If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Prove It's Safe
SepcoTech supplies the full range of Coltraco Ultrasonics marine instruments: portable, non-invasive tools that let a crew prove the things a survey depends on: that compartments seal, that fire-suppression cylinders are full, and that the steel is still thick enough. One operator, a number on a screen, a logged result.
A British Ultrasonics Specialist, Trusted at Sea
Coltraco Ultrasonics is a long-established British manufacturer of portable ultrasonic instruments, designing and building its own measurement technology in the UK since its first Portalevel in 1987. The company exports roughly 90% of what it makes and was twice honoured with the Queen's Award for Enterprise (International Trade) in 2019 and 2022.
Its instruments solve a single recurring problem aboard ship: confirming the condition of systems you cannot see into. SepcoTech supplies and supports the Coltraco marine range as part of our wider inspection and protection portfolio, so the instrument, the calibration and the technical advice all come from one partner.
- A focused family of marine ultrasonic instruments, not a general catalogue brand
- Non-invasive: nothing is opened, drained, discharged or taken offline to test it
- Single-operator handhelds: checks that actually get done on schedule
- Class-recognised methods, backed by SepcoTech calibration, spares and support
Five Instrument Families for Marine Inspection
Each category links through to product detail, full specifications and the brochure, ready to drop straight into your quote.
Liquid Level Indicators
Portalevel® MAX Marine Plus, Portalevel® IS and the Portasteele® Calculator: confirm fire-cylinder charge through the wall, no weighing.
View level indicators →
Hatch Cover & Watertight Testing
Portascanner® WATERTIGHT PLUS and PRO: ultrasonic watertight / weathertight integrity testing of hatches, doors and cable transits.
View watertight testing →
Ultrasonic Thickness Gauges
Portagauge® 6: multi-echo measurement of true metal thickness through coatings, for hull and structural corrosion surveys.
View thickness gauges →
Ultrasonic Flow Meters
Portasonic® PLUS, Portasonic® PRO and the fixed Permaflow®: clamp-on transit-time flow measurement with no pipe-cutting.
View flow meters →
Non-Invasive Pressure Indicators
Portagas®: non-invasive pressure monitoring of inert-gas and compressed-gas fire systems, to better than the 5% the standards demand.
View gas pressure →Not sure which instrument?
Tell us the vessel, the system and the survey you need to satisfy, and we'll spec the right Coltraco configuration and quote it.
Ask a specialist →Which model, when there is a choice
Four of the five families come in more than one version. The difference is rarely the brand story; it is one line on the spec sheet.
Portascanner PLUS or PRO?
Specify the PLUS when a class type-approved instrument is required (ABS Type Approved, RINA accepted) or for routine %OHV seal checks. Specify the PRO when you need each leak sized (0.5 to 20 mm, to within ±10%) with a predicted flow rate, photographed and exported, and CE marking alone is acceptable.
Compare the two →Portasonic PLUS, PRO or Permaflow?
The PLUS for portable surveys that also need pipe-wall thickness (2 to 20 mm). The PRO for portable surveys that also need a calculated internal pressure (±5%), on DN15 to DN750. Permaflow for permanent, mains-powered 24/7 monitoring with optional PT100 heat metering and industrial outputs.
See the three meters →MAX Marine Plus or IS?
The MAX Marine Plus is the type-approved shipboard kit (ABS, RINA, UL) with a 12 mm extension rod for banked cylinders. The IS is for hazardous areas: ATEX / IECEx Zone 1 and 2, gas group IIA, run only on Energizer L91 batteries, and it carries no class approval. For agent weight, add the Portasteele Calculator; for inert gas, the Portagas.
Level indicators →Which Portagauge 6 probe?
The kit ships the 2.5 MHz, 14 mm probe for 1.5 to 100 mm of steel. For pipe, add a 5 MHz probe: the 10 mm face for pipes from 25 mm (1") or the 6 mm face for pipes from 15 mm (½"). High-temperature probes are offered too. Multi-echo reads through coatings up to 20 mm either way.
Portagauge 6 →Four things to plan around
None of these is a fault in the instruments. They are what the instruments are, and knowing them before the order is cheaper than discovering them at the survey.
Every reading needs couplant on a clean wall
The sensors read through steel, not through dirt or air gaps. Coltraco's own method for the Portalevel is to wipe the cylinder clean and apply a strip of couplant before the sensor goes on; the thickness and flow kits ship with couplant for the same reason. Budget for it on every survey.
Class approval is per model, not per brand
The Portascanner PLUS is ABS Type Approved and RINA accepted; the Portascanner PRO is CE marked only. The Portalevel MAX Marine Plus is ABS, RINA and UL; the Portalevel IS is ATEX / IECEx, not class-approved. Check the model against what your class or charterer asks for, not the family name.
