Crofton was recently tasked to conduct an American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) UWILD (Underwater Inspection of Lieu of Drydock) on the USNS Charlton, a Logistics Naval Vessel built in 2000 and assigned to the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) in the Pacific.
The USNS Charlton (T-AKR-314) is one of MSCommand’s 19 Large, Medium-Speed Rollon/ Roll-off Ships and is part of the 33 ships in the Prepositioning Program.
Crofton is an approved ABS Recognized Specialist for providing in-water docking surveys. While Crofton divers were performing the ABS inspection on USNS Charlton, under the supervision of an ABS Surveyor, they identified the running gear of the vessel had too much marine growth for the Surveyor to sign off on the inspection.
Crofton was subsequently asked to submit a Condition Found Report (CFR) and to provide pricing for the cleaning of the propellers, struts, shafts and stern tubes.
Crofton’s proposal was accepted, and divers are currently using hydraulic scrubbers to clean the propellers and pressure washers to complete the remaining component cleanings. When the cleaning is finished, divers will complete the originally scheduled UWILD with the ABS Surveyor.
Republished from Marine Construction Magazine Issue V, 2021
