Mechanism of Wear-Out of Sounding Pipes in Ship Ballast Tanks

Abstract

During the operation of ships in the global commercial fleet, measurements of the current ballast level in ballast tanks are taken under various cargo and ballast conditions. As a result of repeated measurements, the structure at the bottom of the sounding pipes is damaged. The main cause is the impact of the weight at the end of the measuring instruments on the bottom of the pipe. Once the bottom of the pipe is destroyed, the impact is transferred to the hull or double bottom of the ship. In some cases, if timely measures are not taken to limit this phenomenon, the watertight integrity of the ship's hull is compromised. The article examines a possible mechanism of wear of the measuring pipes during the ship's operation. Repairing this type of wear takes a significant part of the ship's repair time and is accompanied by many associated tasks, the cost of which exceeds that of the repair itself. Approximate estimates of the time required for this type of wear to occur have been made. Measures to reduce this adverse effect are proposed.

Keywords

• Ballast tanks
• Sounding pipes
• Wear
• Ship repair

References

1. Denev, Y. (2024). Mechanism of wear- out of sounding pipes in ship ballast tanks. The Eurasia Proceedings of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (EPSTEM), 29, 76-80.