17.6 American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Welding Rules
David Colameco, M.Ed.
The American Bureau of Shipping was founded in 1862. Its mission is stated on its website “to serve the public interest as well as the needs of our members and clients by promoting the security of life and property and preserving the natural environment.” (ABS, 2023). In Washington State you will find ABS welding standards for ferries, cruise ships, and barges to name a few.
Development of ABS Rules and Guidelines
The American Bureau of Shipping uses a consensus based approach for developing and maintaining ABS rules and guides through committees.
Similar to ASME, ABS has developed Rules and Requirements for Materials and Welding (Part 2) which separates materials and welding from many other ABS rules and guides and allows common requirements and recommendations for materials and welding to be placed in a single document. The documents that reference the Rules and Requirements for Materials and Welding are:
- Rules for Building and Classing Marine Vessels
- Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels for Service on Rivers and Intercoastal Waterways
- Rules for Building and Classing Mobile Offshore Units
- Rules for Building and Classing Steel Barges
- Rules for Building and Classing High-Speed Craft
- Rules for Building and Classing Floating Production Installations
- Rules for Building and Classing Light Warships, Patrol and High-Speed Naval Vessels
- Rules for Building and Classing Yachts
- Guide for Building and Classing Liftboats
- Guide for Building and Classing International Naval Ships
The ABS Rules and Guidelines are available for free download here.
Basics of the ABS Rules and Guidelines for welding
ABS Rules and Guidelines Part 2 – Materials and Welding focuses on hull construction and other topics such as welder qualification and inspection. A list of the chapter titles of Part 2 provides a very good overview of what is contained within. As you read over the contents of Part 2 you will find that the topics include materials, different welding applications, welding and fabrication rules, examinations, and qualification of welders and welding operators.
- Chapter 1 Materials for Hull Construction
- Chapter 2 Equipment
- Chapter 3 Materials for Machinery, Boilers, and Pressure Vessels
- Chapter 4 Welding and Fabrication
- Chapter 5 Materials for Hull Construction – Aluminum
- Chapter 6 Materials for Hull Construction – Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP)
- Appendix 1 Tests Required for Materials and Responsibility for Verifying
- Appendix 2 Requirements for the Approval of Filler Metals
- Appendix 3 Application of Filler Metals to ABS Steels
- Appendix 4 Procedure for the Approval of Manufacturers of Hull Structural Steel
- Appendix 5 Hull Structural Steels Intended for Welding with High Heat Input
- Appendix 6 Nondestructive Examination of Marine Steel Castings
- Appendix 7 Nondestructive Examination of Hull and Machinery Steel Forgings
- Appendix 8 Steel with Enhanced Corrosion Resistance Properties
- Appendix 9 Welding Procedure Qualification of Steels for Hull Construction and Marine Structures
- Appendix 10 Procedure for Approved Aluminum Manufacturers
- Appendix 11 Qualification for Welders and Welding Operators
- Appendix 12 Comparison of Existing Materials and Welding Rules vs. 2018 Materials and Welding Rules
Chapter 1: Materials for Hull Construction discusses inspection and weld repair of material found to have defects. Chapter 2: Equipment mainly discusses the rules and requirements for anchors and anchor chains. These items may be welded during manufacture and repair. Chapter 3 discusses the requirements of materials used in machinery, boilers, pressure vessels and piping. Similar to Chapter 1, inspection and testing of materials for acceptance is discussed along with heat treatment for each application for example. Welding repair of some castings is discussed.
Chapter 4, Welding and Fabrication, discusses the many aspects of welding from joint preparation, the required use of qualified welders, production welding and repairs. One item of interest which is different from most other welding codes is the idea of welding with water backing. If you have welded a beveled butt joint for a welding certification or qualification test, then you have seen the use of a backing strip. This strip of metal prevents the weld pool from falling through the joint. Water backing, for the purposes of Part 2, Chapter 4, means welding on a weld joint that has base material with water on one side, such as welding on the hull under the water line. A full penetration weld has backing that prevents water from coming in contact with the root of the weld.
The remaining chapters discuss topics beyond the scope of this chapter or welder qualifications which will be discussed in a section below for welder qualification. If any of the topics from ABS Part 2 interest you, you are highly encouraged to search for jobs in the maritime industry. Most ABS related and maritime related welding jobs are located in ports with access to the Pacific Ocean in Washington State. However, there are many waterways, such as the Columbia River and Snake River, and larger lakes, such as Moses Lake, throughout the state where opportunities may exist to weld on water going vessels. You are encouraged to search for these opportunities if this is a career direction you are interested in.
Uses of the ABS Rules and Guidelines for welding in industry today
The United States Coast Guard accepts and recognizes many ABS rules and guidelines.
ABS Rules and Guidelines govern many larger water going vessels from barges, tub boats and assist boats, yachts, cruise ships, ferries and even offshore oil rigs.
The iconic Washington State ferries of the Puget Sound are shown in Figure 17.20.
ABS does have some rules and guidelines that were written for smaller coastal naval vessels but it is not clear to the author how widely that document is used in place of NAVSEA welding standards which will be discussed later in this chapter.
The cruise ship industry and the fabrication of cruise ships is an industry that has been ongoing in the Seattle area. Cruise ships carried 430,000 passengers, with almost half starting and ending their journeys in the Puget Sound (McDowell Group, 2015). Figure 17.20 shows a cruise ship visiting a glacier in Alaska.
