Wednesday, 21st October 2009
Accidents involving powered watertight doors have prompted the ‘A' rated, 100 million GT North of England P&I club to warn its shipowner members to ensure seafarers are fully conversant with ship-specific door operating systems and procedures. The warning is given in the latest issue of the club's loss-prevention newsletter Signals.
‘Recent investigations into accidents involving the use of watertight doors have identified a number of recurring contributory factors, especially on passenger vessels,' says North's head of loss prevention Tony Baker. ‘In particular the complex design criteria required to satisfy regulatory requirements often result in a door control system that is not fully understood by all of the crewmembers who are obliged to use them.'
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Seas (SOLAS), chapter II-1, regulation 15 requires duplicated closing and opening controls for power doors on passenger ships built since 1992, with one set located adjacent to each door and another set located on the bridge. In some control modes a door can still be opened locally but, if the local lever is released for any reason, the door will automatically close with a force sufficient to injure anyone caught in its path.
‘A clear understanding of the circumstances that dictate which doors should be closed at particular times during a voyage and what mode of operation is being used at any given time is of paramount importance for their safe operation,' says Baker.
According to the club, poor signage adjacent to doors and a lack of visual indication of the current control mode can result in crewmembers becoming trapped or crushed during transit. ‘Company safety management systems should include clear training and operational procedures to avoid any confusion on watertight door operation,' Baker says.
North also points out that advances in ship design have seen an increasing number of powered watertight doors being fitted to other vessel types. SOLAS technical requirements for control, closure rates, alarms and signage only apply to passenger vessels and at present there is no requirement for local control-mode indication. However, the International Maritime Organization circular MSC.Circ.1176 issued in 2005 provided a unified interpretation of SOLAS chapter II-1 to encourage member governments to address these issues.