W W W . C O L T R A C O . C O M

Ultrasonics Now

& the Future

SDC4 - IMO HQ, London 13th February 2017

With the delegation from Antigua & Barbuda, Department

of Marine Services & Merchant Shipping (ADOMS)

• Antigua & Barbuda cooperation with British OEM

• History of Ultrasound

• 101 Years of British Ultrasonic History

• Continued Evolution and improvement

• Current Technology

• Fire Safety

• Fire Risks

• Regulatory Compliance & lack thereof

• Maintaining Fixed Fire Systems

• How ultrasonic liquid level indicators work

• Potential of Constant Monitoring

• Vessel Stability

• Importance of Room Integrity

• Leak Detection solutions & potential of Monitoring

• How ultrasonic watertight integrity indicators work

• Future for Vessel Stability

• A Future led by Science

C O L T R A C O . C O M

CONTENTS

With thanks to

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA• Antigua & Barbuda has 0.1% of the world population but 2% of the world’s fleet

making it ranked in top 25 world’s merchant fleets

• Antigua & Barbuda celebrates over 30 year membership of the IMO

• Antigua & Barbuda building on previous British maritime heritage over 35 years

• So, natural links between Antigua & Barbuda & British ultrasonic manufacturer

• This is an example of international cooperation but has wider implications

thanks to our presence at the IMO today

HISTORY OF

ULTRASOUND

• Ultrasound utilised throughout Nature for

communication, navigation, exploration and detection

• Airborne Ultrasound – Bats

• Waterborne Ultrasound – Whales & Dolphins

• 101 Years of utilisation by Humanity

101 Years of British Ultrasonic History

CONTINUED EVOLUTION

& IMPROVEMENT

• Deployed by Royal Navy for SONAR & ASDIC

• Expanded into Thickness, Level, Watertight, Flow,

Cleaning, Condition technologies

• Coltraco is a living example of Evolution – 8

Generations of Level indication technology alone

History of Ultrasound II

CURRENT TECHNOLOGY

© Coltraco Ultrasonics

FIRE

SAFETY

• Nobody doubts how critical Fire Safety is for Marine environments

• At Sea, each Vessel & her crew are their own Fire Service

• Anecdotes and experiences abound of the potential dangers &

implications of fire at sea

• Current trending issue gaining awareness and recognition

• E.g. incidences of tankers and ro-ro vessel types in the press

REGULATORY

COMPLIANCE

& LACK

THEREOF• Numerous regulations surrounding maintenance of

fixed & portable fire systems

• Marine Servicing Companies providing annual

servicing & certification

• Bare minimum considered sufficient

• But shortcuts sometimes taken

• E.g. Valves left shut; only a sample of cylinders

inspected due to time pressure for Servicing

• Despite current framework, sometimes the

standards are not being upheld

Fire Safety II

MAINTAIN

FIXED FIRE

SYSTEMS

Fire Safety III• CO2 system is a primary weapon for every vessel in fighting

major fires, especially in engine rooms

• IMO SOLAS FSS mandates crew test; sometimes ignored

• Key methods for checking cylinder content:

weighing or liquid level

• Safeship Solution: handheld ultrasonic liquid level indicator and

convert level to agent weight. Example: 30 secs to test one

cylinder with 1 person*

How to inspect Cylinder Content?

*30 secs for the Portalevel® range from Coltraco Ultrasonics

1. Place the Ultrasonic Sensor on

the side of the cylinder, above the

liquid level.

2. Engage the CAL

function to

correctly set up

the unit for each

individual cylinder.

3. The main unit will

display a different

reading for gas

phase and liquid

phase – allowing

user to identify

liquid level accurate

up to 1.5mm.

4. Results: Linear & Bar Graph reading

shown on display for ease of use.

HOW ULTRASONIC LIQUID

LEVEL INDICATORS WORK*

*Images describing the Portalevel® model manufactured by Coltraco Ultrasonics

• Land based Industries e.g. Data Centres, Power Stations are

continuously monitoring fire systems

• Annual Inspection and lack of onboard maintenance program

leaves vessel vulnerable for 364 days a year

• Example: 15 mins to weigh one cylinder with 2 personnel = 16 in 4

hour period

• Technology exists to monitor fire systems constantly

• Potential future within Shipping to check CO2 and clean agents

Fire Safety IV

POTENTIAL FUTURE FOR

CONSTANT MONITORING

VESSEL

STABILITY

• Vessels operating in the harshest of environments

• Incredibly intense utilisation places great strain on

structure of the vessel over its lifetime

• This can have huge impacts upon numerous areas –

many well documented, others less so

IMPORTANCE

OF ROOM

INTEGRITY• Fire systems require room integrity to be effective

• ISO 14520 testing Watertight & Space Integrity is critical

• Upon discharge, if the agent is not contained within the

space, the fire may not be extinguished

• Yet, post construction, despite such issues as new cabling

being run and vessel stresses, new integrity tests are rare

• Land based facilities take great attention monitoring Room

Integrity condition – shipping can now too

Vessel Stability II

LEAK DETECTION SOLUTIONS & 24/7 MONITORING• Ultrasonic Technologies are clean, quick & highly accurate methods

• Familiar to Marine Industry – commonly used by Marine Surveyors,

P&I Clubs & Bulk Carrier fleets for Watertight Seal inspections

• Possible to monitor in fixed or semi-fixed nature to ensure

neglected area is alarmed, whilst not adding to crew workload

Vessel Stability III

1. Magnets attach the generator to

the hatch combing2. Use the receiver

wand to take an

open hatch value

3. Close the hatch-

covers and begin

testing the seals.

Accurate to 0.06mm.

4. Results: Linear & Bar Graph reading

shown on display for ease of use.

HOW ULTRASONIC

WATERTIGHT INTEGRITY

INDICATORS WORK*

*Images describing the Portascanner® model manufactured by Coltraco Ultrasonics

THE FUTURE• Ultrasound’s potential is currently under-valued in shipping

• Ultrasound technology has a huge amount to offer today

• Ultrasound has potential to dramatically enhance:

• Watertight Integrity

• Flood Detection

• Fire Fighting System Operability

• Room Integrity Monitoring

• Scientific understanding is critical for future Safeship solutions

Vessel Stability IV

A FUTURE LED BY

SCIENCE• Integrity

• Ultrasonic expertise rooted in Royal Navy Sonar – Submariner

• Evolving expertise from innovation to products & systems

• Long term scientific approach & working with Universities

• Excellence in Research & Development

• Involvement with All Party Parliamentary Maritime & Ports

Group and working on the ISO Standards for Gaseous Systems

C O L T R A C O . C O M

© Presentation owned by Coltraco Ultrasonics