Hull Integrity Management Program

The Hull Integrity Management Program assists owners and managers in monitoring a vessel's hull condition in a cost-effective manner, and to assist them in meeting the requirements of the ABS Guide for Hull Inspection Management.

ABS Consulting provides the owner/operator team with training to improve their overall knowledge of hull strength theory, specific type of vessel critical inspection areas, and basic tools to conduct hull inspections and maintenance.

This training is supported by the development of a manual or set of manuals for the owner/operator fleet, which addresses classes of vessels operated by the customer. These manuals identify areas of concern relative to inspection, which criteria should be used in ranking the condition of these inspected areas, and how to report these findings in a unified manner that will enable consistency across the fleet.

ABS Hull Maintenance Software Tool

ABS Consulting then incorporates the use of the ABS Hull Maintenance Software tool, which allows for development of the inspection plan, provides a platform for the storage of the inspection results, allows for vessel specific or fleet-wide monitoring of the inspected condition and the inspection programs, and allows for access to the inspection data both onboard the vessel and from the shore side support teams.

ABS Consulting provides services such as anomaly review, engineering analysis of critical areas of concern, and preparation of the inspection reports in 3D views, which allows for enhanced visuals representation of vessel condition. They can be used to prepare repair and dry docking work packages based on the inspection findings.

The Hull Inspection Manual

This manual may be utilized in accordance with the Hull Inspection and Maintenance Program (HIMP) offered by ABS and outlined within the ABS Guide for Hull Inspection and Maintenance Program (March 2007). Vessels enrolled in the program will be eligible for the HIMP class notation. This manual will be created in a manner that will comply with the intent of the Guide. The Hull Inspection manual will detail a program for hull structural inspections to be performed by qualified (ship operators) inspectors in order to comply with the HIMP Guide.

This manual will elaborate on the inspections to be carried for hull structure, container holds and tanks by qualified inspectors. The inspections help the owner to identify degraded structure and defects. The advantages to the ship operator are as follows:

Identification of problem areas, often before they become structurally deficient
Focused inspection and required condition reporting on structurally critical areas
Better development of repair dry dock specifications
Improved efficiency in the use of Classification surveyors
Support of holistic and proactive preventative maintenance scheme for the ship and enables the owner to spot anomalies or maintenance trends across their fleet
Less disruption to normal ship operations

The structural condition for six different criteria will be noted during the inspections and will be documented based on a color rating system (0 through 6 scale) on "zones" for each compartment (space or tank). Depending on the score assigned, the condition of the tank for that attribute will correspond to one of three colors, green, yellow or red denoting its condition as good, fair or poor.

The inspections encompass the hull condition scoring in accordance with the following six (6) inspection criteria:

Coating condition
Presence of general corrosion
Presence of pitting/grooving or other localized corrosion
Presence of deformation
Presence of fractures
Compartment or space cleanliness (housekeeping and fabric maintenance such as anode replacement, etc.)

Hull Maintenance Software

The Hull Maintenance software is a sophisticated management system covering the structure of the vessel throughout its service life. It also offers the following:

Provides visual representation of the actual condition of any part
Interlinks structural information with other data relating to the same vessel, such as Survey Status or Vessel Drawings once the basic definition of the vessel has been stored
Develops a compartment model giving the user a simple visual method for highlighting specific sections for more detailed review, linked with CAD to present in 3D
Stores digitized photographs of structural members linked directly to each section for detailed visual and technical assessment
Tracks damages, fractures, buckling, grooving, and pitting
Holds a life history of gauging information to facilitate analysis of past structural degradation and anticipated future degradation
Compares actual condition data against "as approved" or "Rules" scantlings for gauging evaluation as per prescribed renewal criteria
Generates steel weight, cost data, and bill of materials for isolated repairs or different repair scenarios

Hull Maintenance Software

Consulting Services

ABS Consulting offers support services for Hull Integrity Management. These services include:

Evaluation of Anomalies
Preparation of steel renewal specifications and costs
Preparation of coating renewal specifications and costs
Dry docking specification and repair plans
Inspection and maintenance planning

ABS Consulting's extensive background in performing advanced engineering analysis, and our unparalleled knowledge of ship structures and the tolls for assessing the structural condition of new and existing vessels makes us uniquely qualified to assist owners and managers in monitoring a vessel's hull condition in a cost effective manner.

For more information, contact:

1-281-673-2800 | marine@absconsulting.com

or contact one of our regional offices.