor in the Thermaic Gulf are reached by launch. Northern Greece has no ship-repair cluster on the scale of Perama or Elefsina, so ships needing major steel renewal usually dock elsewhere. Gauging in Thessaloniki is therefore most valuable as preparation, giving the owner a measured steel estimate before the ship sails for its yard and letting the superintendent compare yard offers on the same set of readings. For anyone arranging ship inspection in northern Greece, that preparatory role is the realistic one, and the scope is best planned with the docking yard's needs in mind.

• Bulk and general cargo piers — hold, hatch cover, coaming and frame gauging on bulk carriers and multipurpose ships as cargo operations free each hold
• Container terminal — ballast tank, deck and scrubber piping checks on feeders and regional container ships during terminal stays
• Refinery and fuel terminals west of the city — deck, deck piping and ballast tank gauging on product tankers within terminal permit rules
• Thermaic Gulf anchorage — pre-docking, pre-purchase and condition gauging on ships waiting for berths or orders, reached by launch
• Project cargo berths — tank top, hold and lashing-area gauging on multipurpose and heavy-lift ships between cargo operations

Rules and trade context for Thessaloniki

As an EU port, Thessaloniki falls under the Paris MoU, with inspections carried out by the Hellenic Coast Guard, and EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime apply to voyages to and from it. The Mediterranean emission control area, in force since 1 May 2025, covers the Aegean, so ships calling here must burn 0.10% sulphur fuel or use a scrubber. On container feeders and bulk carriers fitted with open-loop scrubbers, the wash-water discharge and overboard sections deserve checking, because pitting through to leakage there is a known failure that leads to unplanned repairs and, if found at sea, to an awkward call with the flag.

Thessaloniki's trades also differ from those of southern Greece. The landlocked Balkan states rely on the port, and the Black Sea is a short voyage away through the Turkish Straits, so many ships calling here also work Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean ports with frequent cargo changes. Owners of such ships often have no superintendent attending, so the gauging plan and the report need to be clear enough to act on remotely: readings tied to frame numbers, photographs of the worst areas, and a short summary of what needs attention before the next survey.

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

A gauging job at Thessaloniki 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 Thessaloniki Airport Makedonia, usually connecting through Athens or another European hub, and reaches the port by road. Port entry under ISPS is arranged through the ship's agent, who also books launches for ships at anchor in the Thermaic Gulf; we send crew lists, technician certificates and equipment lists in advance. Greece is a Schengen state, so technicians travel on Schengen visas obtained in India. Because cargo calls can be fixed at short notice, it helps to tell us about likely Thessaloniki calls early, so a visa is already in hand when the berth date firms up.

• 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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