Tightness testing of transport ship’s hatch covers is a serious task in the maritime industry. A lot depends upon the health of the hatch covers because they are the ones that will help in protecting the goods on board during the voyage. While a ship sails for the long distance carrying tons of goods in its cargo holds, it is bound to encounter at least one rain or a sea storm. The huge amount of water that falls on the ship has a great potential to sink the ship or damage the goods inside. The gods that are being transported are the property of other people and it is the duty of the shipping company to make sure that the goods are delivered to their respective owners without damage.

Damaged goods due to water are worthless, they are worth trash and the sender can face a huge loss. For the protection of their goods, the senders mention the price of their goods being shipped and sign an insurance form. They have to pay extra for the insurance which is non refundable but would pay the amount of their goods if they are damaged during the voyage. The hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing allows the ship’s staff to learn about the condition of the hatch covers. It is a fool proof testing procedure where the staff can learn about the presence of holes in the covers and the ship’s body also. In case there are holes that would let water to flow in, they would be highlighted by the testing and they can be repaired.

The repairing procedure depends upon the build of the ship. Some ships have the mechanism of the hatch covers on the top, or in the open, while some ships have them concealed. The repair works can take time according to the build and model of the ship. If the matter is worse and the holes have multiplied, it would be very risky to sail with them. The goods would be destroyed for sure and the amount of damages would enough to turn a profitable voyage into a huge loss. Checking the tightness of hatch with ultrasound takes very little time and it should not be ignored even if the ship has just returned from repairs. Timely action would keep the ship in a profitable position and the voyages would be worth the money put at risk.