Regularly inspecting your marine engines ensures they remain in good condition and operate at peak performance. In addition, regular inspections will help prevent issues from becoming major problems and save you money in the long run.
The Coast Guard could use more industry data on ships needing inspections and internal data on potential retirements to predict better its marine inspector needs.
Structural
Inspecting the structural integrity of your vessel is critical to ensuring safety. This may include the survey of the plating above and below the waterline, along with the condition of the decks, bilge pumps, fire protection equipment, and means of emergency escape.
Coating inspections are conducted to ensure the marine coatings on your ship are in good condition and that they are being applied correctly. This is important, as the highest overhead cost of operating a vessel is fuel, and ensuring your coatings are properly maintained helps you optimize your energy efficiency.
Governments conduct Port State Control (PSC) inspections to verify that foreign flag ships calling at their ports comply with international regulations. These inspections are often regionally coordinated to focus on the most substandard vessels and avoid multiple checks.
Electrical
Regular seawall inspections help prevent minor problems from escalating into major issues that can result in structural damage and collapse. These evaluations also allow property owners to address issues quickly, saving them money in the long run. When choosing a seawall inspection company, consider their experience and whether they are licensed and insured.
Maritime workers and sailors face various electrical safety risks, including arc flash hazards. These hazards are best identified using industrial-grade infrared cameras such as IRISS IR windows that meet OSHA, SOLAS, and NFPA standards for arc flash safety.
Congress has been concerned about the Coast Guard’s ability to maintain a sufficient staff of experienced marine safety personnel to ensure that vessels comply with federal safety requirements. The 2015 sinking of the U.S.-flag cargo ship El Faro, which resulted in the loss of 33 lives, refocused congressional attention on this issue. To address it, the Hamm Alert Maritime Safety Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-180) would require the Coast Guard to develop a system for collecting and tracking competency data on marine inspectors.
Mechanical
Marine engines are complex machines that must be inspected to ensure they’re operating at their optimal health. This includes checking the fuel, lubrication, cooling, and electrical components. Regular marine inspection services allow technicians to spot minor issues before they escalate into more severe problems.
Marine coatings protect ships, vessels, and structures from fresh, salt, or brackish water. Regular inspections allow technicians to determine the condition of these coatings and create a schedule for when touch-ups or re-coatings are needed.
Due to the hazardous nature of some cargoes, tankers, and gas carriers are often subject to Terminal Safety Inspections. A terminal safety manager conducts these inspections and checks the vessel’s ability to handle its cargo safely. These inspections can lead to a ship being rejected for berthing, deferred until its safety is improved, or even blocklisted. They are also crucial to port state control (PSC), an international body encouraging governments to inspect foreign ships entering their ports.
Hull
Whether it is plain common sense or required by law, periodically checking the condition of a vessel’s hull is imperative to ensure its seaworthiness. Underwater hull inspections keep ship crews safe and prevent ocean catastrophes caused by hidden damage.
It’s easy for a visual inspection to miss the extent of surface rusting, pitting, grooving, and patches that may indicate corrosion. This is why ultrasonic hull inspections are often used to supplement visual inspections. Ultrasonic inspections can confirm suspicions that there is a problem and proactively alert the ship owner to potential problems that might be overlooked by visual inspection.
To assess the overall grading of a ship, marine inspectors review documentation, conduct a board examination and observe and test crew skills and knowledge (e.g., fire-fighting). Depending on the nature of the inspection, security inspections for contraband items and safety inspections for the vessel’s cargo may also be conducted. The GAO report recommends that the Coast Guard continue to collect data on military and civilian marine inspection workforce competencies to understand staffing needs better.