UST Programme For Hatch Cover Weather tightness

Leaking hatch covers for many years have been the for cargo damage onboard dry cargo vessels and even today claims for wet damage remain one of the biggest concerns for ship owners, cargo interests and their insurers. According to various articles published approximately a third of all P&I claims are cargo-related of which numerous of these cases are related to ingress of seawater – even small amounts of water may do extensive damage to cargoes sensitive to seawater, e.g. steel, paper cargoes, grain etc.” said the founder and principal marine surveyor Kaivan Chinoy of AVA Marine Group.

According to P&I clubs, reports of leaking hatch covers are the most frequent cause for selecting a vessel for an unscheduled condition survey. Ultrasonic testing of hatch covers is here to stay and will continue to grow in use. Ship owners / charterers should welcome its use as a valuable aid to loss prevention, which can also provide a cost-effective solution to solving the perennial problems of hatch cover tightness confirmation.

AVA Marine Group – a global marine surveying organization head quartered in Vancouver, Canada provides a comprehensive range of specialist marine surveying & consultancy services is pleased to announce expansion of its Ultrasonic Hatch Cover testing services throughout Canada and the Unites States. In the past Ultrasonic Hatch Cover testing was provided as an ‘all-inclusive’ service as a part of P&I Vessel Condition Survey. However, due to demand for such service from various cargo interests AVA Marine is now able to provide:

• Ultrasonic Hatch Cover testing as a ‘standalone’ service for cargo interests including the P&I Clubs if required.
• We will continue to provide this service as an ‘allinclusive’ to P&I Clubs when carrying out Vessel Condition Surveys for Member vessels – at no additional cost.

Our Ultrasonic Hatch Cover Testing Program is one of a kind comprehensive service that is not only limited to UST but also includes full condition survey of all hatch covers from visual inspection of rubber seal compression, replacement of defective rubber seals, panel alignment, condition of cleats, cross-joint wedges, corrosion in drain channels, cracks in coaming brackets, functioning of drain valves; hold vents, hatch access, booby hatches etc. to reviewing past cargo claims due to water ingress, identifying defects, providing recommendations and if required to do a re-test (this is also a cost effective solution for Members and Clubs as it saves considerable time and money as the need to send another surveyor at a different port for the re-inspection is eliminated).