Offshore Basket & Container Inspection

An offshore container is lifted between a moving vessel and a fixed installation, repeatedly, in conditions where a dropped load is a major incident. That is why cargo carrying units are certified to a stricter regime than onshore containers and re-examined far more often — and why a CCU with a lapsed certificate will not be lifted, regardless of what is inside it.

Units covered

• Offshore containers and CCUs
• Cargo baskets and skips
• Half-height and open-top units
• Tanks and bottle racks
• Waste skips and mud skips
• Tool and equipment boxes
• Pipe and tubular baskets
• Frames, cradles and stillages
• Personnel transfer baskets
• Associated sling sets and shackles

What the inspection covers

• Primary structure — frame, corner posts, base and load-bearing members examined for cracking, deformation, corrosion and previous repair
• Padeyes and lifting points, with non-destructive testing of the padeye and its weld to the structure, which is where the failures that matter originate
• Secondary structure, panels, doors, hinges and locking arrangements
• Floor condition, drainage and load-bearing capability
• Sling set condition, certification and matching to the unit, including shackle grade and condition
• Identification plate, safe working load, tare and gross mass marking, and CCU number
• Colour coding and previous certification records
• Repair history and evidence of unauthorised modification or welding

Padeye NDT

Padeyes carry the entire load through a small number of welded connections that see cyclic loading every lift. Magnetic particle inspection of the padeye and its attachment weld is required at the periodic examination, and it is the check that finds the fatigue cracking a visual examination will not. Where a unit is in heavy service or has a repair history, the interval is shortened.

Inspection intervals

Offshore containers are subject to a visual examination at intervals not exceeding twelve months, and to a more extensive periodic examination including NDT of lifting points at the interval the standard sets — commonly every four years for the full re-examination, with annual inspection between. Units in aggressive service, with a repair history, or used for personnel transfer are inspected more frequently. Sling sets carry their own six-monthly examination requirement independent of the unit.

Units are colour-coded on inspection so that a deck crew can see at a glance whether a CCU is in date. A unit whose certification has lapsed is quarantined, not deferred.

Standards applied

• DNV 2.7-1 — offshore containers, design, manufacture and certification
• EN 12079 — offshore containers and associated lifting sets, covering design, manufacture, marking and periodic inspection
• ISO 10855 — offshore containers and associated lifting sets
• IMO guidelines and the International Convention for Safe Containers where applicable
• Class society requirements and operator specifications, including ADNOC offshore requirements

Where inspection is carried out

Inspection is performed at supply bases, yards, quaysides and offshore installations across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah, and offshore on mobilisation. Because units are usually inspected in batches as they cycle back to the base, attendance is scheduled around the backload programme rather than requiring units to be held.

Accreditation and approvals

ITMAD is accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 as an inspection body, is an ADNOC approved inspection contractor, and is listed on the Abu Dhabi City Municipality register of Approved Third Party Inspection Bodies. We act independently of the owner, the operator and the hire company.

What you receive

• An inspection certificate for each unit, in the format the operator or class society requires
• A report identifying each unit by CCU number, type, tare and gross mass
• NDT reports covering padeyes and lifting points
• Sling set certification and condition assessment
• Findings with photographic evidence, classified by severity
• Colour-coded tagging applied on inspection
• Your CCU register updated with next due dates, where we hold it

Related services

Offshore container inspection is normally scheduled alongside marine and pedestal crane inspection and lifting gear inspection, so that the crane, the units and the gear connecting them are examined in one attendance.