Leaking ships are a potential threat of sinking and causing monetary and human lives loss. The history is filled with incidents where a small leak caused the tragedy of a lifetime. A ship needs to be completely waterproof in order to stay on the surface. Minor leaks can sometimes turn to be the most disastrous for the huge ships. The most apparent reason for building up of holes in the body is when the paint has chipped off. The paint provides protection to the steel beneath against corrosion. As soon as water or the humid air of the oceans touches the raw steel body of the ship, it starts corroding.

Corrosion to the steel is just like cancer inside a human being. Once it starts, there little chances of curing. It starts spreading like wildfire and everywhere it finds steel, it starts eating it away. Most of the times the holes appear in the most unexpected places, especially around, on and beneath the hatch covers. Since the hatch covers are lids to the cargo holds, they are easily damaged by the heavy chains that are used to lift or lower the heavy cargo in it. Bumping and scratching peels off the protective paint and reveals the steel beneath.

These scratches and peels are so minute that the human eye often ignores them. The initial chipping of the paint does not cause matters of concern, but as time passes and the corrosion starts, then the problems get worse. To bring out such problems in the ships, the crew is now advised to do the hatch cover ultrasonic tightness testing. With the help of the ultrasonic device it gets easier for the crew to find the small holes that are hidden from a human’s eyesight. The intensity or the size of the hole is also measured automatically by the device. It can alert the crew if they need to apply the repairs immediately or they can complete one voyage and then think about repairs.

Since it is a modern day device with unchangeable accuracy, the ships that have bought the device and use it regularly have less complains of leaks. Others who are still ignorant of the looming threat often face the consequences when the goods are destroyed by water. Checking tightness of hatch with ultrasound is not a lengthy task and it can be completed within minutes or hours if the ship is extraordinarily large.