Airborne ultrasonic inspection of ships' hatches

摘要

The March meeting of the East Midlands Branch was held at Intertek NDT Services, Derby, and featured a presentation by Paul Fahy, from PMF Marine Ltd, entitled: 'Airborne ultrasonic inspection of ships'hatches'. With an audience of 27, Paul gave an overview of ships' hatches, which are the large sliding doors on the top of merchant freight ships that cover various cargo holds. These sliding doors need to provide a watertight seal for the 100 tonnes or so of water that can strike a ship under treacherous conditions at sea. The hatches are large and multiple hatches can cover up to 60% of the hull section. The hatches move along a series of runners with rubber seals, which can unfortunately leak and cause water ingress. This can result in ruined cargoes, capsizing and fires, which in turn result in large insurance claims and endanger lives.