Section 1 General

1.1.1 The requirements of this Chapter are applicable to the Periodical Surveys set out in Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys Except as amended at the discretion of the Committee, the periods between such surveys are as follows:

1. Annual Surveys – as required by Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.1.

2. Intermediate Surveys – as required by Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.2.

3. Docking Surveys – as required by Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.3.

4. In-water Surveys, see Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.5.

5. Special Surveys, see Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.6. For alternative arrangements, see also Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.10, Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.11, Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.12 and Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 1.1 Framework of Classification 1.1.2

6. Complete Surveys of machinery of six-yearly intervals, see Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.14

1.1.2 When it has been agreed that the complete survey of the hull and machinery may be carried out on the Continuous Survey basis, all compartments of the hull and all items of machinery are to be opened for survey in rotation to ensure that the interval between consecutive examinations of each part will not exceed six years, see Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.10 and Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 2, 4.5 Existing ships – Periodical Surveys 4.5.11.

1.1.3 For the frequency of surveys of machinery, boilers, steam pipes, screwshafts, tube shafts and propellers, see Sections Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 3, 7 Machinery survey – General requirements.

1.2.1 At any time when a ship is undergoing alterations or damage repairs, any exposed parts of the structure normally difficult of access are to be specially examined, e.g. if any part of the main or auxiliary machinery, including boilers or fittings, is removed for any reason, the hull structure in way is to be carefully examined, or when cement in the bottom, permanent ballast or sheathing on decks is removed, the structure in way is to be examined before replacement.

1.2.2 This examination should normally be carried out by a Surveyor, and the Owners should give as much notice as possible to LR so that arrangements can be made for attendance. In the absence of a Surveyor, due to the unforeseen nature of the removal, the Owner is to carry out a suitable examination and report the findings to LR as soon as practicable.

1.3.1 In the event that LR has cause to believe that its Rules and Regulations are not being complied with, LR reserves the right to perform unscheduled surveys.

1.3.2 In the event of significant damage or defect affecting any ship, LR reserves the right to perform unscheduled surveys of the hull of other similar ships classed by LR and deemed to be vulnerable.

1.3.3 A requirement to perform an unscheduled survey will be subject to the agreement of the Owner and operational needs.

1.4.1  The Owner may wish to retain the originals of certificates issued by LR; however, Naval ships are required to carry the following documentation on board so that the attending Surveyor is able to carry out his duties (certified copies of certificates are acceptable):

1. Endorsable Certificate of Class.

2. C11(N) - Record of watertight and weathertight closing arrangements.

3. Approved Stability information and damage control plan, and the following as applicable.

4. Lifting Appliances Certificate.

5. Pollution record of equipment.

6. Tonnage Certificate.

7. Safety Equipment Certificate and associated report.

8. Fire control plan.

1.5.1  Spaces are all separate compartments within the hull and superstructure including plated masts. Integral tanks are considered to be separate spaces.

1.5.2  Enclosed space is any place of an enclosed nature where there is a risk of death or serious injury from hazardous substances or dangerous conditions. Examples include, but are not limited to: boilers, pressure vessels, cargo spaces (cargo holds, or cargo tanks), cargo space stairways, ballast tanks, double bottoms, double hull spaces, fuel oil tanks, lube oil tanks, sewage-tanks, pump-rooms, compressor rooms, cofferdams, void spaces, duct keels, inter-barrier spaces, engine crankcases, excavations and pits.

1.5.3  Representative Spaces are those which may be expected to reflect the condition of other spaces of similar type and service and with similar corrosion prevention systems. When selecting representative spaces account should be taken of the service and repair history on board and identifiable critical areas.

1.5.4  Critical Areas are locations which are known to be vulnerable to corrosion, buckling and/or fatigue cracking. These will be identified at the plan approval stage.

1.5.5  Suspect Areas are locations within the hull structure vulnerable to increased likelihood of structural deterioration and may include:

1. For steel hulls, areas of corrosion and/or fatigue cracking.

2. For aluminium alloy hulls, areas of fatigue cracking and areas in the vicinity of bimetallic connections.

3. For composite hulls, areas subject to impact damage.

4. For high speed ships, areas of the bottom structure forward prone to slamming damage.

1.5.6 For ships designed to the Rules and Regulations for the Classification of Ships, Substantial Corrosion is defined as wastage of individual plates and stiffeners in excess of 75 per cent of allowable margins, but within acceptable limits.

