Virtual Reality on Marine Business

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Virtual Reality is a technology that is ready to be implemented in our daily lives. This Article concentrate on the use of VR in the maritime industry.

During the past few years’ VR has become more and more used in the construction and real estate industry and has a lot of potentials to become a great tool for Marine and Vessel surveying and management.

In 24 Marine we have few years implementing virtual reality as part of the survey package standards for Vessels, boats, Industrial, and cargo surveys.

During all this time we have received many comments and feedback from our customers and affiliates, which we are summarizing in this article.

Benefits of Virtual Reality for Maritime Industry:

  • Immersive visual experiences help streamline expectations for project delivery and clarity of the spaces inspected.
  • Potential boats buyers can get valuable insights into the various spaces, layouts, compartments, and equipment.
  • Vessels regulators (flag states, port controls, class societies, insurance companies, etc.) can have a truly clear view of spaces around the vessel, critical areas.
  • Incident investigations can benefit from VR to document in detail the area conditions and possible to identify causes and contributing factors.
  • Another great benefit of the VR model is to vessel and installation managers also can include metadata that contains the names and equipment details as well as operations and maintenance documentation. See an example here

See article from VR survey from the user perspective HERE

Why boats Sea Trials?

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Having a boat Sea trial for the first time should be an essential part of the process to buy a Boat and is the most practical test you can perform on your new boat. Buying a boat is very emotional and when the human act on emotions can forget the things that really matter.

When testing a new boat, always try:

  1. Create a real-life atmosphere on the boat, as close as possible to a typical day.
  2. Ensure to set targets for performance (RPM, speed, trim, roll, etc.)
  3. Play the different roles on board (driver, passenger, helper). Get the feeling!!!
  4. Try to replicate the future use (Sports, fishing, cursing, etc.)
  5. Bring the boat to max speed (30 Knots if possible), perform a hard turn, and test conditions in rough waters.
  6. At calm waters, center the wheel and note how well the boat keeps its straight line.
  7. Heading into and away from the sun, compare glare and reflections.

A test ride is not just a pleasure cruise, it is your best chance to see how the vessel responds, accommodates passengers, and fit to your needs as a potential owner.

Spend the time wisely and get the feeling as if you own the boat already.

24 Marine Smart Surveyors are available to assist you on get a full assessment of the boat you are planning to buy.

Marine Surveyor (Tips to select them)

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Marine surveyors are experts who evaluate and assess the condition of ships,
boats, and other maritime vessels. Their function is critical in guaranteeing vessel
safety and seaworthiness, and they are expected to maintain high ethical standards
in their work.
24marine.com

Below 6 important notes when selecting a marine surveyor to represent your interest:

  1. Marine surveyors must have the knowledge, skills, and expertise to carry out their jobs efficiently. They should also be conscious of their own limitations and seek advice or support when needed.
  2. Marine surveyors must maintain integrity and honesty in all of their dealings. They must not make false or misleading claims or engage in any action that jeopardizes their integrity.
  3. Marine surveyors have to keep a professional posture at all times. They should dress appropriately and speak effectively with clients, colleagues, and other survey participants.
  4. They should not be influenced by external considerations such as the vessel’s owner or operator, charterer, or any other entity with an interest in the vessel. Their opinions and suggestions should be based purely on the facts of the case, and any conflicts of interest should be avoided.
  5. Marine surveyors should put safety first in their work. They must identify any safety risks and adopt suitable prevention/mitigation actions. They should also be familiar with pertinent safety legislation and guidelines.
  6. Marine surveyors must keep their clients’ information confidential and should not release any information without the client’s permission or unless required by law.

BWTS Testing EPA-VGP & IMO-D2

Posted Leave a commentPosted in 24marine, 3D Scanning, Ballast Water, Drones, VGP, VGP, WTS D2

Vessels with Ballast Water Treatment Systems installed and planned to sail to US waters, need to comply with both regulations.

  • US EPA VGP 2013
  • IMO BWM.2/Circ.70

Vessels sailing in US waters must comply with the US maritime regulations (EPA VGP 2013), just for the simple reason that the US is not a signatory of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention.

In order to comply with the regulations, the discharge water from BWTS need to be tested in order to confirm Biological Efficacy, and that the system is operated in accordance with the standards and requirements.

By performing the discharge water testing the specialist (24marine.com) can check the mechanical, physical, chemical and biological process of the BWTS, and compliance with regulations, It is recommended that the Sampling and Testing is performed by a independent test facility, accredited and certified to perform the tests required. See 24marine.com for more info.


