How to Clean a Ship Duct System
A ship duct is the tunnel beneath the hull of the ship which allows smoother flow of the vessel. It decreases the propulsion wake height of the ship and resultantly, increases the laminar flow along its hull. It is said that this duct increases a ship’s efficiency and speed by 10 per cent and decreases the usage of fuel. Since this tunnel remains under water all the times, it was thought that it doesn’t need cleaning at all. However, proliferation of invasive marine creatures in the United States waters has been noticed due to not cleaning these ship ducts. It is quite possible that cleaning ship duct becomes the statutory requirement in the coming days to avoid such things.
Instructions
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1
First of all, you have to inform the shipyard and dry dock managers that you are on site to provide duck cleaning service. You will be required to present your identification and a copy of contract of duct cleaning to the officials present at the dock. Besides that, you will also required to comply with all the safety measurements for that particular yard.
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2
Once you are granted the access to the yard, reach the appropriate dock with all the necessary equipment for cleaning and your own safety, including non-skid rubber boots, hard hat, safety goggles, leather work gloves and a flotation device.
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3
You will have to wait until the ship enters the dry dock appropriately. The dry dock supervisor will instruct you when to enter the specific area and the time limited provided for your task to be completed. The supervisor might also inform you about any specifications for performing your duties.
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4
Place the pollution containment booms flat on the deck to make a repression area, making a 5 feet square. Oil absorption pads and granules are to be placed within this containment area. These booms and pads won’t stop the water runoff when debris is cleaned from the duct but they will certainly strain oil from an oily water runoff significantly.
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5
Any oily water spill passing through the containment booms should be moped with the oil absorbent pads.
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6
Start your work from the overhead of the duct and keep moving down the sides to the bottom. Use pneumatic chipping hammer for scraping the scale and needle gun to dirt-free the pitted areas.
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7
As for removing the debris from the duct’s floor, you have to use the Arnesson horizontal deck scaler. After cleaning the floor, use the deck squeegee and a broom to sweep the debris; then use a shovel to put the waste material in appropriate containers.
