Steel Repairs
The concept of steel repairs includes renewing large and small areas of the vessel plating, which has been damaged. This type of repair can be done on-site, performed below or above water, per vessel needs, with mobdocks which have been specially crafted for this type of operation. Thanks to these new technologies, drydocking is no longer needed. As such, the damaged vessel’s commercial activities can be resumed without the operations being disrupted.
The technician teams, which have been trained in diving, in case of below water level operations, can perform in-situ steel repairs on a global scale. There have been cases where the area which has been damaged has been taken out and replaced with an insert that is permanent. Despite this seemingly obtuse solution, the vessel suffers no class condition at all.
Steel repairs have been developed and delivered on the guarantee that the repairs are permanent. All classification societies fully approve of the methods used. In addition, the clients are happy to know that their fleet does not need to drydock in the event of damages. They are also happy to know that the fleet does not need to drydock in order to perform the repairs again on a later date. As such, steel repairs are considered an important factor, since they are cost- and time-efficient.
Importance of Steel Repairs
Service providers begin their steel repairs operation with the following. Firstly, they inspect the damaged area in order to determine the defect and its extent. Then they use cofferdams, which have been made to measure, and secure them on the outer side of the hull. These ascertains that water does not go in the vessel and that the environment during the repair will be dry.
Following that, the service providers crop the defective plating or remove the crack, depending on the damage type. Then, they fit the insert and tack it into place. Following the aforementioned procedure, the service providers then conduct a fully penetrative welding from the inside of the formerly damaged area of the ship. Then, they renew the frame as required. Finally, the providers conduct an independent ultrasonic test, whose purpose is the verification of the welding. The providers will then remove the cofferdam. Every part of the operation is inspected by class before moving on to the next one.
As such, the steel repair is an economical and swift operation, which can be performed when and where the client wishes, without disrupting the damaged vessel’s operation in any major way. In addition, due to the inspections carried out by class, all classification societies approve of such methods of steel repairs.
In case of damage having such an extent that repairs are not allowed, doubler plates are temporarily installed on the area affected. The owners, therefore, can continue operations until their scheduled drydocking, where a permanent solution can take place.