Hull and Tank Thickness Measurement in Toulon

Inspection services for ships at Toulon

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

Where ships can be gauged around Toulon

On the civilian side, gauging takes place alongside at the ferry berths, the cruise quays and the cargo berths at Brégaillon, with passes arranged by the ship's agent through the port gate. Ferries and cruise ships offer short windows during turnarounds, limited to spaces that can be released, such as vehicle decks, ramps, accessible tanks and machinery-space tanks. Cargo ships at Brégaillon offer longer berth stays, which suit ballast tank and deck gauging.

Toulon's civilian ship-repair sector uses repair berths and docks in the commercial harbour that have worked on ferries, tugs and mid-sized merchant ships. Their availability and size should be confirmed with the port and the yard before it is used in a plan. Large yachts and refit projects often go to La Ciotat, a short distance east along the coast, and larger merchant ships may dock at Marseille. The military dockyard and the naval berths are not open for commercial gauging, and we do not plan any work there.

• Ferry terminal berths, for vehicle deck, ramp and ballast tank gauging on Corsica ro-pax ships during turnarounds.
• Cruise quays along the city front, for tank, deck and piping gauging during calls and winter lay-up.
• Brégaillon cargo and ro-ro berths, for ballast tank and deck gauging on general cargo and ro-ro ships.
• Civilian repair berths and docks in the commercial harbour, for ferries, tugs and mid-sized ships subject to availability.
• Anchorage in the Petite Rade or the bay, for launch-served work in calm weather.
• Nearby La Ciotat yard, for larger refits and yacht projects that need a long dry docking.

Port state control and the Mediterranean rules at Toulon

France carries out port state control under the Paris MoU, through the ship safety centres of the maritime administration, and foreign ferries, cargo ships and cruise ships at Toulon are eligible for inspection. The ferry fleet on international routes and ageing cargo ships fit the targeting profile. Recent gauging records on the hull, tanks and decks help the master show an inspector the condition of the steel.

Since the Mediterranean became a SOx emission control area, scrubber-fitted ships have worked to the ECA standard on every crossing, so wash-water supply, discharge and overboard piping sit high on the maintenance list. The EU Ship Recycling Regulation, EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime apply to Toulon calls as at other EU ports. For cruise ships and ferries, the key drivers are class surveys and the operator's own planned maintenance, and the harbour's military neighbourhood means that security rules and access restrictions are strictly enforced for every commercial visit.

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

Most of the work on a Toulon job happens before the team boards: scope, plan and access are settled first, so the time on board goes on measurement.

Toulon-Hyères airport is the closest, with Marseille Provence and Nice as larger international alternatives and a road transfer from either. The ship's agent arranges the passes for the commercial berths and the ISPS procedures that apply in a harbour shared with a naval base. France is in the Schengen area, so every technician needs a Schengen visa from India before departure, and the visa sets the earliest date. Early notice of the ferry or berth schedule helps us fit the travel plan around the ship.

• 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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