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Thermal Imaging Keeps Eye on SOLAS Requirements
01 Nov 2006
Advances in technology in thermal imaging have presented ship owners and operators with an opportunity to reduce the costs of meeting the requirements of maritime insurance companies through a regime of ongoing planned maintenance. By using the latest low cost thermal imaging cameras, on board engineers are able to constantly check surface temperatures at sea to ensure none exceed the 220o limit imposed by insurance companies.
This data was previously obtained while the ship was in dock, using thermographers to record temperatures as the engines ran to full capacity. The new monitoring regime is designed primarily to alert engineers to the presence of cracks or breakdowns in the boiler insulation that could result in surfaces reaching the critical 260o point at which hydraulic fluids and oils could ignite.
On board thermal imagers can also be used to check for hot spots in electrical control panels, refrigeration equipment, HVAC and air conditioning networks, hoists or any other piece of equipment containing motors and bearings.
Northampton UK based IRISYS has recently launched a low cost, high resolution imager costing less than £3,500 which is already in use on one European line’s 31 ship fleet.
IRISYS’s Alan Thomson said, ‘Not only are we assisting ship owners to meet the SOLAS requirements of their insurers, we are giving them the benefit of doing it a significantly lower cost than the previous in-dock procedures. At the same time, engineers are able to monitor equipment such as electrical control panels and bearings in pumps as part of the ship’s ongoing maintenance regime.’
MJ Information No: 22418
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