Using material science tools to monitor of the qualitative condition of hull steel of ships and vessels

Abstract The article discusses two methods for monitoring the structural state of steel in ship hulls. The first method is based on the use of fragments extracted from the longitudinal stiffeners of the deck. The second method of monitoring of the technical condition of the ship’s hull involves using overhead sheets as “surveillance specimens” of structural damage to the hull steel, contacting (jointly) working with the hull structures, in which the highest stresses from the transported goods and waves are developed. The total number of surveillance specimens should be so that it is possible to organize systematic monitoring of the structural damage that gradually accumulates in the hull steel throughout the entire operational period of the vessel. During the operation of a ship or a vessel, hull steel is exposed to time-varying wave loads and degrades. This is reflected in the growth of structural damage to the hull steel, the steel gradually looses, and its quality state is changed.