Planning guide · Published by Atlantis NDT
Marine survey and NDT scope: make the responsibility boundary explicit
Coordinate owner, survey and examination requirements for vessel or offshore maintenance without assuming class approval.
Start with the decision you need to make
A marine maintenance scope may involve the owner, repair contractor, survey organization and NDT provider. Write down what each party is expected to inspect, witness, review or approve. A request for NDT does not by itself include survey approval or every access and mobilization service. Identify the asset location and the work window, then reconcile the examination requirements with the repair and survey plan. The final report should make coverage and limitations understandable to the shore team as well as the people present onboard.
What to check and why it matters
| Decision area | Evidence to prepare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Survey requirements | Collect the applicable owner and survey instructions, including any witness or approval points. Confirm the party authorized to interpret them. | Which examinations require coordination with a survey representative? |
| Access and execution | Describe onboard locations, preparation, access arrangements and the maintenance window. Assign operational coordination responsibilities. | What dependencies could prevent the agreed examination coverage? |
| Evidence handover | Agree drawings, location references and the report package expected by the owner and reviewer. Keep survey disposition distinct from NDT observations. | Can the shore team identify the examined area and unresolved limitations? |
Illustrative example · Not a customer case study
Apply the questions to a real-world situation
Hypothetical repair period: the repair contractor requests a weld examination, while the owner’s survey plan requires a separate witness step. The coordinator records both activities and aligns their timing before closing access. The NDT report documents the examination performed, and the survey disposition remains a separate controlled record. This avoids treating a completed examination as automatic closure of the wider repair package.
Prepare your working brief
Capture what is known and name the unresolved questions. You can use the worksheet without registering or sending information to Atlantis.
- Asset and location
- Identify vessel or offshore component and drawing references.
- Required roles
- List owner, repair contractor, survey and NDT responsibilities.
- Work window
- Describe access, preparation and scheduling dependencies.
- Examination scope
- State the specified work and any witness requirements for confirmation.
- Handover
- Define report references, unresolved items and receiving reviewer.
When you need project-specific support
Discuss the required NDT work through a marine inspection scope review. Confirm the current deliverables and fit for your requirement with the Atlantis team.
Explore asset-linked inspection records. Confirm the current deliverables and fit for your requirement with the Atlantis team.
For a US enquiry, include the project state and time zone, the responsible employer or owner, and the documents governing the work. For other countries, include the relevant recognition or customer requirements. Delivery and availability are confirmed for the engagement.
Request an inspection scope reviewScope and further reading
Class-society approval, offshore mobilization and specialist access capability must be confirmed for the specific scope. This resource does not establish those authorizations.
Continue with the detailed companion guide, Repair-Window Evidence Ownership and Shore-to-Ship Handover Records, for a related evidence-handling workflow and its source references. The planning suggestions here are original discussion aids, not approved procedures or reproductions of standards.
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