Ultrasonic Thickness Gauging for Ships at Ventspils

Inspection services for ships at Ventspils

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

Gauging locations at Ventspils

On tankers at the liquid bulk berths, the team works within the ship's permit-to-work system and the terminal's rules. Deck plating, deck longitudinals where exposed, the outside of the cargo and ballast lines, and the pump-room pipework can all be measured during cargo operations. Cargo tank internals need gas-free certification, which normally means either dedicated gas-free days alongside, agreed with the charterer, or leaving that part of the scope for the yard. On bulk carriers, each hold is measured in the gap between discharge and loading, and hopper and topside tanks through their manholes after ventilation and an entry permit from the ship.

The ro-pax berth works on the ferry timetable, with gauging fitted into turnarounds and lay-bys and planned so that each visit finishes a complete area. For ships at the Ventspils roads, the agent books a launch; the open coast means weather decides on the day. Ships that will go to a Baltic yard after leaving Ventspils gain from pre-docking gauging during their port stay, which gives the yard measured renewal quantities and lets the owner fix dock days with confidence. For owners new to UTM in Latvia, the practical point is that every location here is reached through the agent.

• Liquid bulk terminals — product tankers; pump rooms, deck plate and the cargo and ballast line runs measured while loading, under the ship's permits
• Dry bulk and general cargo berths — bulk carriers and multipurpose ships; holds, hopper sides and hatch coamings measured between loading stages
• Ro-pax berth — Nynäshamn ferries; staged gauging of vehicle decks, ramps and tanks during turnaround or lay-by
• Ventspils roads anchorage — tankers and bulk carriers waiting to berth; launch transfer arranged through the ship's agent for deck and tank gauging

Regulation and trade context at Ventspils

Port state control at Ventspils follows the Paris MoU, whose risk-based targeting gives older tankers and bulk carriers more frequent inspections, so structural condition and the gauging record behind it carry real commercial weight. The Baltic SECA's 0.10% sulphur cap governs every ship off the Kurzeme coast, and tankers and bulk carriers fitted with exhaust gas scrubbers need their wash-water and discharge piping measured as part of maintenance. Voyages to and from Ventspils have counted under the EU ETS since shipping was added in 2024 and under FuelEU Maritime since 2025, and both feed into the decision on whether to renew steel on an ageing tanker or sell her.

For tankers the IACS ESP rules apply, with Z10.1 and Z10.4 covering single- and double-hull oil tankers respectively and Z10.3 the chemical carriers; gauging of cargo and ballast tanks increases at each renewal survey and becomes extensive from the third. CAP is a voluntary class service, but charterers and oil-major vetting departments commonly want it once a tanker passes about fifteen years. CAP thickness measurement is extensive and needs gas-free tanks and good access, so at Ventspils it is often split between deck work in port and tank work at a yard.

Ships trading to Ventspils are inside a sulphur emission control area, where fuel must not exceed 0.10% sulphur unless an exhaust gas cleaning system (scrubber) is fitted. Scrubber wash-water piping, the overboard discharge and the hull penetration around it are among the fastest-corroding parts of a modern ship, so they belong in the gauging scope at every docking and, on open-loop systems, between dockings.

How a thickness measurement job runs at Ventspils

A gauging job at Ventspils 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 Riga International Airport and continues to Ventspils by road along the Kurzeme coast. Gate passes for the Freeport of Ventspils terminals, and a launch for ships at the roads, come through the ship's agent. Latvia applies Schengen visa rules, so our technicians travelling from India need a visa in hand before departure; give us the loading window or docking date at the earliest opportunity, so that the consular process and the ship's schedule can be matched.

• 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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