Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)

Schedules

Second Schedule

Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974

Annex

Chapter II-2 : Construction—Fire Protection, Fire Detection and Fire Extinction

Part E — Fire Safety Measures for Tankers

Regulation 57 : Construction
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(a)        

(i)The hull, superstructure, structural bulkheads, decks and deckhouses shall be constructed of steel or other equivalent material.
(ii)Bulkheads between cargo pump rooms, including their trunks and machinery spaces of Category A shall be “A” Class and shall have no penetrations which are less than “A0” Class or equivalent in all respects, other than the cargo pump shaft glands and similar glanded penetrations.
(iii)Bulkheads and decks forming divisions separating machinery spaces of Category A and cargo pump rooms, including their trunks, respectively, from the accommodation and service spaces shall be of “A60” Class. Such bulkheads and decks and any boundaries of machinery spaces of Category A and cargo pump rooms shall not be pierced for windows or portlights.
(iv)The requirements of subparagraphs (ii) a n d (iii) of this paragraph, however, do not preclude the installation of permanent approved gas-tight lighting enclosures for illuminating the pump rooms provided that they are of adequate strength and maintain the integrity and gas-tightness of the bulkhead as “A” Class. Further, it does not preclude the use of windows in a control room located entirely within a machinery space.
(v)Control stations shall be separated from adjacent enclosed spaces by means of “A” Class bulkheads and decks. The insulation of these control station boundaries shall be to the satisfaction of the Administration having in mind the risk of fire in adjacent spaces.
(vi)Casing doors in machinery spaces of Category A shall be self-closing and comply with the related provisions of subparagraph (b) (vii) of this Regulation.
(vii)The surface of the insulation on interior boundaries of machinery spaces of Category A shall be impervious to oil and oil vapours.
(viii)Primary deck coverings, if applied, shall be of approved materials which will not readily ignite.
(ix)Interior stairways shall be of steel or other suitable material.
(x)When adjacent to accommodation spaces, bulkheads of galleys, paint stores, lamp rooms and boatswain’s stores shall be of steel or equivalent material.
(xi)Paints, varnishes and other finishes used on exposed interior surfaces shall not be of a nature to offer an undue fire hazard in the judgment of the Administration and shall not be capable of producing excessive quantities of smoke or other toxic properties.
(xii)Pipes conveying oil or combustible liquids shall be of a material approved by the Administration having regard to the fire risk. Materials readily rendered ineffective by heat shall not be used for overboard scuppers, sanitary discharges, and other outlets which are close to the waterline and where the failure of the material in the event of fire would give rise to danger of flooding.
(xiii)Power ventilation of machinery spaces shall be capable of being stopped from an easily accessible position outside the machinery spaces.
(xiv)Skylights to machinery spaces of Category A and cargo pump rooms shall comply with the provisions of subparagraph (a) (iii) of this Regulation in respect of windows and port-lights and in addition shall be so arranged as to be capable of being readily closed from outside the spaces which they serve.

 

(b)Within the accommodation and service spaces and control stations the following conditions shall apply:
(i)Corridor bulkheads including doors shall be of “A” or “B” Class divisions extending from deck to deck. Where continuous “B” Class ceilings and or linings are fitted on both sides of the bulkhead, the bulkhead may terminate at the continuous ceiling or lining. Doors of cabins and public spaces in such bulkheads may have louvres in the lower half.
(ii)Air spaces enclosed behind ceilings, panellings, or linings shall be divided by close fitting draught stops spaced not more than 14 metres apart.
(iii)Ceilings, linings, bulkheads and insulation except for insulation in refrigerated compartments shall be of noncombustible material. Vapour barriers and adhesives used in conjunction with insulation, as well as insulation of pipe fittings for cold service systems need not be noncombustible, but they shall be kept to the minimum quantity practicable and their exposed surfaces shall have resistance to propagation of flame to the satisfaction of the Administration.
(iv)The framing, including grounds and the joint pieces of bulkheads, linings, ceilings and draughts stops, if fitted, shall be of noncombustible material.
(v)All exposed surfaces in corridors and stairway enclosures and surfaces in concealed or inaccessible spaces shall have low flame-spread characteristics.
(vi)Bulkheads, linings and ceilings may have combustible veneer, provided that such veneer shall not exceed 2 millimetres within any such space except corridors, stairway enclosures and control stations where it shall not exceed 1,5 millimetres.
(vii)Stairways which penetrate only a single deck shall be protected at least at one level by “A” or “B” Class divisions and self-closing doors so as to limit the rapid spread of fire from one deck to another. Crew lift trunks shall be of “A” Class divisions. Stairways and lift trunks which penetrate more than a single deck shall be surrounded by “A” Class divisions and protected by self-closing steel doors at all levels. Self-closing doors shall not be fitted with hold-back hooks. However, hold-back arrangements fitted with remote release fittings of the fail-safe type may be utilized.

 

(c)Ducts provided for ventilation of machinery spaces of Category “A” shall not in general pass through accommodation and service spaces or control stations, except that the Administration may permit relaxation from this requirement provided that—
(i)the ducts are constructed of steel and each is insulated to “A60” Class; or
(ii)the ducts are constructed of steel and are fitted with an automatic fire damper close to the boundary penetrated and are insulated to “A60” Class from the machinery space of Category A to a point at least 5 metres beyond the fire damper.

 

(d)Ducts provided for ventilation of accommodation and service spaces or control stations shall not in general pass through machinery spaces of Category A except that the Administration may permit relaxation from this requirement provided that ducts are constructed of steel and an automatic fire damper is fitted close to the boundaries penetrated.