It is not a surprise to know that the shipping industry is one of the biggest industries on this planet. Carrying tones of weight from one continent to another, these huge ships are no longer a set of planks joined together, but they are the most advanced machinery present on this planet. The unfortunate fate that this industry faces is the only reason why it is being termed as risky and this factor is none other than the deadly rust. The unwelcome rust appears on the ship’s hatch covers and the different parts of its body due to the high level of humidity and the constant contact with water.

Rust eats away the ship’s body leaving behind a clear hole that allows the water to find its way inside the ship. Once water gets inside the ship’s body there is no limit to the damage it can inflict on the goods it is carrying. These holes are unavoidable, but they are repairable through a process and the first step in this process is the hatch cover maintenance and watertight integrity testing. The importance of these tests is undeniable and without running these tests the process of making the ship leak free cannot commence. Unless the location of the leaks is known there is no way anyone can start repairing them or refilling them.

Even in the older days the ships either transport or any other kind suffered from the leaks appearing in them without any notice. At that time the method to test the integrity and to find the holes in the ship’s body was a slow and expensive process. A large team was required which would keep dousing the ship’s deck and the hatch covers with pails of water and then stand back and monitor where the small whirlpools would appear. No doubt, this process caused even more harm to the ship because more water entered it and caused additional damage. After some time the process became mechanical by using the motors and pumps for water, but still the painful process was not satisfactory.

Today by using the ultrasonic hatch cover tester the holes and leaks are easily found out and the ship does not have to suffer any more pain by taking more water inside it. With the help of the ultrasonic device even the cable transit areas watertight testing has become possible and the ship can remain safe from the short circuit which is another problem faced by the ship owners due to the leaks. Clearly a transport ship does not have enough time to spend on the laborious tests and then the cleaning process afterwards. It is important to keep the processes as short and trustworthy as possible to keep the ship maintained and leak free.