The Honourable Company of Master Mariners (HCMM) invited Coltraco Ultrasonics aboard their headquarters, the historic HQS “Wellington”, to demonstrate their ultrasonic testing equipment in July 2019. Coltraco Ultrasonics would like to thank the Honourable Company of Master Mariners for inviting the team onboard to conduct tests and the excellent HCMM hospitality.
A National Historic Ship: HQS Wellington
HCMM are “a London Livery Company with membership open to British and Commonwealth Master Mariners from the Merchant and Royal Navies.” CEO of Coltraco Ultrasonics, Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter, is also a member.
Built in 1933, the HQS Wellington is the last surviving member of the Grimsby class of sloops, which served valiantly during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. The Wellington Trust ensure the preservation of this historic ship and we were honoured to support this mission.
The engineering team from the Trust invited members of Coltraco to demonstrate their ultrasonic testing equipment. Coltraco used the Portagauge® 3, a portable single echo ultrasonic thickness gauge manufactured in the UK to measure metal thickness and corrosion onboard. Ultrasonic thickness gauges are highly sensitive to corrosion and are idea for preserving historic ships such as the HQS Wellington as they are non-invasive and non-destructive.
After testing HCMM and Coltraco Ultrasonics discussed topics including encouraging a safety culture at sea, women in maritime and a shared vision for eradicating modern slavery at sea. In line with the UK Government’s Maritime 2050 Strategy focussing on improving safety at sea, Coltraco Ultrasonics’ technology is designed to deliver the Safeship™ mission to improve safety for vessel, crew and assets. The core range targets the two main causes of vessel loss sinking (by watertight integrity testing) and fire (by fire suppression system testing).
Ultrasonic Testing Equipment
Testing of the ultrasonic thickness gauge Portagauge® 3 and its sister product the Portagauge® 4 triple echo multigauge led to sound results helping to prove the ship’s worthiness for years to come.
As seen in the photos, the team were able to test a range of their award-winning FLEETSAFE™ package of innovative marine safety tools; suitable for crew use as they are easy to use, non-invasive, accurate and reliable.
The FLEETSAFE™ package enables you to:
- Conduct contents verification of fixed gaseous fire suppression systems (CO2, NOVEC™ 1230 and FM-200™, etc) via Portalevel® MAX Marine
- Convert liquid level to weight or mass of suppressant agent via Portasteele® CALCULATOR
- Test watertight integrity of watertight doors, hatch covers and MCT’s via Portascanner® WATERTIGHT
- Inspect metal thickness and corrosion of cylinders + pipework via Portagauge® 3 and Portagauge® 4
- Check for bearing wear and tear in rotating machinery via Portamonitor®
Ultrasonic testing equipment takes advantage of fundamental characteristics of sound waves to identify and precisely locate leaks, weaknesses, and thickness in any structure. It makes use of the reflection and absorption behaviour of sound waves when incident on a boundary between a solid structure and the air adjacent to it.
COLTRACO ULTRASONICS
Founded in 1987, Coltraco Ultrasonics has been at the forefront of research, design and manufacture advanced ultrasonic instrumentation and systems for protecting safety-critical infrastructures.
Part of a larger organisation, comprising the Durham Institute of Research, Development and Invention (DIRDI) and the Centre for Underwater Acoustic Analysis (CUAA) – Coltraco is one of the UK’s premier scientific instrument makers.
We differentiate ourselves by entering every discussion with you as an integrated technical partner – providing you with the ideal solution for your needs that showcases our scientific expertise and through-life commitment to our customers.
Winners of the Queen’s Award for International Trade 2019, Coltraco Ultrasonics’ marine technology is exported globally to 117 countries and in service 17% of the world’s commercial fleet thanks to being better, faster and cheaper than alternative methods.
Keywords: #safetyatsea #safetyculture #maritimesafety #womeninmaritime #maritime2050 #internationaltrade #exportingisGREAT #TheQueensAward @dft @tradegovuk @maritimeUK @hcmm @coltracoUK
