Our Director of Sales, George Hunter shares an exciting update about our Portascanner® WATERTIGHT in light of IACS Z28.
“Coltraco Ultrasonics have long been leaders in providing equipment for identifying critical leak sites in a variety of watertight & airtight seals. We have been particularly successful in using this equipment for testing bulk carrier hatch covers, watertight doors and cable transit areas in numerous different environments.”
Coming into effect later in 2021, IACS Z28 will require that all Offshore structures must keep a log of all the Multiple Cable Transits in the structure, referred to as a ‘Cable Transit Seal System Register’.
- This must include information on each cable transit installed, the certification and instruction, drawings and other relevant information from the manufacturer on the Seal itself.
- This must also include inspection information and any details of any subsequent repair or modification made to the MCT.
Multiple Cable Transits
Multiple Cable Transits are designed to act as fire barrier and watertight barrier for cables onboard submarines and across the maritime industry. They are designed so that they must provide fire protection, but also have one or several demands to protect against water, gas and smoke.
Cable transits are often the weakest link in the chain of fire safety and water tightness and are key for compartmentation. There have been many accidents and catastrophes caused by sealing systems that didn’t perform when needed. For example, in 2002 HMS Nottingham grounded in Australia during a flooding incident. A secondary flooding occurred above the free flooded compartments due to water ingress through the cable glands and ventilation penetrations. An investigation into the incident concluded that multiple cable penetrations should be examined to ensure that they are sufficiently robust to ensure compartment watertight integrity.
A common challenge for installations with widespread Multiple Cable Transit areas is the ability to easily and reliably inspect the seals. These inspections are important to ensure they are fit for purpose. Different Multiple Cable Transit’s have significant impacts on the safety aspect of an installation, whether it be protecting against fire and smoke, water ingress as part of a Bulkhead or providing other airtight and watertight seals. These are commonly found throughout Offshore Oil and Gas Installations, Commercial Shipping Vessels, Naval Vessels, Power Stations and other similar facilities.
IACS Z28 & The Portascanner® WATERTIGHT
The Portascanner® WATERTIGHT has been used for years as a method of inspecting multiple cable transits. Using ultrasonic technology, you can identify the exact location and severity of any leaks in airtight or watertight seals. This is far more efficient compared to high pressure air or water tests, is more accurate and cheaper. It is ABS Approved, easy to use for all crew members alike and the most mathematically accurate of its kind.
Soon Coltraco Ultrasonics will be launching a variant of the Portascanner® WATERTIGHT which can be stationed onboard, and used as a digital storage and inspection platform, allowing vessels to comply with Z28.
This is the first and only unit of its type globally and will be launching soon!
Portascanner® WATERTIGHT effectively inspects multiple cable transits, also called MCTs, transit areas, cable glands, cable trunks or multi cable transit system, multi cable and pipe transit, cable penetrations.
The Portascanner® WATERTIGHT is:
- Faster: designed for ease of use from poorly educated crew up to chief engineer – no need for extensive and expensive training courses, simply read the operating instructions in the kit and away you go
- Better: most mathematically accurate to 0.06 (+/-0.02mm) to identify leak integrity quickly and easily allowing prompt maintenance if required
- Cheaper: never beaten on price guarantee from Coltraco Ultrasonics who are used to serving the world’s leading fleets for 30 years.
But don’t take Coltraco Ultrasonics’ word for it, here are 3 customer testimonials:
“We did some transit inspection work on one of our customers vessel using the Portascanner and we are very pleased with your instrument. We are looking forward extending our service offer using it.” – Techsol Marine, Canada
“The fleet was equipped with a unit per Bulk Carrier and the units are and working well, providing the confidence that there will be no problems with water damage claims.” Ship Management Company
“Our PORTASCANNER WATERTIGHT unit performed well during the entire period of use, proved rugged and we feel sure that if it had not required returning for mandatory calibration and certification, the unit would have performed well for many more years to come.” Captain J.F. Holmes, Botrans
