Chapter 5 – Equipment Installation

  1.1.1 Boilers should be suitably insulated with non-combustible material and sheathed with steel or other non-combustible material the surface of which is to be impervious to oil and oil vapours. The clearance spaces between the boilers and tops of double bottom tanks, and between the boilers and the sides of storage tanks in which oil fuel and cargo oil is carried, should be adequate for the free circulation of air necessary to keep the temperature of the stored oil sufficiently below its flashpoint, except in the case of tanks not heated to temperatures within 10°C below the flashpoint of the fuel oil.

  1.1.2 The oil burning units should meet the following requirements:

• .1 oil burners should be so arranged that they cannot be withdrawn unless the oil supply to the burners is cut off; and

• .2 fuel supply to all burners should be capable of being automatically cut off in case of total lack of flame in the combustion chamber; moreover, this should be warned by a visual and audible alarm. The alarms need not be fitted for domestic boilers.

  1.1.3 Where boilers are located in machinery spaces on ’tween decks and the boiler rooms are not separated from the machinery space by watertight bulkheads, the ’tween decks should be provided with coamings at least 200 mm in height. This area may be drained to the bilges. The drain tank should not form part of an overflow system.

  2.1.1 The inlet and outlet valves of oil-fired thermal oil heaters and exhaust-fired thermal oil heaters should be controllable from outside the compartment where they are situated. As an alternative, an arrangement for quick gravity drainage of the thermal oil contained in the system into a collecting tank is acceptable.

  2.1.2 Heating of liquid cargoes with flashpoints below 60°C should be arranged by means of a separate secondary system, located completely within the cargo area. However, a single circuit system may be accepted on the following conditions:

• .1 the system is so arranged that a positive pressure in the coil should be at least 3 m water column above the static head of the cargo when circulating pump is not in operation;

• .2 the thermal oil system expansion tank should be fitted with high and low level alarms;

• .3 means should be provided in the thermal oil system expansion tank for detection of flammable cargo vapour. Portable equipment may be accepted; and

• .4 valves for the individual heating coils should be provided with locking arrangement to ensure that the coils are under static pressure at all times.

  2.1.3 The thermal oil circulating pumps should be arranged for emergency stopping from a position outside the space where they are situated.

  2.1.4 Vents from expansion tanks and thermal oil storage tanks of thermal oil heating plants should be led to open deck.

  2.2.1 The heater should be so designed and installed that all tubes may easily and readily be inspected for signs of corrosion and leakage.

  2.2.2 Visual inspection and tightness testing of the heater tubes to not less than the working pressure should he carried out annually, and hydraulic testing should be carried out bi-annually.

  2.2.3 The heater should be fitted with temperature sensor(s) and an alarm for fire detection.

  2.2.4 A fixed fire-extinguishing and cooling system should be fitted. A drenching system providing at least 5 l/m²/min of water may be accepted. The exhaust ducting below the exhaust boiler should be arranged for adequate collection and drainage, to prevent water flowing into the diesel engine. The drain should be led to a suitable location.

  3.1.1 As far as practicable, purifiers and associated components should be placed in a separate room, enclosed by bulkheads having effective construction and rooms should be provided with:

• .1 independent mechanical ventilation or a ventilation arrangement which can be isolated from the machinery space ventilation; and

• .2 fire-detecting and fire-extinguishing systems.

  3.1.2 If it is impracticable to locate the main components in a separate room, the purifiers and associated components should be located in a space which is equipped with the following:

• .1 Scuppers having sufficient capacity to minimize the free surface of oil. Where drain pipes are provided from collected leakages, they should be led to a suitable oil drain tank not forming part of an overflow system.

• .2 Spray shields in way of any connections of flammable oil pipes; any leakage should be led to scuppers.

  3.1.3 The control panel should be located in an area in which flammable mist cannot accumulate.

  4.1.1 Where steam heaters or heaters using other heating media are provided in fuel or lubricating oil systems, they should be fitted with at least a high temperature alarm or low flow alarm in addition to a temperature control, except where the temperature limit for the ignition of the medium cannot be reached.

  4.1.2 When electric heaters are fitted, means should be provided to ensure that heating elements are permanently submerged during operation. In order to avoid a heating element surface temperature of 220°C and above, a safety temperature switch, independent from the automatic control sensor, should be provided. The safety switch should cut off the electrical power supply in the event of excessive temperature and should be provided with a manual reset.

  4.1.3 Containment enclosures should be fitted with adequate drainage. Where drain pipes are provided from collected leakages, they should be led to a suitable oil drain tank not forming part of an overflow system.

  5.1.1 Hydraulic power packs of more than 50 kW with a working pressure more than 100 bar should be installed in specially dedicated spaces, with a separate ventilation system.