What does SOLAS chapter XII, additional safety measures for bulk carriers, contain?
Short answer
| Regulations | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | definitions, application, implementation schedule |
| 4 to 6 | survive flooding of any one hold; structural strength; bulkhead between the two foremost holds and the double bottom |
| 7 to 9 | survey and maintenance (ESP), the information on compliance booklet, ships that cannot meet regulation 4 |
| 11 | loading instrument for shear force and bending moment |
| 12 | water-ingress alarms in every hold, forward ballast tanks and dry spaces, regardless of size |
| 13 | pumping systems operable from a readily accessible enclosed space |
| 14 | restrictions on sailing with a hold empty |
- Why: bulk carriers were lost in the 1980s and 90s to side-shell failure and flooding of a forward hold; the chapter is the structural, stability and detection response.
- Scope (1 to 3): definitions, application, implementation schedule; hardest on single-side-skin ships of 150 m and upwards.
- Core (4 to 6): 4 withstand flooding of any one hold with high-density cargo; 5 structural strength against side-shell failure; 6 strength of the bulkhead between the two foremost holds and the double bottom.
- Survey and information (7 to 9): survey and maintenance tied to the ESP; the information on compliance booklet; ships that cannot meet regulation 4.
- Operation (11 to 14): 11 loading instrument; 12 water-ingress alarms in every hold, forward ballast tanks and dry spaces, regardless of size; 13 pumping from a readily accessible space; 14 restrictions on sailing with a hold empty.
- As Chief Engineer: the regulation 12 alarms and regulation 13 dewatering are mine; the chapter works with the ESP and the IACS Common Structural Rules.
Full answer
The full answer explains each point step by step, with the regulations and figures behind it and the discussion from other candidates. It is in the MEO Class I section of the Marine One forum, open to members enrolled for the MEO Class I exam.