Keeping and maintaining a transport ship is not the task of a small business owner but only a business tycoon can manage to keep his transport ship on the go. There is a lot of maintenance work going on the ship every month and to top it all, the rust that takes place on the ship makes the task even more difficult. The most affected parts due to rust of a transport ship are the hatch covers which get damaged because of the constant use and the harsh treatment it gets when the goods are being loaded and unloaded. And ignoring the leaks in it are even a greater mistake because if the water gets inside through them, the goods in the cargo holds get damaged and the loss is greater than the company can afford to pay at some times. Hence there is no compromise on the Hatch cover maintenance and watertight integrity testing.

There are two ways of running the hatch cover maintenance and watertight integrity testing nowadays. One is the modern method consisting of the ultrasonic leak detector and the other one is the old method by using the water hose. The water hose method is undoubtedly the oldest method and today it is not encouraged to practice it anymore but some ship owners are still adamant on using it. It is a painstaking procedure and causes more harm to the ship which is already suffering from rust. When the ship is doused with water, nay part of it which is left free of rust gets a complete chance to catch rust. And most of the time, new rust gets formed where water reaches intentionally or unintentionally.

It is not just the hatch covers of a ship that needs to be tested for leaks and holes. In order to keep a ship completely watertight and leak free, every moving part of the ship must be tested. The moving parts of a ship are the most vulnerable parts to catch rust. Hence the compartment doors cannot be ignored and it is important to conduct the watertight compartment doors testing. The testing provides a chance to learn about the unexpected holes and leaks in the doors which are actually designed to completely crate a vacuum when closed. As the doors develop leaks, the vacuum fails to be created and this means that the doors need to be repaired.