24Marine will verify that your BWMS is operated in accordance with performance and standards at discharge as per USCG  and IMO.

Different type of systems (Chlorine, Ozone, Electrolytic, Ultraviolet, Pasteurization, etc) require different type of tests, sampling and check procedures.

When the test are performed by land based facility (Accredited Laboratory) it is really important to hire a specialist (trained) water sampling specialist, in order to collect, filed test, preserve, transport, document and deliver the samples to the lab following the standards. If the Sampling procedures are not followed by standards the sample can be declared as not valid.

Cargo Tanks – Drone Inspection

Posted Leave a commentPosted in 24marine, Drones, IHM, Insurance, Investigation, Panama Canal

Drones and UAV offer a very real solution for the inspection of confined areas, such as tanks / cargo holds. Traditional inspection of these tanks is a laborious, expensive and poses many potential risks. The use of a drone revolutionises the time  needed and the the safety of cargo tanks and cargo holds inspection.

By performing tanks  and cargo holds inspections using drones the specialist (24marine.com) can check the the real time conditions of places that are not accesible by normal human conditions.

A drone can be quickly deployed to capture images and video to allow asset inspectors to view all internal spaces. This includes fitting pipes, wall and bulkheads junctions, welding, structural members, without the need for workers to spend time in a highly hazardous environment,  workinng at high.

Industry statistics shows that 98% of the costs are related to HSE and preparation, only 2% to the inspection itself. By removing the need for staging, scaffolding, downtime and the time is taken for humans to enter confined spaces leads to a cost reduction that amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars


Traditional cargo tank inspection takes days to implement. Tank inspections carried out by a drone can take as little as two hours per tank. or cargo hold.

Smart Surveyors at Panama

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Smart Surveyors at Panama
In a research conducted by IIMS, shows that a increasing demand for vessel managers, ships operators and insurance companies to have presence worldwide in order to keep close monitoring on the fleets.
 During the last years, when travelling restrictions were rulling all of us, many Global leading inspection companies, Vessel owners and Insurance companies, got the benefits working with 24Marine.com. Strategically located at Panama, covering the whole continent and the Caribbeam sea.
24Marine.com with many years of COMMITMENT, FAST RESPONSE and ACCURATE REPORTING, for many of our customers, being part of so many Global Networks of First Class Surveyors keep us motivated, and adjusting on daily basis to keep developing and adopting New Technologies.

We have plenty experience performing clear and detailed:Conditions surveys.Investigations.P&I inspections.Purchase and pre-charters surveys.
We are very open and use to work with our Customers Formats, Platforms, Reporting Portals, etc. 

In our team we have professionals surveyors, certified; comming from different background of the Marine Industry:Naval ArchitechsFlag InspectorsMarine OfficersFormer Superintendents
See more details at 24marine.com. We are ready to assist you in our region.

Sincerely,

Luis Chavez
Commercial Manager, 24Marine.com

BWTS Retrofit 3D Scanned in 8 Hours

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As all members of the Maritime Family are always looking ways to minimize downtime, standby and maximize waiting time, we in 24Marine.com have implemented 2 Scanners in our BWTS 3D Scanning retrofit teams. With two scanners and with careful coordination’s we can achieve 40% time reduction in 3D scanning retrofit projects for vessels.

See below few scenarios where we have taste the benefits and time savings:
-Scanning two separate ballast tanks in parallel
-Scanning Pump room and Engine room in simultaneously
-Scanning Main Deck and Engine room in parallel

We have completed many projects with record times between 8 to 10 hours scanning time, while the vessel is at Port or awaiting at anchorage.

 Here our formula:
2 Scanners X 4 Engineers = 8 Hours Ship scanned 

Tips for good 3D laser vessel scanning projects

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We are always looking to get the best data for our internal and external customers.

While performing 3D laser scanning projects for BWTS and EGCS retrofits, we use few techniques to optimize and standarize our data delirevables.

Tip 01:
– We always orientate the scanner to the same relative direction inside the vessel

Tip 02:
– Whenever possible we progress in the area using clock wise orientation.

Tip 03:
– When scanning inside ballast tanks, we try to mark a reference in the area we are scanning.

24marine.com

Vessel Conditions Surveys without affecting operations

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We have been performing conditions surveys onboard vessels, for many years now.

