Location and separation of spaces
(1) (a) Machinery spaces shall be positioned:
(i) aft of cargo tanks and slop tanks and shall be separated from them by a cofferdam, cargo pump-room, oil fuel bunker tank or permanent ballast tank; and
(ii) aft of such cofferdam or cargo pump-room except that the lower part of a cargo pump-room may be recessed into a machinery space of Category A in order to accommodate pumps subject to the crown of the recess being not more than one third of the moulded depth above the keel and in the case of a ship not exceeding 25,000 tonnes deadweight where a recess of such height is not practicable for reasons of access and arrangement of piping, the recess may be increased to a height not exceeding one half of the moulded depth above the keel, with, in ships constructed on or after 1 July 2002, the approval of the Director.
(b) Pump-rooms, other than cargo pump-rooms, containing pumps and fittings for ballasting spaces adjacent to cargo tanks and slop tanks and pumps and fittings for oil fuel transfer may be considered equivalent to a cargo pump-room for the purpose of this regulation on condition that the fire protection arrangements and fire extinguishing arrangements of those pump-rooms are in accordance with the cargo pump-rooms.
(2) Except as otherwise permitted by subRules (3), (4) and (5) accommodation spaces, control stations, main cargo control stations and service spaces other than isolated lockers for cargo handling gear shall be positioned aft of cargo tanks and slop tanks and pump rooms or cofferdams which separate cargo tanks and slop tanks from machinery spaces except that such spaces may be positioned over the recess of a pump room to which subregulation (1) refers. In ships constructed on or after 1 July 2002, this arrangement shall be such that a single failure of a deck or bulkhead does not permit the entry of gas of fumes from the cargo tanks into main cargo control stations, control stations, or accommodation and service spaces.
(3) Accommodation spaces, control stations, main cargo control stations and service spaces may be positioned forward of the cargo area provided that they are separated from the cargo tanks and slop tanks by a cofferdam, pump room, or the whole or part of an oil fuel bunker tank or permanent ballast tank except that such spaces may be positioned over the recess of a pump room to which subregulation (1) refers.
(4) Navigating spaces may be positioned above the cargo tanks and slop tanks provided that they are used only for navigating purposes and are separated from the upper deck by means of an open space the height of which shall be not less than 2 metres. In ships constructed on or after 1 July 2002, the fire protection requirements for such a navigation space shall be those required for control stations, as specified in the Twenty Sixth Schedule to the Merchant Shipping (Fire Protection: Large Ships Constructed on or after 1 July 2002) Rules 200…, and other provisions for tankers, as applicable.
(5) Where accommodation spaces, control stations, cargo stations, and machinery spaces other than machinery spaces of Category A are located over part of an oil fuel bunker tank the horizontal separation of such spaces from cargo tanks or slop tanks shall be to the satisfaction of the Administration.
(6) Means shall be provided to isolate oil spills on the upper deck from accommodation and service spaces and shall take into account stern cargo handling facilities where these are provided. In ships constructed on or after 1 July 2002, this may be accomplished by provision of a permanent continuous coaming of a height of at least 300 millimetres extending from side to side.
Additional requirements for ships constructed on or after1st September 1984
(7) Notwithstanding subregulation (1) and subject to sub regulation (14) machinery spaces containing internal combustion machinery having an output greater than 375 kilowatts, other than main propulsion machinery, and provided for the safety of the ship and machinery spaces other than machinery spaces of Category A may be positioned forward of the cargo area provided that they are separated from the cargo tanks and slop tanks in the manner specified in subregulation (1) for machinery spaces positioned aft of such tanks.
(8) (a) In combination carriers when the slop is carried on dry cargo voyages the slop tanks shall be surrounded by cofferdams except where the boundaries of the slop tanks are the hull, main cargo deck, cargo pump room bulkhead or oil fuel bunker tank.
(b) Such cofferdams shall not be open to a double bottom, pipe tunnel, pump room or other enclosed space and shall be provided with means of being filled with water and of being drained. Where the boundary of a slop tank is the cargo pump room bulkhead the pump room shall not be open to any double bottom, pipe tunnel or other enclosed space except that bolted gas-tight access covers may be permitted. In ships constructed on or after 1 July 2002, such cofferdams shall not be used for cargo or ballast and shall not be connected to piping systems serving oil cargo or ballast.
(9) The piping between the slop tanks and the pump room on combination carriers shall be provided with isolating arrangements located adjacent to the slop tanks or, where such an arrangement is impracticable, within the pump room at the position where the piping penetrates the bulkhead and the isolating arrangements shall be either a valve and a spectacle flange or a spool piece and blank flanges.
(10) A separate pumping arrangement shall be provided on combination carriers for discharging the contents of the slop tanks to a connection located above the main deck.
(11) The slop tank hatches and cleaning openings on combination carriers shall be on the open deck and, unless such openings are closed by bolted watertight plates, shall be provided with locking arrangements which shall be under the control of a ship's officer.
(12) Cargo oil pipes installed below deck on combination carriers shall be located within wing cargo tanks except that when cargo wing tanks are not provided the Administration may permit the installation of such pipes in ducts which shall be capable of being adequately cleaned and ventilated. In ships constructed on or after 1 July 2002, where cargo wing tanks are not provided, cargo oil lines below deck shall be placed in special ducts.
Additional requirements for ships constructed on or after 1 July 1998
(13) (a) Where there is permanent access from a pipe tunnel to the main pump-room, a watertight door shall be fitted complying with the requirements of regulation 18(2) and, in addition to bridge operation, the watertight door shall be capable of being manually closed from outside the main pump-room entrance.
(b) The watertight door referred to in subsubregulation (a) above shall be kept closed during normal operations of the ship except when access to the pipe tunnel is required.
Additional requirements for ships constructed on or after 1 July 2002
(14) (a) In addition to the requirements of sub regulation (7), where the machinery spaces contain internal combustion machinery-
(i) one approved foam-type extinguisher of at least 45 litres capacity or equivalent shall be arranged in addition to portable fire extinguishers; or
(ii) where operation of a semi-portable fire extinguisher is impracticable, this fire extinguisher may be replaced by two additional portable fire extinguishers.
(b) Main cargo control stations, control stations and accommodation and service spaces shall be arranged in such a way that a single failure of a deck or bulkhead shall not permit the entry of gas or fumes from the cargo tanks into such spaces.
(15) Instead of meeting the requirements of sub regulation (10), in ships constructed on or after 1 July 2002, a separate permanently installed pumping and piping arrangement incorporating a manifold, provided with a shut-off valve and a blank flange, shall be provided for discharging the contents of the slop tanks directly to the open deck for disposal to shore reception facilities when the ship is in the dry cargo mode. When the transfer system is used for slop transfer in the dry cargo mode, it shall have no connection to other systems; separation from other systems by means of removal of spool pieces may be accepted.
Requirements for tankers constructed on or after 1 September 1984