1.5.7 For ships designed on a net scantling basis (using for example the Rules and Regulations for the Classification of Naval Ships)) Substantial Corrosion is defined as the wastage of individual plates and stiffeners in excess of the net scantlings, less an allowance for rolling, but within corrosion limits that are applicable for the structure concerned.

1.5.8  Excessive Corrosion is wastage in excess of acceptable limits that are applicable for the structure concerned.

1.5.9  Protective Coatings for steel ships should usually be hard coatings. Other coating systems (e.g. soft coating) may be considered acceptable as alternatives provided they are applied and properly maintained in compliance with the manufacturer’s specification.

1.5.10 Coating conditions for steel ships are defined as follows:

• GOOD condition with only minor spot rusting affecting not more than 20 per cent of areas under consideration.
• FAIR condition with local breakdown at edges of stiffeners and weld connections and/or light rusting affecting 20 per cent or more of areas under consideration.
• POOR condition with general breakdown of coating affecting 20 per cent or more of areas under consideration or hard scale affecting 10 per cent or more of the area under consideration.

1.5.11 A Deep Tank is a tank that extends upwards from the ship’s bottom or inner bottom to or higher than the lowest deck.

1.5.12 A Ballast Tank is a tank which is solely used for salt-water ballast. A space which is used for purposes other than salt-water ballast but may also be used for salt-water ballast will be treated as a salt-water ballast tank when substantial corrosion has been found.

1.6.1 In order to enable the attending Surveyor(s) to carry out surveys, provisions for safe access and for survey are to be agreed between the Owner and LR.

1.6.2 Means are to be provided to enable the Surveyor to examine the structure in a safe and practical way. Where the provisions of safety and required access are determined by the Surveyor not to be adequate, then the survey of the space(s) involved is not to proceed.

1.6.3 Spaces are to be made safe for access and survey and are to be sufficiently cleaned, illuminated and ventilated.

1.6.4 In preparation for survey, thickness measurements and to allow for a thorough examination, cleaning is to include removal from surfaces of all loose accumulated corrosion scale. Spaces are to be sufficiently clean and free from water, scale, dirt, oil residues, etc. to reveal corrosion, deformation, fractures, damages or other structural deterioration, as well as the condition of the protective coating. However, those areas of structure whose renewal has already been decided by the Owner need only be cleaned and descaled to the extent necessary to determine the limits of renewed areas.

1.6.5 Where soft or semi-hard coatings have been applied, safe access is to be provided for the Surveyor to verify the effectiveness of the coating and to carry out an assessment of the conditions of internal structures which may include spot removal of the coating. When safe access cannot be provided, the soft or semi-hard coating is to be removed.

1.6.6 Prior to entering an enclosed space, it is to be verified by a competent person using a calibrated multi gas meter that the atmosphere in that space is free from hazardous gas and contains sufficient oxygen.

1.6.7 Emergency equipment and personnel are to be available in case of an emergency or rescue operation.

1.6.8 Information on procedures, equipment operating instructions and safety checklists is to be available.

1.6.9 During the survey, ventilation is to be ensured and periodic testing is to be carried out as necessary to verify that the atmosphere remains safe for access.

1.6.10 For surveys, including close-up survey where applicable, in cargo spaces and ballast tanks, one or more of the following means of access, is to be provided:

1. Permanent staging and passages through structures.

2. Temporary staging and passages through structures.

3. Lifts and movable platforms.

4. Boats or rafts.

5. Other equivalent means.

1.6.11 Survey at sea or anchorage may be undertaken when the Surveyor is fully satisfied with the necessary assistance from the personnel on board and provided the following conditions and limitations are met:

1. Surveys of tanks by means of boats or rafts is at the sole discretion of the attending Surveyor, who is to take into account the safety arrangements provided, including weather forecasting and ship response in reasonable sea conditions. Appropriate life jackets are to be available for all participants. The boats or rafts are to have satisfactory residual buoyancy and stability even if one chamber is ruptured. A safety checklist is also to be provided. A multi-gas meter, breathing apparatus, lifeline and whistles are to be at hand during the survey. For oil supply ships an explosimeter is also to be provided.

