Sometimes the transportation industry can face gloomy days and this happens when a transport ship faces a huge disaster. Some may say that fate brought the calamity over it but actually it is the negligence of Hatch cover maintenance and watertight integrity testing which causes the disaster. Transport ships are a creation of man and they need to be cared for to remain in use and be free from all problems. The hatch covers are probably the most roughly used ship’s parts and as the goods are loaded and unloaded in them, they face the most terrible torture of all parts. The heavy chains from the cranes which are used to load and unload the goods scrape the covers and many a times the bulky goods collide with them punishing them with severe blows.

The old method
Since the transport ships are on a very busy schedule it becomes impossible to have them checked with ease. The oldest method to check the tightness of hatch covers is with the hose pipe thrusting water at the joints with full speed. In the olden days when there were no water pumps they used pails of water and it required a lot of time because a ship is not as small as a car and it needed a horde of people to completely douse the ship with water. As the water pumps were invented it eased the process and not as many people were needed for the task but still a wet transport ship is unfit to be sailed. Hence the process is very time taking and requires a lot of efforts to be put in. Until the ship is completely dried it cannot be put to work and it can be the greatest cause of missing the deadlines.

Replacement of the old method
Today this painstaking task has been replaced by the ultrasonic hatch cover tester which allows not only the hatch covers to be tested but also makes it possible to run the watertight compartment doors testing. Using the device there is no need of water and it can be easily done while the cargo holds are completely filled. The test can be even conducted while the ship is sailing hence this gadget has eliminated the risk of losing a deadline while the test is being conducted. However the repairing is another process and may require the ship to be completely be emptied of all goods.