Ship Safety, Pollution Prevention and Emergency Procedures
Ship Safety, Pollution Prevention and Emergency Procedures
This domain tests firefighting, life-saving appliances, pollution response and the correct first actions in an emergency.
Fire
- Fire tetrahedron: fuel, oxygen, heat, chain reaction. Remove one side and the fire goes out.
- Machinery space: boundary cooling, stop fuel and ventilation, seal the space, then release fixed CO2 only after accounting for every person. Foam and water mist suit oil fires; water spray cools boundaries but can spread burning oil.
- Fire main, hydrants, isolation valves, emergency fire pump, fire control plan.
Life-saving appliances
- Lifeboats, liferafts, immersion suits, EPIRB, SART, line-throwing appliance; weekly inspections, monthly checks, launching at three-month intervals, free-fall boats on their own cycle.
Pollution
- SOPEP with contact lists and response equipment; garbage record book and oil record book entries; 15 ppm bilge alarm and oily water separator operated as designed; never bypassed.
Worked example
Fixed CO2 for a machinery space of 3 000 m3 excluding the casing, with a casing of 400 m3 above it.
- Rule: the greater of 40 per cent of the gross volume excluding the casing, or 35 per cent including it.
- 40 per cent x 3 000 = 1 200 m3; 35 per cent x 3 400 = 1 190 m3, so design for 1 200 m3 of free gas.
- At about 0.56 m3/kg, the CO2 mass is roughly 1 200 / 0.56, about 2 143 kg.
Enclosed spaces and hot work
- Entry only with a permit, atmosphere tested, ventilation running, a standby man at the entrance, rescue equipment ready and communications agreed. Never enter to rescue without breathing apparatus and a team.
Traps
Releasing CO2 into a space that is not sealed or not evacuated; opening a sealed space too soon; using water jets on burning fuel oil; logging tank washings as bilge.