A level is not a weight, and inert gas has no level
The Portalevel finds the liquid line; turning it into kilograms is the Portasteele Calculator's job. Non-liquefied Inergen, nitrogen and argon have no liquid line, so they are read by pressure with the Portagas. And above 31 °C, CO2 has no liquid level to find: that is where continuous weighing (PermaMass FEATHERWEIGHT) comes in.
Only one instrument is intrinsically safe
The Portalevel IS is certified for Zone 1 and 2, gas group IIA, T4, and keeps that approval only on Energizer L91 batteries. None of the other instruments on these pages is Ex-rated, so plan a hot-work permit or a gas-free area for them on tankers and gas carriers.
Turn Invisible Risk Into a Number You Can Log
A leaking seal and a half-empty CO2 cylinder share one dangerous trait: neither shows on a walk-round. These instruments make them visible.
Prove every seal without a hose or chalk test
Portascanner® WATERTIGHT places an ultrasonic transmitter inside a compartment; the operator scans the seal from outside and any gap shows up as sound passing through, pinpointed and sized down to a 0.06 mm aperture. It supports the regimes you already work to, including IMO SOLAS Reg II-1/21.3 for watertight doors and the IACS requirements for ultrasonic watertight-integrity testing of hatch covers.
- Repeatable result the crew can run alongside, at sea or in port
- ABS Type Approval and RINA acceptance
- PRO model sizes each leak (0.5-20 mm, ±10%) with its flow rate
Know the cylinder is full without weighing it
A fixed gaseous fire-suppression system is only as good as the agent left in its cylinders, and a slow leak is silent. Portalevel® reads the liquid level of CO2, NOVEC™ 1230, FM-200® and other agents ultrasonically through the cylinder wall in under 30 seconds, with the cylinder installed and the system armed. It aligns with the IMO SOLAS FSS Code (Chapter 5) regime for fixed gas systems.
- No removal from the manifold, no Hot Work Permit, no down time
- Portasteele® turns the level straight into agent weight in kg
- ATEX/IECEx Portalevel® IS for tanker and gas-carrier zones
Measure the steel that's left, straight through the coating
Corrosion thins hull plate, bulkheads and pipework from the inside out. Portagauge® 6 is a multi-echo ultrasonic thickness gauge that reads true metal thickness through paint and coatings up to 20 mm, so a survey identifies wastage before structural integrity is compromised, with up to 200,000 readings logged for the record.
- Multi-echo: ignores coating, reports true metal only
- Steel 1.50–100.00 mm, accuracy ±0.1 mm
- Data logger for traceable corrosion surveys
The Check That Doesn't Take the Ship Offline
Coltraco's instruments read through steel and through coatings, so the inspection adds no risk, no down time and no paperwork gap.
Non-Invasive
Sensors sit on the outside of a cylinder, tank or hull plate. Nothing is opened, drained or discharged, and the system stays in service throughout.
Single Operator
One crew member with a handheld does the job that once needed flooding tests, cylinder removal or a dockyard. Faster rounds mean checks happen on schedule.
Decisive Reading
A clear number, whether decibels, liquid level, agent weight, pressure or thickness, replaces guesswork. You know whether the door seals or the bottle is full.
Audit-Ready
Readings log to the device and export for the record: the evidence a class surveyor or a port-state inspection needs, traceable to date and location.
The Instruments, Demonstrated
Footage published by Coltraco Ultrasonics, covering watertight integrity testing, fire-cylinder level checking and inert-gas pressure monitoring.
Aboard Roughly One in Six Ships Afloat
Coltraco's instruments are aboard roughly one in six of the world's ~60,000 ships, across commercial shipping, offshore and naval fleets, and the company supplies some 28 market sectors worldwide.
Commercial Shipping
Tankers, bulkers, container and RoRo fleets use Coltraco instruments to keep watertight, fire-system and corrosion records straight for class and port-state inspection.
Commercial shipping solutions →Offshore & Energy
Platforms, FPSOs and gas carriers rely on non-invasive testing, including the ATEX/IECEx Portalevel® IS, where opening a system or striking a spark is not an option.
Offshore & energy solutions →Survey & Class
Surveyors, fire-servicing companies and ship managers use the logged, repeatable readings as evidence for SOLAS, FSS-Code and class-society requirements.
SOLAS & class servicing →Independently Certified & Class-Approved
Approvals vary by model and are confirmed per instrument at quotation. SepcoTech is an Authorised Distributor of Coltraco Ultrasonics and supplies, calibrates and supports the marine range.