One of our main objectives is not to affect vessels-cargo operations during inspections. For this reason is very important to plan, here few details to consider for a Successful condition survey while in port.

– Full contact with the superintendent at least a week before.
– Coordination with Master, (to prepare documents, spaces to inspect, etc) and post-survey comms.
– Early coordination with local Agent, to understand vessel plans (port call, anchorage time, others)
– Once onboard have a pre-meeting with chiefs from all departments and Master.
– Need to understand the vessel plans and priorities, adjust vessel inspection based on that.

Safety pins for CO2 Valves

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CO2 Cylinder Valves

In many locations we have detected the misunderstanding on the usage or not of safety pins on CO2 Systems Cylinders Valves.

As per FSS Code Chapter 9. “2.1.1 Any required fixed fire detection and fire alarm system with manually operated call points shall be capable of immediate operation at all times”

There are two types of valves for automatic release CO2 Cylinders:

Type A Valves: For type A cylinder valve, the safety pin acts as a safety device during transportation, installation and testing phases. The pin must be removed to commission the system otherwise the CO2 system is inoperable.

Type B Valves: For type B cylinder valve, the safety pin is necessary to prevent the unintended discharge of CO2 due to vibration and the pin is required to remain in place until discharge of the CO2. Where the CO2 is discharged remotely from a fire station, the CO2 can be discharged without removal of the safety pin.

24marine.com has a team of professional surveyors, engineers, and naval architects that are ready to inspect any vessel at Latin America.

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Latinamerica 3D Laser Scanning Engine Room

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Today digitalization also applies to vessels, by performing a 3D laser scan of vessel compartments we can recreate a digital model of the engine room, the model is used for design and project planning, like BWTS retrofits, EGCS retrofits and drydocking upgrades.

24marine.com has a team of scanners, processors, engineers, and naval architects that are ready to scan any vessel in Latin America.

Videos say 1000 words…      See our professional team performing a scanning project.

24Marine Marine Cargo 3D Laser Scan Panama IHM Surveyors Panama Canal Hazmat Yachts Conditions Surveys Damage Claims Vessel Valuations Prepurchase Surveys Precharter Surveys ROV Drones remote inspections IHM surveys
Panama Latinamerica Vessel Surveyors 24 marine.
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Surveys during Panama Canal

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Panama Canal transit time is normally between 10 to 12 hours, this time give Operators, Charters, and Owners the opportunity to perform surveys. Panama Canal Authority has limits on critical equipment tests, enclosed space entries, and any other activities that could affect the vessel operations while in transit.equipment test at the anchorages.

Here below factors we normally take into account before deciding if performing the survey while the vessel is transiting the canal:

  • Panama Canal transit time is normally between 10 to 12 hours, this time give Operators, Charters, and Owners the opportunity to perform surveys. Panama Canal Authority has limits on critical equipment tests, enclosed space entries, and any other activities that could affect the vessel operations while in transit.equipment test at the anchorages.
  • Here below factors we normally take into account before deciding if performing the survey while the vessel is transiting the canal:
  • For surveys that need equipment test, we can use some anchorage time, before or after canal transit.
  • If the vessel is planned to have a stop-over in the lake, it is a good opportunity to check the bridge and decks.
  • Canal transit time is perfect to inspect Engine room areas and interview Engineers.
  • Bunker time before or after Canal is a good time to interview Bridge Crew.
  • Tanks inspections is possible at the anchorages.
  • IHM Surveys is possible during Panama Canal Transit without the need for Anchorage time.
  • 3D Scanning is only possible during Anchorage time and/or port call, as the vibration while the vessel is moving can affect the quality of the 3D Scans.
  • ISM-MLC-ISPS Audits, possible during Canal, and timing the critical equipment test at the anchorages.

In 24marine.com we are looking all options and possibilities to perform surveys, taking advantages of any time available, while respecting regulations and operations limitations.

24Marine Marine Cargo 3D Laser Scan Panama IHM Surveyors Panama Canal Hazmat Yachts Conditions Surveys Damage Claims Vessel Valuations Prepurchase Surveys Precharter Surveys ROV Drones remote inspections IHM surveys
Panama Latinamerica Vessel Surveyors 24 marine.
24 marine yacht surveyors sailboat surveyors damage claims condition inspeccion de riesgos inspeccion de siniestros botes lanchas.
24 marine ROV Panama Drones Remote inspectionsmarine 24marine.com