Regulation 14 - Openings in Watertight Bulkheads
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Resolutions - Assembly - IMO Resolution A.265(VIII) – Regulations on Subdivision and Stability of Passenger Ships as an Equivalent to Part B of Chapter II of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1960 – (Adopted on 20 November 1973) - Annex - Regulations on Subdivision and Stability of Passenger Ships as An Equivalent to Part B of Chapter II of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1960 - Regulation 14 - Openings in Watertight Bulkheads

Regulation 14 - Openings in Watertight Bulkheads

  (a) The number of openings in watertight bulkheads shall be reduced to the minimum compatible with the design and proper working of the ship; satisfactory means shall be provided for closing these openings.

  (b)

  • (i) Where pipes, scuppers, electric cables, etc. are carried through watertight subdivision bulkheads, arrangements shall be made to ensure the integrity of the watertightness of the bulkheads.

  • (ii) Valves and cocks not forming part of a piping system shall not be permitted in watertight subdivision bulkheads.

  • (iii) Lead or other heat sensitive materials shall not be used in systems which penetrate watertight subdivision bulkheads, where deterioration of such systems in the event of fire would impair the watertight integrity of the bulkheads.

  (c)

  • (i) No doors, manholes, or access openings are permitted:

    • (1) in the collision bulkhead below the relevant bulkhead deck;

    • (2) in watertight transverse bulkheads dividing a cargo space from an adjoining cargo space, except as provided in paragraph (k) of this Regulation.

  • (ii) Except as provided in sub-paragraph (iii) of this paragraph, the collision bulkhead may be pierced below the relevant bulkhead deck by not more than one pipe for dealing with fluid in the forepeak tank, provided that the pipe is fitted with a screwdown valve capable of being operated from above the immersion limit line, the valve chest being secured inside the forepeak to the collision bulkhead.

  • (iii) If the forepeak is divided to hold two different kinds of liquids the Administration may allow the collision bulkhead to be pierced below the relevant bulkhead deck by two pipes, each of which is fitted as required by sub-paragraph (ii) of this paragraph, provided the Administration is satisfied that there is no practical alternative to the fitting of such a second pipe and that, having regard to the additional subdivision provided in the forepeak, the safety of the ship is maintained.

  (d) Within spaces containing the main and auxiliary propelling machinery including boilers serving the needs of propulsion not more than one door apart from the doors to shaft tunnels may be fitted in each main transverse bulkhead. Where two or more shafts are fitted the tunnels shall be connected by an intercommunicating passage. There shall be only one door between the machinery space and the tunnel spaces where two shafts are fitted and only two doors where there are more than two shafts. All these doors shall be of the sliding type and shall be located so as to have their sills as high as practicable. The hand gear for operating these doors shall be situated above the immersion limit line and outside the spaces containing the machinery if this is consistent with a satisfactory arrangement of the necessary gearing.

  • (i) Watertight doors shall be sliding doors or hinged doors or doors of an equivalent type. Plate doors secured only by bolts and doors required to be closed by dropping or by the action of a dropping weight are not permitted.

  • (ii) Sliding doors may be either:

    • hand operated only, or power operated as well as hand operated.

  • (iii) Authorized watertight doors may therefore be divided into three Classes:

    • Class 1 - hinged doors;

    • Class 2 - hand operated sliding doors;

    • Class 3 - sliding doors which are power operated as well as hand operated.

  • (iv) The means of operation of any watertight door whether power operated or not shall be capable of closing the door with the ship listed to 15 degrees either way.

  • (v) In all classes of watertight doors indicators shall be fitted which show, at all operating stations from which the doors are not visible, whether the doors are open or closed. If any of the watertight doors, of whatever Class, is not fitted so as to enable it to be closed from a central control station, it shall be provided with a mechanical, electrical, telephonic, or any other suitable direct means of communication, enabling the officer of the watch promptly to contact the person who is responsible for closing the door in question, under previous orders.

  (f) Hinged doors (Class 1) shall be fitted with quick action closing devices, such as catches, workable from each side of the bulkhead.

  (g) Hand operated sliding doors (Class 2) may have a horizontal or vertical motion. It shall be possible to operate the mechanism at the door itself from either side, and in addition, from an accessible position above the immersion limit line, with an all round crank motion, or some other movement providing the same guarantee of safety and of an approved type. Departures from the requirement of operation on both sides may be allowed, if this requirement is impossible owing to the layout of the spaces. When operating a hand gear, the time necessary for the complete closure of the door with the ship upright shall not exceed 90 seconds.

