Cap. 369U 《商船(安全)(船體開口及水密艙壁開口的關閉)規例》Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Closing of Openings in Hulls and in Watertight Bulkheads) Regulations

It has always been accepted that a number of access openings, closed by means of watertight doors, will be required in some watertight bulkheads for essential purposes, e.g. to inspect vital items of machinery, provide emergency or alternative means of escape, etc. Equally however, it has always been stressed, both nationally and internationally, that the number of such openings should be kept to the absolute minimum compatible with the design and proper working of the ship. Every effort should therefore be made to reduce, as far as practicable, the number of watertight doors fitted in any new passenger ship. This might be achieved in a number of ways. For example, in the accommodation spaces, efforts should be made to arrange access and escape routes in a manner which would minimize the need for people to pass through watertight bulkheads below the level of the bulkhead deck. In the case of service spaces and other working compartments, normal access should where possible be available without the need for continual passage through main bulkheads.

The possible effects of progressive flooding through an unclosed opening should always be taken into account when deciding upon the position and size of any watertight door. An unclosed door, lying wholly below the level of the waterline obviously presents a great potential hazard. To lessen such dangers, watertight doors should be kept as small as possible and be positioned, whenever practicable, close to the centreline with their sills as high as is possible and consistent with safe access and preferably above the level of the waterline.

The system adopted to give central control to the watertight doors fitted throughout the ship should be designed not only to ensure their efficient operation but also to reduce the risk of injury to personnel when passing through the doorway. To this end, the watertight door central control unit located on the navigating bridge should have two operating positions, one marked “local control” and the other “doors closed”. When the “local control” position is selected any door should be capable of being opened or closed only by means of the local controller provided at each side of the door—automatic closure of the door should not be possible in this mode of operation.

All the power operated doors fitted in any ship must be capable of being closed from the navigating bridge within one minute. Whilst this is a relatively short period of time to close all doors, it should be borne in mind that recent studies have shown that progressive flooding through doorways, before effective closure of the watertight doors can be completed, could have disastrous results in some ships—in particular, roro ferries. It follows, therefore, that prompt action must always be taken to close any watertight door which may be open when an emergency situation is imminent.

in conditions of restricted visibility;

during any part of a voyage within port limits, or within compulsory pilotage limits;

where the depth of water is less than 3 times the ship’s draught; and

in a situation which the master considers potentially hazardous due to—

Every watertight door, to which regulation 4(1) of the regulations applies, should be given a specific number and, depending upon the need there is for it to be opened or kept open in normal conditions, assigned one of the following categories—

The Instructions must state that in potentially hazardous situations every watertight door must be closed except when a person is passing through it. They must also state that in normal conditions the doors are to be opened or closed in accordance with the category which has been assigned to them, see subparagraph (1).

In deciding upon the appropriate category for each watertight door, account should be taken of the following factors—

the size, type and sill height of each door;

(for new ships only) the reason why each door is to be fitted;

a brief outline of the method of operation of the doors;

the category of door proposed (as specified in paragraph 2(1)) and the reason for selecting such a category;

the draft Operational Instructions, entitled “Operational Instructions for the Control of Watertight Doors” to be issued to the master; such Instructions to be presented in the form of the Director’s Model Instructions, set out in Schedule 3.

those applicable in potentially hazardous situations; and

those applicable in normal conditions.

potentially hazardous situations are conditions where the ship is—

normal conditions are all conditions in which potentially hazardous situations do not exist.

in potentially hazardous situations every such door must be kept closed except when a person is passing through it;

in normal conditions—

in addition to paragraph 2 any watertight door may be opened on the express authority of the master for a specific purpose and for no longer than a specific period of time. Where the master authorizes the opening of any door in this way, details of the opening and authorization must be recorded in the official log-book.

any door which is normally kept closed, if accessible, is to be opened and closed at least once every 7 days; this operation may however be delayed or advanced if conditions of restricted visibility or any other potentially hazardous situations prevail or are anticipated;

all doors to be opened and closed prior to departure if the ship is to remain at sea for more than 7 days;

those doors which may be kept open or opened (i.e. Types A, B and C) during a voyage are to be opened and closed daily. (E.R. 4 of 2023)