New Stores Partition Narrowing the Sole Escape Route
On the crew accommodation deck, the chief officer wants a new stores space. The carpenter is asked to erect a 50 mm plywood-on-stud partition across part of the port corridor, reducing the clear width from 1,050 mm to 620 mm over a 2.4 m length. The stores door will open outward into the corridor and, when open, leaves about 480 mm clear. The port corridor is the sole escape route for 14 berths aft; the starboard alternative is closed by a watertight door that has been dogged shut and placarded 'not to be used at sea'. The carpenter also plans a wooden handrail on the new partition projecting 90 mm into the corridor and a 100 mm high timber sill at the stores door. Existing low-location escape lighting in the corridor stops 1 m short of the new partition. The vessel sails in five days.
1. Evaluate the arrangement against SOLAS means of escape requirements.
Read the worked answer
The arrangement fails on several points:
- Clear width. A corridor forming part of an escape route must have a clear width of not less than 700 mm. At 620 mm the proposed corridor is already below that, and with the stores door open the effective width falls to about 480 mm. The 90 mm handrail makes it worse again; projections must not encroach on the required clear width.
- Single escape route. Fourteen berths would be served by one route only. Accommodation spaces normally require two means of escape, arranged so that a fire in one does not block both. The dogged-shut watertight door removes the second route; it must be operable from both sides and kept clear, with signage directing people through it.
- Door swing. A door opening outward into an escape route is a hazard, particularly if it can be locked or if people are moving in darkness. It should be recessed, sliding, or arranged so that it does not reduce the escape width.
- Sill. A 100 mm timber sill across a doorway on an escape route is a trip hazard and an obstruction; it should be eliminated or ramped and marked.
- Escape lighting. Low-location lighting must be continuous along the route to the final exit; stopping 1 m short leaves a dark section at the very point where the route narrows.
The proposal is not acceptable as drawn.
2. If the stores space is essential, propose a compliant alternative layout.
Read the worked answer
Start by questioning the location rather than the principle:
- Use an existing space that is not on an escape route, such as an under-used locker, a store that can be reorganized, or a space outside the accommodation boundary. This avoids the problem entirely.
- If a new partition is unavoidable, place it on the side of the corridor that leaves at least 700 mm clear for the full length, with the door recessed into a pocket or fitted as a sliding door so that it does not reduce the width when open. Do not fit a handrail on the escape side, or keep any projection outside the required clear width.
- Preserve two routes. Restore the starboard watertight door to normal operation, remove the 'not to be used at sea' placard, and check that the route through it is clear and marked.
- Remove the sill or replace it with a ramped, contrasting edge; extend the low-location lighting to the final exit; keep the corridor free of stored items.
- If the change affects the fire plan or the ship's structure, obtain approval from the flag and class before construction.
3. What checks and documentation would you require before the partition is accepted?
Read the worked answer
- Measure the clear width at the narrowest point with the stores door both closed and fully open, including the handrail projection, and record the figures against the 700 mm requirement.
- Operate the starboard watertight door from both sides, confirm it is not dogged shut, and check the escape signage and route marking.
- Test the escape lighting along the whole route, including the section near the new partition, and confirm it operates on emergency power.
- Check the door for latch operation, swing, self-closing if required, and freedom from obstruction; check the sill detail or ramp.
- Update the fire control plan and escape route drawings, brief the crew, and record the change in the vessel's documentation.
- Obtain written acceptance from the classification society and flag if the arrangement is a structural or fire-plan change, and retain the measurements, photographs and correspondence. If any item cannot be met, the partition should not be accepted and the stores should be relocated.