  (h)

  • (i) Power operated sliding doors (Class 3) may have a vertical or horizontal motion. If a door is required to be power operated from a central control, the gearing shall be so arranged that the door can be operated by power also at the door itself from both sides. The arrangement shall be such that the door will close automatically if opened by local control after being closed from the central control, and also such that any door can be kept closed by local systems which will prevent the door from being opened from the upper control. Local control handles in connection with the power gear shall be provided each side of the bulkhead and shall be so arranged as to enable persons passing through the doorway to hold both handles in the open position without being able to set the closing mechanism in operation accidentally. Power operated sliding doors shall be provided with hand gear workable at the door itself on either side and from an accessible position above the immersion limit line, with an all round crank motion or some other movement providing the same guarantee of safety and of an approved type. Provision shall be made to give warnings by sound signal that the door has begun to close and will continue to move until it is completely closed. The door shall take a sufficient time to close to ensure safety.

  • (ii) There shall be at least two independent power sources capable of opening and closing all the doors under control, each of them capable of operating all the doors simultaneously. The two power sources shall be controlled from the central station on the bridge provided with all the necessary indicators for checking that each of the two power sources is capable of giving the required service satisfactorily.

  • (iii) In the case of hydraulic operation, each power source shall consist of a pump capable of closing all doors in not more than 60 seconds. In addition, there shall be for the whole installation hydraulic accumulators of sufficient capacity to operate all the doors at least three times, i.e. closed-open-closed. The fluid used shall be one which does not freeze at any of the temperatures liable to be encountered by the ship during its service.

  (i)

  • (i) Hinged watertight doors (Class 1) in passenger, crew and working spaces are only permitted above a deck the underside of which, at its lowest point at side, is at least 7 feet (or 2.13 metres) above the deepest subdivision loadline.

  • (ii) Watertight doors, the sills of which are above the deepest subdivision loadline and below the line specified in sub-paragraph (i) of this paragraph shall be sliding doors and may be hand operated (Class 2), except in ships where N is 1200 or more in which all such doors shall be power operated. When trunkways in connection with refrigerated cargo and ventilation or forced draught ducts are carried through more than one main watertight subdivision bulkhead, the doors at such openings shall be operated by power.

  (j) Watertight doors which may sometimes be opened at sea, and the sills of which are below the deepest subdivision loadline, shall be sliding doors. The following rules shall apply:

  • (1) when the number of such doors (excluding doors at entrances to shaft tunnels) exceeds five, all of these doors and those at the entrance to shaft tunnels or ventilation or forced draught ducts, shall be power operated (Class 3) and shall be capable of being simultaneously closed from a central station situated on the bridge;

  • (2) when the number of such doors (excluding doors at entrances to shaft tunnels) is greater than one, but does not exceed five,

    • (a) where the ship has no passenger spaces below the immersion limit line, all the above-mentioned doors may be hand operated (Class 2);

    • (b) where the ship has passenger spaces below the immersion limit line all the above-mentioned doors shall be power operated (Class 3) and shall be capable of being simultaneously closed from a central station situated on the bridge;

  • (3) in any ship where there are only two such watertight doors and they are into or within the space containing machinery, the Administration may allow these two doors to be hand operated only (Class 2).

  (k)

  • (i) If the Administration is satisfied that such doors are essential, watertight doors of satisfactory construction may be fitted in watertight bulkheads dividing cargo between deck spaces. Such doors may be hinged, rolling or sliding doors but shall not be remotely controlled. They shall be fitted at the highest level and as far from the shell plating as practicable, but in no case shall the outboard vertical edges be situated at a distance from the shell plating which is less than 0.2B 1, such distance being measured at right angles to the centreline of the ship at the level of the deepest subdivision loadline.

  • (ii) Such doors shall be closed before the voyage commences and shall be kept closed during navigation, and the time of opening such doors in port and of closing them before the ship leaves port shall be entered in the log book. Should any of the doors be accessible during the voyage, they shall be fitted with a device which prevents unauthorized opening. When it is proposed to fit such doors, the number and arrangements shall receive the special consideration of the Administration.

  (l) Portable plates on bulkheads shall not be permitted except in machinery spaces. Such plates shall always be in place before the ship leaves port, and shall not be removed during navigation except in case of urgent necessity. The necessary precautions shall be taken in replacing them to ensure that the joints shall be watertight.

  (m) All watertight doors shall be kept closed during navigation except when necessarily opened for the working of the ship, and shall always be ready to be immediately closed.

  (n)

  • (i) Where trunkways or tunnels for piping, or for any other purpose are carried through main transverse watertight bulkheads, they shall be watertight and in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 17. The access to at least one end of each such tunnel or trunkway, if used as a passage at sea, shall be through a trunk extending watertight to a height sufficient to permit access above the relevant bulkhead deck. The access to the other end of the trunkway or tunnel may be through a watertight door of the type required by its location in the ship. Such trunkways or tunnels shall not extend through the first subdivision bulkhead abaft the collision bulkhead.

  • (ii) Where it is proposed to fit tunnels or trunkways for forced draught, piercing main transverse watertight bulkheads, these shall receive the special consideration of the Administration.

Parent topic: Annex - Regulations on Subdivision and Stability of Passenger Ships as An Equivalent to Part B of Chapter II of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1960
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