Repairs alongside: working without losing the cargo window

#Not every repair needs a dock

Much of a ship's repair list can be done while she works: internal structure, deck fittings, piping, hatch covers, machinery. Done alongside, or by a riding squad during the voyage, the work costs no off-hire days — if it is planned for the conditions.

#Permits first

Hot work on a ship in port needs the agreement of the ship and the terminal, under the port's rules. In practice:

• the space and the adjacent tanks are gas-freed, tested and certified safe for hot work;
• a hot-work permit is issued for each job and each day;
• a fire watch stays in place during the work and after it;
• cargo operations near the work are coordinated or stopped.

None of this is paperwork for its own sake: a ship alongside is surrounded by cargo, fuel and people.

#Access and logistics

Staging, lighting, ventilation, welding machines and gases have to reach the work without blocking the cargo operation. Material is prefabricated where possible, so the time on board goes into fitting and welding, not cutting.

#Riding squads

When the work is bigger than a port stay, a team sails with the ship. The squad works to a plan agreed before departure, with materials loaded on board and a clear limit to what can be done at sea — and what must wait for the next port or the dock.

#Coordination is the job

A repair alongside works when everyone sees the same plan: the master and the chief engineer, the terminal, the superintendent and, when the item involves class, the surveyor. Our supervisor's job is to keep that plan current, hour by hour.