Question regarding double-bottom ballast tank inspection prior to discharge
I am hoping some esteemed collegues in ITOSF could advise on the following. What is the best practice for inspecting double-bottom ballast tanks that do not have access trunks or inspection ports, prior to discharge? On this particular ship, the access manhole covers are in the fwd void and pumproom respectively.
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G/Day,
In general and unless exceptional circumstances dictate otherwise, entering ballast tanks for physical inspection, while vessel in loaded condition, shall be avoided regardless the presence of fixed gas detection system.
Tks/Brgds
Captain Panos Hatzikyriakos
Capt., Perhaps I wasn’t as clear as I should be. My question is about how to inspect ballast water in double-bottomed ballast tanks prior to discharging the ballast water. The double-bottomed ballast tanks often do not have an access trunk or inspection port. Side ballast tanks and “J” tanks will have some kind of means to inspect the surface of the ballast water prior to discharging ballast water. Double-bottomed ballast tanks typically do not have a means of inspecting for contamination prior to discharging. Does anyone have a “best practice” for this situation?
If you can get your sampler in there great, take a surface sample, mark it well and store it for the next voyage. If not put in a sounding rod with oil finding paste (in more than one location if possible) and log it down. It also helps to legitimize as well as unify the practice across the fleet if this is clearly stated in your SMS. Another good place to have this as a reminder would be the pre-arrival checks. Hope this helps. Cheers.
Thank you Bash, this is basically what we are doing. However, this isn’t addressed in the SMS – excellent suggestion. Strange, with so many tankers with double-bottoms, there doesn’t seem to be any kind of standard procedure for this situation.