2. A communication system is to be arranged between the survey party in the tank and the responsible officer on deck. This system must include the personnel in charge of ballast pump handling if boats or rafts are to be used.

3. Surveys of tanks by means of boats or rafts will only be permitted for the under deck areas of tanks when the coating of the under deck structure is in GOOD condition and there is no evidence of wastage. The only exception to this, at the discretion of the Surveyor, is where the depth of under deck web plating is 1,5 m or less. Alternatively, rafting may be used if a permanent means of access is provided in each bay to allow safe entry and exit. This means of access is to be direct from deck via a vertical ladder and a small platform fitted approximately 2 m below deck. Where these conditions are not met, then the under deck area will require to be staged for survey.

1.7.1 Any damage in association with wastage over the allowable limit (including buckling, grooving, detachment or fracture), or extensive areas of wastage over the allowable limits, which affects or, in the opinion of the Surveyor, will affect the ship's structural, watertight or weathertight integrity, is to be promptly and thoroughly repaired. Areas to be considered include, (where fitted):

1. Side shell frames, their end attachments or adjacent shell plating;

2. deck structure and deck plating;

3. bottom structure and bottom plating;

4. side structure and side plating;

5. inner bottom structure and inner bottom plating;

6. inner side structure and inner side plating;

7. watertight or oiltight bulkheads;

8. hatch covers or hatch coamings.

For locations where adequate repair facilities are not available, consideration may be given to allow the ship to proceed directly to a repair facility. This may require discharging the cargo and/or temporary repairs for the intended voyage.

1.7.2 Additionally, when a survey results in the identification of substantial corrosion or structural defects, either of which, in the opinion of the Surveyor, will impair the ship's fitness for continued service, remedial measures are to be implemented before the ship continues in service.

1.8.1 This Section is applicable to the thickness measurement of the hull structure where required by Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 3, 2 Annual Surveys – Hull, machinery and optional requirements, Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 3, 3 Intermediate Surveys – Hull and machinery requirements, Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 3, 5 Special Survey – Hull requirements, and Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 3, 6 Special Survey – Thickness measurement requirements for steel ships.

1.8.2 Further to the requirements of Vol 1, Pt 1, Ch 3, 1.6 Preparation for survey and means of access 1.6.11 a survey planning meeting is to be held between the attending Surveyor(s), the Owner’s representative and the thickness measurement firm's representative, so as to ensure the safe and efficient execution of the surveys and thickness measurements to be carried out on board.

1.8.3 Thickness measurements are normally to be taken by means of ultrasonic test equipment and are to be carried out by a company approved in accordance with LR’s Approval for Thickness Measurement of Hull Structures.

1.8.4 The Surveyor may require measuring the thickness of the material in any portion of the structure where signs of wastage are evident or wastage is normally found. Any parts of the structure which are found defective or excessively reduced in scantlings are to be made good by materials of the approved scantlings and quality. Attention is to be given to the structure in way of discontinuities.

1.8.5 Thickness measurements are to be witnessed by the Surveyor. This requires the Surveyor to be on board, while the measurements are carried out, to the extent necessary to control the process. This also applies to thickness measurements carried out while the ship is at sea.

1.8.6 The Surveyor may extend the scope of thickness measurement if deemed necessary.

1.8.7 Where it is required as part of the survey to carry out thickness measurements for the structural areas subject to Close-up Survey, then these measurements are to be carried out simultaneously with the Close-up Survey.

1.8.8 Thickness measurements are to be taken at the forward and aft areas of shell plates. A number of readings should be taken in a local area, and averaged to provide the recorded reading. The extent of local substantial corrosion of plates is to be established by intensive measurement in the affected areas. Where measured plates are to be renewed, the thicknesses of adjacent plates in the same strake are to be reported.

1.8.9 A report is to be prepared by the approved company carrying out the thickness measurements. The report is to give the location of measurement, the thickness measured as well as the corresponding original thickness. The report is to give the date when measurement was carried out, the type of measuring equipment, names of personnel and their qualifications and is to be signed by the operator.

1.8.10 The thickness measurement report is to be verified and signed by the Surveyor and countersigned by an authorising Surveyor.

1.8.11 In all cases the extent of the thickness measurements is to be sufficient to represent the actual average condition.