Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.3390/electronics14153065

Publication Title

Electronics

Volume

14

Issue

15

Pages

3065 (1-17)

Abstract

Corrosion in maritime ballast tanks is a major driver of maintenance costs and operational risks for maritime assets. Inspections are hampered by complex geometries, hazardous conditions, and the limitations of conventional methods, particularly visual assessment, which struggles with subjectivity, accessibility, and early detection, especially under coatings. This paper critically examines these challenges and explores the potential of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) to form the basis of improved inspection approaches. We discuss LiDAR’s utility for accurate 3D mapping and providing a spatial framework and HSI’s potential for objective material identification and surface characterization based on spectral signatures along a wavelength range of 400-1000nm (visible and near infrared). Preliminary findings from laboratory tests are presented, demonstrating the basic feasibility of HSI for differentiating surface conditions (corrosion, coatings, bare metal) and relative coating thickness, alongside LiDAR’s capability for detailed geometric capture. Although these results do not represent a deployable system, they highlight how LiDAR and HSI could address key limitations of current practices and suggest promising directions for future research into integrated sensor-based corrosion assessment strategies.

Rights

© 2025 by the Authors.

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.

Data Availability

Article states: "The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author."

Original Publication Citation

Enguita, S. P., Jiang, J., Chen, C.-H., Kovacic, S., & Lebel, R. (2025). Potential of LiDAR and hyperspectral sensing for overcoming challenges in current maritime ballast tank corrosion inspection. Electronics, 14(15), 1-17, Article 3065. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14153065

ORCID

0009-0009-5048-3964 (Enguita), 0000-0003-2958-5666 (Jiang), 0000-0002-4860-9187 (Chen), 0000-0002-8772-5957 (Kovacic)

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