Materials and Coatings Damage Resulting from Environmental Degradation Aboard Naval Ships

Maintenance and preservation of seawater and fuel, ballast tanks and voids resulting from the environmental degradation of coatings present a unique and costly problem for the United States Naval Fleet. Present methods of inspection require human entry into the tanks only after a series of measurements have been taken to ensure safety. With the advent of remotely operated vehicles and cameras having a high level of accuracy and functionality, it has now become economically feasible to employ these instruments for the inspection of tanks and voids of the United States Naval Fleet. This paper presents two unique remotely operated inspections systems, which allow for unmanned inspection of tanks and voids along with quantitative results of the damaged coating areas.