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Hatch cover leaks & wet-cargo claims: prevention you can document

Why the leak is found at the discharge port, why hose and chalk tests don't settle it, and the logged ultrasonic test that does.

How the test works View the instruments

The short answer

Leaking hatch covers are the most common cause of wet-cargo claims, among the costliest claims on bulk carriers. Ultrasonic testing turns that risk into a quantified, logged reading at every compression point, run by one crew member, before the cargo ever goes in the hold. That record is what a claims defence rests on.

No. 1Leaking hatch covers: the most common cause of wet-cargo claims

0.06 mmSmallest leak path the Portascanner detects

1 operatorA quantified reading per compression point, logged

Class-Approved & Certified

ABS Type Approval (PLUS) RINA (PLUS) SOLAS II-1/21.3 IACS rules ISO 9001 & 14001

The Problem

The claim starts long before the rain does

The failure is quiet. A worn gasket, a distorted coaming or a badly seated cross-joint doesn't show on a walk-round, and the covers look closed from the deck. The leak is usually discovered where it hurts most: at the discharge port, when the receiver opens the hold.

The seal degrades invisibly. No visual check finds a compressed or hardened gasket.
Damage surfaces at discharge, voyages after the seal actually failed.
Without a quantified test record, the vessel starts the claim on the back foot.

By then the questions are commercial: was the cargo loaded into a weathertight hold, when were the covers last tested, and what evidence exists? For grain, steel, fertiliser, paper and other moisture-sensitive cargoes, the difference between a defended claim and a paid one is often the quality of the vessel's watertight-integrity records.

Empty cargo hold of a merchant ship - the space a leaking hatch cover puts at risk

The Traditional Checks

Why hose and chalk tests fall short

Two traditional ways of checking a seal, and why neither gives you a number you can defend. Same three questions for each.

Traditional

The hose test

What it shows: Water seen, or not seen
The result: A judgement call
For the claim file: Nothing quantified to file against the voyage

Drawback: slow, messy and hard to repeat at sea.

Traditional

The chalk test

What it shows: Where a seal touches, not where it actually leaks
The result: Contact, which is not compression
For the claim file: No number you can defend

Drawback: compression is what keeps green water out, and chalk doesn't measure it.

What a claim needs

The ultrasonic test

What it shows: Any gap, pinpointed and sized down to a 0.06 mm aperture
The result: Decibels and Open Hatch Value (%OHV) at each compression point
For the claim file: Dated, logged readings: evidence the covers were tight when the cargo went in

Run by one crew member, at sea or in port. How it works ↓

The Ultrasonic Answer

One operator, a number at every compression point

The Portascanner® WATERTIGHT, in three steps.

Inside
Place the generator in the closed hold
The Portascanner's 40 kHz ultrasonic generator goes inside the closed hold.
Outside
Sweep the receiver along the seal
Any gap shows up as sound passing through, pinpointed and sized down to a 0.06 mm aperture.
Record
Read, judge and log each point
Each point reads in decibels and as an Open Hatch Value (%OHV). A hatch cover is treated as weathertight when its %OHV is below 10%.

Operator running a Coltraco Portascanner ultrasonic test along a hatch cover seal

No hose, no chalk, no flooding. Run by one crew member, at sea or in port.
A quantified, repeatable result rather than a judgement call, logged for the record.
The PRO photographs test areas and saves each leak's location and size, for repair and re-inspection.

Regimes supported: SOLAS II-1/21.3IMO SOLAS Reg II-1/21.3 for watertight doors
Hatch weathertightness: IACS rulesultrasonic watertight-integrity testing

The Portascanner WATERTIGHT PLUS is ABS Type Approved and RINA accepted.

Portascanner WATERTIGHT PLUS & PRO →

Putting It Into Practice

When to test: a claims-aware routine

Three moments where a quantified hatch-cover test earns its place in the voyage file.

Before loadingGrain, steel, fertiliser, paper or any moisture-sensitive parcel
Test every hatch and file the readings with the voyage documents.
After hatch maintenanceGasket renewal, coaming repair or cover adjustment
Test again after the work. It changes the seal; a post-work test proves the maintenance actually restored weathertightness.
On charter handoverDelivery or redelivery
Document a test so owner and charterer share the same baseline, and the hatch covers are taken out of the dispute.

Built for the rules you already work to

SOLAS II-1/21.3: watertight doors IACS rules: ultrasonic watertight-integrity testing ABS Type Approved · RINA accepted (PLUS)

The Commercial Angle

Documented integrity is a claims defence

The safety case and the business case are the same case.

When cargo damage is alleged, the vessel's position rests on what it can show:

that the holds were weathertight when loading began;
that the covers were tested by a recognised, quantified method.

A dated log of ultrasonic readings, point by point and hatch by hatch, supports the defence of a claim and gives owners and charterers an objective record in a dispute, in a way a remembered hose test never can.

Prevention is cheaper still: the leak found before loading is the claim that never happens.

“The fleet was equipped with a unit per bulk carrier and the units are working well, providing the confidence that there will be no problems with water-damage claims.”
Ship Management Company, as published by Coltraco Ultrasonics

Testimonial as published by Coltraco Ultrasonics. SepcoTech is an Authorised Distributor and represents the manufacturer; we make no claim of endorsement on their behalf.

Frequently Asked

Wet-Cargo Claims & Hatch Testing: FAQ

Why are hatch cover leaks such a big source of cargo claims?

Leaking hatch covers are the most common cause of wet-cargo claims, and among the costliest claims on bulk carriers. A worn gasket or distorted coaming does not show on a walk-round, so the leak is usually discovered only when damaged cargo is discharged.

Why is an ultrasonic test better than a hose test?

Hose tests are slow, messy and hard to repeat at sea, and a chalk test only shows where a seal touches, not where it actually leaks. An ultrasonic test gives a repeatable, quantified reading (in dB and Open Hatch Value) at each point on the seal, run by one crew member, with the result logged for the record.

Is ultrasonic hatch cover testing accepted by class?

The method supports IMO SOLAS Reg II-1/21.3 for watertight doors, and the IACS requirements for ultrasonic watertight-integrity testing of hatch covers. The Portascanner WATERTIGHT PLUS is ABS Type Approved and RINA accepted.

When should hatch covers be tested?

A practical routine is to test before loading moisture-sensitive cargo, after any hatch cover or gasket maintenance, and at charter handover, so every voyage starts with a documented, quantified record of weathertight integrity.