Fleet-coverage and in-service figures as published by Coltraco Ultrasonics. SepcoTech is an Authorised Distributor and represents the manufacturer; we make no claim of endorsement on their behalf.
Used by Leading Ship Managers & Owners
A selection of the ship managers, owners and operators that use Coltraco ultrasonic instruments.
★★★★★“Coltraco is one of the very few companies which prioritize customer satisfaction over everything else. We have experienced this in every transaction we did with Coltraco.”
Maqbool, ELCOME International, Dubai
★★★★★“Excellent quality products. Outstanding customer service by the Coltraco team keeps us coming back. The personal touch in every interaction makes all the difference.”
Muneer Mohammed, Lois Safety
Customer and review references as published by Coltraco Ultrasonics. According to Allianz's Safety & Shipping Review 2023, fire was the second-leading cause of large-ship total loss in 2022, after foundering (overwhelmingly caused by water ingress); these are the two failure modes these instruments help guard against. SepcoTech is an Authorised Distributor and represents the manufacturer.
Brochures & Datasheets
Download the Coltraco product brochures, or ask us for application-specific data and calibration documents.
More brochures are linked on each product page. Need a specific datasheet or calibration certificate? Ask a specialist →
IMPA Codes & ShipServ: Order in One Step
Coltraco's core marine instruments are listed in the IMPA Marine Stores Guide. Quote the IMPA code against the SepcoTech TradeNet number and order through your normal marine procurement workflow.
ShipServ
SepcoTech TradeNet: TN 317548
Search TN 317548 on ShipServ TradeNet, or send an RFQ quoting any IMPA code below. The IMPA code plus our TradeNet number identifies the exact instrument, with no cross-referencing and no ambiguity. Items you add to your quote here carry their IMPA code through to us automatically.
IMPA reference: Coltraco core marine instruments
| Instrument | IMPA (Marine Stores Guide) |
|---|---|
| Portalevel® MAX Marine Plus: liquid level indicator | 652776 |
| Portalevel® range: liquid level indicators | 652776 |
| Portascanner® WATERTIGHT PLUS: integrity tester | 652778 |
| Portascanner® WATERTIGHT PRO: integrity tester | 652778 |
| Portasteele® Calculator: agent-weight converter | On request |
| Portagauge® 6: ultrasonic thickness gauge | On request |
| Portasonic® PLUS / PRO: clamp-on flow meters | On request |
| Permaflow®: fixed clamp-on flow & heat meter | On request |
| Portagas®: non-invasive gas pressure monitor | On request |
IMPA codes shown are the Coltraco references confirmed in the IMPA Marine Stores Guide. Codes marked "On request" are confirmed at quotation: ask a specialist.
Build Your Quote
Add instruments and accessories to one list and send it in under a minute.
Start a quoteTalk to a Specialist
Not sure what fits? Tell us the vessel and survey and our team will spec it.
Ask a specialistWhat is Coltraco's, and what is ours
SepcoTech is an authorised Coltraco distributor. That means a clean division of responsibility, and it is worth being explicit about which half is which.
The instruments and everything behind them
- The instruments, designed and made in the UK
- The manufacturer's warranty: 3 years on the main unit, 1 year on sensors and accessories
- Calibration, in Coltraco's UK laboratory or one of its 11 service centres, with exchange units and remote calibration on board
- Specifications, manuals, calibration certificates and free lifetime technical support
Getting the right model aboard, quoted and ordered
- Help choosing the model, probe or sensor set for the vessel and the survey
- One quote in EUR across instruments, probes and accessories
- Ordering through ShipServ TradeNet TN 317548, with the IMPA codes on the quote
- A single contact when something needs calibrating, replacing or explaining
Everything we supply is genuine Coltraco equipment, through the manufacturer's own channel, with Coltraco's calibration certificate and warranty.
Coltraco Instruments: Common Questions
New to ultrasonic inspection? Our testing guide explains where and how each instrument is used.
What does SepcoTech supply from Coltraco?
How do I order, through ShipServ?
Are the instruments class-approved?
Do I have to take systems offline to test?
Which instrument do I need for which job?
Build Your Quote
Add instruments and accessories to your quote list as you browse and they'll appear here automatically. Then send everything in one request.
Authorised Distributor
SepcoTech is an authorised Coltraco Ultrasonics distributor: genuine, warranted instruments, never grey-market stock.
One Partner for Support
Instrument, calibration, spares and technical advice all come from one place, giving you a single point of contact for the life of the kit.
A Reply in One Business Day
We quote marine & offshore operators with pricing, approvals notes and availability, typically within one business day.
Quote Request Sent!
Thank you. Your selected instruments are on their way to the SepcoTech team. We'll respond within one business day with pricing, approvals notes and availability.