Whenever we think about sending the goods through a ship, the uncertainty of its safety causes us to think many times before finally agreeing to take the hard step because all other modes are really expensive. The uncertainty about the safety of the goods during marine transportation is a result of the shipping companies that never paid attention to their hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing. Due to this fact a lot of ships are sailing with leaking hatch covers that ultimately let water flow inside the cargo holds and the damage occurs to the goods massively.

Cargo hatch covers are a very sensitive part of the ship. Without proper hatch covers the ship is as good as an open land. The highly humid air of the oceans can severely damage everything when exposed for a long time. It is a normal thing for a ship to encounter sea rain during the voyage. In case it encounters a sea storm, the ship can be rocked violently and if the goods are not perfectly stacked in the cargo holds, they can fall on each other and break also. Handling the goods during transportation is a serious issue which most of the shipping companies fail at terribly.

The hatch covers are required to be leak proof and water tight to provide a good protection to the insides. No matter how rough the weather can be on the outside, if the hatch covers are tight enough to create a vacuum, not a single drop of water would be able to find its way inside the cargo holds. The goods that are being carried must be delivered safely; otherwise they would be filed for claims which the shipping company would have to pay for.

"I sent a consignment of baby apparel which was destroyed during the shipping. The client on the other end refused to pay for the wet clothes which lost their colors due to the salty water that covered it for days. It ruined my reputation and destroyed my business”. These were the comments of an angry businessman who was filing a case against the damages that happened on board the ship during voyage. Ultimately the fault was proven to be at the end of the company and they had to pay the entire amount of consignment to the businessman. Had they paid attention towards checking tightness of hatch with ultrasound the matter would never have existed, but it not only affected the reputation of the shipping company, it also ruined the customer’s business.