Tug boats transport a significant amount of cargo between the Puget Sound Area and Alaska (McDowell Group, 2015). These tub boats push or pull barges with containers of goods along the coast between the puget sound and Alaska. Tug boats are likely more commonly known for the assistance they provide water craft that can’t easily or safely maneuver in narrow waterways or into port.
Figure 17.21 above shows a small tug boat. Tug boats come in all sizes, ranging from 50 to 250 feet in length and having 4000 to 22,000 horsepower (Dann Ocean Towing, 2023). Figure 17.22 below shows an offshore oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. These structures are also classified by ABS and have Rules and Guidelines. There are many different applications of ABS structures in Washington State and the United States.
Getting certified to the ABS Rules and Guidelines
The ABS Rules and Regulations Part 2 Materials and Welding, Chapter 4 Welding and Fabrication, Section 3 Weld Test, lists four tests for qualifying welders:
- Test Q1 is a plate material ⅜” thick and is 10” wide by 6” long, V groove with backing.
- Test Q2 is a plate material ¾” thick and also 10” wide by 6” long, single bevel with backing.
- Test Q3 is a pipe weld in 1G, 2G, 5G, 6G, or 6GR (Restriction Ring).
- Test Q3R is a pipe weld within 12 inches of the bulkhead above and to the left of the pipe.
- Test Q4 is a fillet weld break test.
The tests above are used to qualify not only welders but also procedures and filler materials. The requirements for qualifying procedures and filler materials are more stringent than the tests for qualifying a welder. See Figures 9 through 12 on Pages 362 through 368 of ABS Rules and Regulations Part 2 Materials and Welding, 2023, for figures showing the tests and their positions.
Aluminum has similar tests that are outlined in the ABS Rules and Regulations, Part 2 Materials and Welding , Chapter 4 Welding and Fabrication, Section 5 Aluminum Welding in Hull Construction. These tests are:
- Test Q1 is a plate material ⅜” thick and is 12” wide and 6” long, V groove with backing.
- Test Q2 is a plate material 1 ½” thick and also 12” wide by 6” long, single bevel with backing.
- Test Q3 is not applicable for this section.
- Test Q4 is a pipe weld within 12 inches of the bulkhead above and to the left of the pipe.
- Test Q5 is a plate weld that is tack welded, ⅜” thick, 10” wide, and 6” long.
See Figures 14 through 17 on Pages 406 through 411 of ABS Rules and Regulations Part 2 Materials and Welding, 2023, for figures showing the tests and their positions.
It is important to note that ABS specifies that welders can be qualified under other welding codes and standards such as AWS and ASME with the approval of the ABS Surveyor. ABS Rules and Regulations, Part 2 Materials and Welding, Appendix 11 Qualification for Welders and Welding Operators has alternative methods for qualification using fillet welds, groove welds and tack welds. Similar to other welding codes and standards, bend tests are performed to determine acceptability of the welds along with visual examination. Welders are qualified to base materials, welding consumables, welding process, type of weld joint, plate thickness and welding position (ABS, 2023, Page 688).
ABS has a separate document for Stainless Steel: ABS Requirements for Materials and Welding for Stainless Steels. This document covers stainless steel plates, forgings, castings, pipes, and clad plates to name a few applications of stainless steel. Chapter 4 Welding of Stainless Steels, Section 2 Welding Operator and Welder Qualification on Page 118 describes the following training and skills required:
- Groove dimension
- Groove cleanliness
- Protecting against weather and wind
- Weld stop, start and terminations
- Weld repair
- Storing and handling of welding consumables
- General maintenance of equipment
The above list is provided as an example of some of the skills that you will need when qualifying for ABS certification. As a welding student learning to weld, it is important to note that you get out of your education what you put into it. If you aren’t focusing some time on your weld starts, stops, and terminations then you need to start doing that. Only you know fully what your weaknesses are and where you could use more practice. Do not rely only on your instructor to give you guidance, you should take charge of your welding career and discuss areas for training and questions you have with your instructor.
ABS specifies tests for welder qualification: visual examination and bend tests for butt welds, visual examination and fracture test for fillet welds, and tack welders must be fully qualified. Welder certification is verified by shipyards, manufacturers, and subcontractors every six months. As with other welding codes, if there is a reason to question a welder’s ability to weld, then the welder needs to requalify. For a full list of requirements and maintaining certification, please see Paragraph 7 of Chapter 4, Section 2.
Attributions
- Figure 17.19: Moving forward, saving energy by National Waterways Foundation, U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, and Texas Transportation Institute in the Public Domain; United States government work
- Figure 17.20: M/V Chimacum and the Seattle skyline by Washington State Dept of Transportation is released under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
- Figure 17.21: Visiting Glacier Bay on a cruise ship is an unforgettable experience! by U.S. Department of Interior National Park Service in the Public Domain; United States government work
- Figure 17.22: A file photo of the tug vessel Chief. The vessel sank in November 2017 in Salmon Bay, Washington and has since become a pollution concern. by NOAA Office of Response and Restoration in the Public Domain; United States government work
- Figure 17.23: Gulf of Mexico Region by U.S. Department of the Interior Home, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in the Public Domain; United States government work