This contribution introduces the inspection and survey of ships looking at this intricate topic from several different viewpoints. Numerous stakeholders play various roles in the shipping industry, ranging from ship and cargo owners to insurance companies, from society at large represented by maritime administrations to regulatory and inspection bodies, etc. As shipping is intrinsically an international and strategic business, its regulations and standards, as well as the relevant inspection activities have long been the subject of international agreement. Indeed, due to the large number of actors on the scene, the inspection and survey regime of ships is not easy to unravel. Though many books and documents present the matter from the viewpoint of one of the stakeholders, very few give an overall presentation of this subject in a rational way. Some bibliographical references are provided at the end of this chapter, together with some brief explanations for further elucidation. In the following, the ship inspection or survey is treated as an event occurring at various times within a ship�s life. As such, the discussion starts by identifying who requires, and who carries out inspections and surveys. This is done in some detail, thus introducing the main regulatory instruments (rules and conventions) applicable to ships and the various inspection and survey bodies which verify their application. A brief summary is given of the frequency of inspections and surveys, operational and environmental conditions during inspections and the location on ships and of items to be inspected or surveyed. A more comprehensive description of items to be inspected or surveyed and relevant degradation modes and/or expected defects follows, with particular reference to structural deterioration. State of the art of inspection and survey methods and techniques are reviewed: the focus is not on non-destructive testing (NDT) or test techniques, rather on the onboard practices covering safety measures, accessibility and scope and extension of inspections and surveys. Although NDT techniques are applied, the survey practice and management is the dominant factor, crucial for the success of the survey or inspection. The conclusion of this chapter deals with the Inspection Matrix: such a matrix is a proposal to establish a rational tool for the judgment of the ship inspection and survey regime, identifying areas that may be subject to possible over-inspection and areas possibly requiring further strengthening of the inspection and survey regime. The terms 'inspection' and 'survey' are often incorrectly used as synonyms. Within the marine environment they carry quite different definitions. An inspection is a verification that a specific item, whether a piece of structure or item of equipment, meets a specific regulatory or other standard at the time that it is inspected. For example, a flag State inspector will verify that a fire extinguisher certificate is current and has not expired at the time that it is visually inspected. At a scheduled inspection, all fire extinguishers on the ship will be checked to verify compliance in this manner. A survey is carried out by a classification society surveyor. It is a risk-based approach to assessing the overall compliance of a vessel�s structure and machinery with the applicable Rules of that society by sampling based on empirical experience. Such sampling allows the surveyor to use his professional judgment to determine if the vessel will continue to remain in compliance with the relevant Rule requirement for the period until the next scheduled survey. The sampling approach is necessary because of the size and complexity of modern ships. For example, a large tanker will have many kilometers of welds within its hull structure. It is not practical to visually inspect every centimeter of those welds on a periodic basis. However, experience will indicate that certain areas of the ship are subject to higher stress or greater corrosion and so the survey will focus on those areas. A further term 'audit'' should also be introduced as certain regulatory requirements are subject to periodic audit. These are principally the ISM and ISPS Codes. These are management systems. Verification of compliance is carried out through an audit of the system by a trained auditor. In many instances the classification society surveyor will attend a ship in multiple roles: he may conduct a periodic class survey; he may then act as a flag State inspector to conduct a regulatory inspection; and, if appropriately trained, he may then act as an auditor to verify continued compliance with the statutorily mandated ISM and ISPS Codes.

Life cycle of ships and offshore structures - Inspection and survey of ship structures: an introduction

RIZZO, CESARE MARIO
2011-01-01

Abstract

This contribution introduces the inspection and survey of ships looking at this intricate topic from several different viewpoints. Numerous stakeholders play various roles in the shipping industry, ranging from ship and cargo owners to insurance companies, from society at large represented by maritime administrations to regulatory and inspection bodies, etc. As shipping is intrinsically an international and strategic business, its regulations and standards, as well as the relevant inspection activities have long been the subject of international agreement. Indeed, due to the large number of actors on the scene, the inspection and survey regime of ships is not easy to unravel. Though many books and documents present the matter from the viewpoint of one of the stakeholders, very few give an overall presentation of this subject in a rational way. Some bibliographical references are provided at the end of this chapter, together with some brief explanations for further elucidation. In the following, the ship inspection or survey is treated as an event occurring at various times within a ship�s life. As such, the discussion starts by identifying who requires, and who carries out inspections and surveys. This is done in some detail, thus introducing the main regulatory instruments (rules and conventions) applicable to ships and the various inspection and survey bodies which verify their application. A brief summary is given of the frequency of inspections and surveys, operational and environmental conditions during inspections and the location on ships and of items to be inspected or surveyed. A more comprehensive description of items to be inspected or surveyed and relevant degradation modes and/or expected defects follows, with particular reference to structural deterioration. State of the art of inspection and survey methods and techniques are reviewed: the focus is not on non-destructive testing (NDT) or test techniques, rather on the onboard practices covering safety measures, accessibility and scope and extension of inspections and surveys. Although NDT techniques are applied, the survey practice and management is the dominant factor, crucial for the success of the survey or inspection. The conclusion of this chapter deals with the Inspection Matrix: such a matrix is a proposal to establish a rational tool for the judgment of the ship inspection and survey regime, identifying areas that may be subject to possible over-inspection and areas possibly requiring further strengthening of the inspection and survey regime. The terms 'inspection' and 'survey' are often incorrectly used as synonyms. Within the marine environment they carry quite different definitions. An inspection is a verification that a specific item, whether a piece of structure or item of equipment, meets a specific regulatory or other standard at the time that it is inspected. For example, a flag State inspector will verify that a fire extinguisher certificate is current and has not expired at the time that it is visually inspected. At a scheduled inspection, all fire extinguishers on the ship will be checked to verify compliance in this manner. A survey is carried out by a classification society surveyor. It is a risk-based approach to assessing the overall compliance of a vessel�s structure and machinery with the applicable Rules of that society by sampling based on empirical experience. Such sampling allows the surveyor to use his professional judgment to determine if the vessel will continue to remain in compliance with the relevant Rule requirement for the period until the next scheduled survey. The sampling approach is necessary because of the size and complexity of modern ships. For example, a large tanker will have many kilometers of welds within its hull structure. It is not practical to visually inspect every centimeter of those welds on a periodic basis. However, experience will indicate that certain areas of the ship are subject to higher stress or greater corrosion and so the survey will focus on those areas. A further term 'audit'' should also be introduced as certain regulatory requirements are subject to periodic audit. These are principally the ISM and ISPS Codes. These are management systems. Verification of compliance is carried out through an audit of the system by a trained auditor. In many instances the classification society surveyor will attend a ship in multiple roles: he may conduct a periodic class survey; he may then act as a flag State inspector to conduct a regulatory inspection; and, if appropriately trained, he may then act as an auditor to verify continued compliance with the statutorily mandated ISM and ISPS Codes.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11567/235433
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