This reply was kindly received from a person working in an oil company vetting department. Hope this helps.
“There are limited options when carrying out a hydrostatic test. Some do it with fresh water and then dump indirectly to the slop tank or the oily bilge tank and process it from there, this largely depends on what facilities a vessel has for disposing or storing of Engine Room oily residues and sludge. Others do it with bunker fuel and once they get the lines filled they close the valves and raise the pressure with a portable liquid hand pump or low capacity air driven liquid pump, the pressure increase is then more easily controlled.
Essentially when we look at this area we do not want to see that the bunker lines have been pressure tested with compressed air.”
Another response this time from a tanker operator.
“Yes, I would say using the transfer pump is the best option for the annual hydrostatic tests. To avoid any issues with leakage etc, they can test the line with air first and then use the bunkers to test it hydrostatically. This will ensure some additional safety precautions for pollution prevention.”
Thank you for the valuable information. I apologize for the delay in confirming.
I had contacted OCIMF regarding this issue and this was their response:
“I am not an engineer, and would suggest that you seek advice from your engineering department as to the best method of doing this. I am advised that using air or inert gas is potentially very dangerous, and a hydrostatic test must be used.”
This reply was kindly received from a person working in an oil company vetting department. Hope this helps.
“There are limited options when carrying out a hydrostatic test. Some do it with fresh water and then dump indirectly to the slop tank or the oily bilge tank and process it from there, this largely depends on what facilities a vessel has for disposing or storing of Engine Room oily residues and sludge. Others do it with bunker fuel and once they get the lines filled they close the valves and raise the pressure with a portable liquid hand pump or low capacity air driven liquid pump, the pressure increase is then more easily controlled.
Essentially when we look at this area we do not want to see that the bunker lines have been pressure tested with compressed air.”
Another response this time from a tanker operator.
“Yes, I would say using the transfer pump is the best option for the annual hydrostatic tests. To avoid any issues with leakage etc, they can test the line with air first and then use the bunkers to test it hydrostatically. This will ensure some additional safety precautions for pollution prevention.”
Hope you found the responses useful.
Thank you for the valuable information. I apologize for the delay in confirming.
I had contacted OCIMF regarding this issue and this was their response:
“I am not an engineer, and would suggest that you seek advice from your engineering department as to the best method of doing this. I am advised that using air or inert gas is potentially very dangerous, and a hydrostatic test must be used.”