External Visual Inspection for Pressure Vessels

Based on decades of experience working in high-moisture, offshore environments, Offshore Technical Compliance inspectors estimate that two-thirds of pressure vessel, tank and piping repairs required for offshore projects are due to external corrosion.

Corrosion problems may not be critical when first identified, but a good working knowledge of visual inspections, along with administration of an effective program, will help prevent unnecessary damage to a pressure vessel.

A visual inspection must include an examination of all external components, and the most successful programs require competent and recurrent visual inspection by trained inspectors.  Here, OTC has provided a graphical summary of the criteria involved in the external visual inspection of a pressure vessel.