MEMBER ALERT Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Manager One Battery Park Plaza 31 st Fl., New York, NY 10004 USA Tel: +1 212 847 4500 Fax: +1 212 847 4599 https://www.american-club.com American Club Member Alert – September 12 , 2024 1 SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 ULTRASONIC HATCH COVER WEATHERTIGHTNESS TESTING The ingress of sea water through leaking hatch covers is a leading cause of damage to cargo. It is in Members’ interests to ensure that cargo holds are weathertight. Cargo damaged by water leaking through hatch covers can result in large claims and affect Members’ claims records. Most leakage problems occur because of poor maintenance. Hatch covers will leak if: a. compression surfaces are not aligned correctly due to worn bearing pads, locator and/or stoppers; b. gasket sections are damaged, missing, worn, over compressed or inserted in short lengths; c. there are cracks or holes in the plating; or d. there is permanent overall distortion of the hatch covers. Members have an obligation to exercise due diligence in ensuring that hatch cover maintenance and regular weathertightness testing is conducted on board their vessels as an integral part of each vessel’s planned maintenance system. This should include the following steps: 1. The creation of a detailed shipboard maintenance plan based on the hatch cover manufacturer’s build, operation and maintenance specifications. 2. The provision and upkeep of adequate spare parts and seals. 3. Crew training to ensure the proper implementation of the shipboard maintenance plan. 4. Shore based management’s commitment for close follow-up of the maintenance plan and its implementation. 5. Regular testing, and logging results, of hatch weathertightness by the vessel’s crew and/or independent surveyors using high-pressure hose testing, or preferably by testing with approved ultrasonic hatch leak detection instruments. In reference to step 5 above, although high-pressure hose testing before loading cargo in combination with chalk imprint testing are helpful indicators of hatch covers’ weathertightness, the exact location of any leaks that may occur are almost impossible to pinpoint and repair due to the tendency of water to travel laterally from the point of ingress. This is the case, even though these methods are accepted by some classification societies as a Load Line Certificate verification item, because any minor leaks of water should not affect stability of the vessel. MEMBER ALERT Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Manager One Battery Park Plaza 31 st Fl., New York, NY 10004 USA Tel: +1 212 847 4500 Fax: +1 212 847 4599 https://www.american-club.com American Club Member Alert – September 12 , 2024 2 In addition, a hose test can show whether the physical contact between rubber packings and their mating surfaces are satisfactory in static conditions. With the hose test, however, the compression of the rubber packings cannot be assessed. When the vessel is at sea, and in dynamic conditions, even in a in case of light movement, only a small distortion of the hatch covers could result in the hatch cover panels flexing, and under these circumstances the water may find its way to the hold. On the other hand, an over-compressed rubber packing may also lose its sealing capability while in dynamic conditions at sea, since its rigidity will not be able to compensate for the vessel’s movement. Accordingly, a chalk test or hose-test cannot guarantee the weathertight condition of the hatch covers and may affect vario