As a container ship operator, you face the challenges of conflict between hull maintenance and operational constraints all the time.
It is difficult to closely monitor the structural condition of the vessel in a harsh operating environment. Access to certain areas where several tiers of containers are stacked in order to inspect them is a “mission impossible”. One solution to this is to have a simple visualized hull and coating planned inspection system, so that ship officers with proper training can carry out effective inspection when possible.
Meanwhile, modern container operators tend to plan and execute hull and coating inspections and collect the data involved in a more unified, systematic way, so that the company can store and analyse the data to gain a business advantage.
DNV’s hull integrity management (HIM) service provides container ship operators with a practical way of keep their ship’s hull fit for purpose through continuous control of the hull condition, thereby creating business advantages and reducing maintenance costs.
HIM consists of four service elements:
Hull Competence courses, focusing on basic strength, structural defects and hull inspections, for ship officers and superintendents
Hull Inspection Manuals, ship-specific and with unique 3D illustrations which identify what to look for during inspections, where to look and how to report it
Nauticus Hull Integrity, easy-to-use software for planned inspection and maintenance and with unique 3D technology
Hull Advisory Services, detailed assistance from DNV in connection with hull-related issues.
The four service elements may be used one by one, combined step-wise or form part of a holistic approach to hull maintenance. All the services are based on DNV’s extensive hull expertise but are not a class requirement, and therefore apply to vessels classed by any class society. The new, easy-to-use software incorporates DNV’s unique 3D technology.
The business benefits of using Hull Integrity Management are as follows:
The risk of structural failure is reduced and safety and structural integrity are improved.
Defects may be identified at an early stage, allowing ample time to plan and execute repair and preventative action, thus enabling accurate cost budgeting and avoiding high repair-supervision costs.
The hull structure and critical area and acceptance criteria can be visualised, so that less experienced personnel can conduct a high quality inspection.
Data can be transferred instantly and in a high quality fashion, allowing quick decision making.
The easy-to-use system can collect and store hull inspection data centrally so that analyses such as benchmarking can be easily conducted.
The loss of data due to personnel changes is avoided.
It is quick and easy to prepare a general status report, inspection plan, repair list, dock plan, etc, thus reducing the burden on superintendents and technical managers.
Owners can demonstrate to clients that their vessels are maintained to a superior standard.
APL is the first company to implement DNV’s Hull Integrity Management for its container ship fleet. Alam Khorshed, Director of Engineering Research and Energy Management Technical Services, says: “We are working closely with DNV on monitoring hull inspection and hull integrity issues. The data we monitor are gathered in order to understand the pattern and rate of deterioration of coatings, structural wastage including the rudder, equipment wear and tear, etc. A comprehensive checklist and trend graph have been formulated and are assessed annually so that we are able to initiate new schemes to gain a business advantage.”
Richard Tao, Det Norske Veritas, Norway