Cracks, corrosion, and other elements of structural integrity are main areas of attention for tanker owners.
Lack of satisfactory hull integrity may have basic negative consequences, such as oil ingress in ballast tanks, pollution of the sea, port state detentions, fines, unscheduled (and expensive) ship repairs, and in worst case major accidents due to structural failure. This is also the reason why hull integrity receives such strong attention from charterers in connection with vetting. Excellent control of hull integrity is a hallmark of quality shipping.
DNV actively support owners in improving their hull integrity efforts. We focus on some important elements where DNV’s accumulated knowledge from classification of ship structures is shared with ship operators. These include key elements such as:
Owners’ general structural understanding/competence (Hull Structure Course)
Tank inspection systematics, reporting and acceptance criteria (Tank Inspection Course)
Establishing ship-specific hull inspection programmes and information (Hull Inspection Manual)
Tool for systematic and consistent recording of inspections and results, evaluation of results, easy retrieval of reports and structural condition. (Nauticus Life Cycle Manager)
DNV has the past five years been heavily involved in assisting owners in establishing good systems for planned inspection and maintenance schemes based on elements 1–4 above. In this way we are able to effectively share our hull knowledge and experience with on board personnel, superintendents and other personnel involved.
The four elements above are described in more detail below.
Date: 2007-10-09