TIGHTNESS TEST OF HATCH COVERS

The average cost of wet damage on bulk carriers is, according to the Swedish Club, USD 110.000.

Untight hatches often result in damaged goods with large claims. According to leading P&I clubs, non-weathertight hatch covers are the main cause of wet cargo damage.

There can be many reasons for untight hatches and a well performed hatch cover tightness test can pinpoint the problematic areas.

A professional and well documented hatch cover tightness test can also help and assist protecting your liability for claims made towards the vessel and its covers. Often, when steel products are transported, the shipper will also insist on a professionally performed tightness test.

At Nordic Maritime Solutions, we perform hatch cover tests with advanced ultra sonic equipment (UST), which is recommended by P&I insurers and shippers, and generally is regarded as industry best practice as it provides measurable and reliable results.

With our team of thoroughly vetted and trained inspectors, we are able to deploy a highly skilled inspector for any vessel type to any location and on very short notice.

Each time we carry out an inspection, we apply our “road-to-success” criteria, ensuring that we maintain strict focus on your needs and expectations:

• We provide a single point of contact, 24-7-365, with a back office on standby, ready to assist with any requirements or operational matters that may arise.

• We rigorously vet and train our inspectors.

• Any inspector deployed on a vessel will always carry out the inspection in accordance with the agreed scope. We always ensure our inspectors are properly briefed about any possible additional requirements.

• We work with all parties to get the vessel ready for operation as fast as possible.

Each year, we carry out several hundred inspections and we are prepared for any eventuality. We are on standby – ready to assist with any practical issues or questions that may arise.