Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)

Schedules

Second Schedule

Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974

Annex

Chapter II-2 : Construction—Fire Protection, Fire Detection and Fire Extinction

Part A — General

Regulation 8 : Fixed gas fire-extinguishing systems

Purchase

(a)	The use of a fire-extinguishing medium which, in the opinion of the Administration, either by itself or under expected conditions of use gives off toxic gases in such quantities as to endanger persons shall not be permitted.

(b)

Where provision is made for the injection of gas for fire-extinguishing purposes, the necessary pipes for conveying the gas shall be provided with control valves or cocks so marked as to indicate clearly the compartments to which the pipes are led. Suitable provision shall be made to prevent inadvertent admission of the gas to any compartment. Where cargo spaces fitted with such a system for fire protection are used as passenger spaces the gas connection shall be blanked during such use.

(c)	The piping shall be arranged so as to provide effective distribution of fire-extinguishing gas.

(d)

(i)	When carbon dioxide is used as the extinguishing medium in cargo spaces, the quantity of gas available shall be sufficient to give a minimum volume of free gas equal to 30 per cent of the gross volume of the largest cargo compartment in the ship which is capable of being sealed.

(ii)	When carbon dioxide is used as an extinguishing medium for machinery spaces of Category A the quantity of gas carried shall be sufficient to give a minimum quantity of free gas equal to the larger of the following quantities, either—

(1)	40 per cent of the gross volume of the largest space, the volume to include the casing up to the level at which the horizontal area of the casing is 40 per cent or less of the horizontal area of the space concerned taken midway between the tank top and the lowest part of the casing; or

(2)

35 per cent of the entire volume of the largest space including the casing: Provided that the above-mentioned percentages may be reduced to 35 per cent and 30 per cent respectively for cargo ships of less than 2 000 tons gross tonnage; provided also that if two or more machinery spaces of Category A are not entirely separate they shall be considered as forming one compartment.

(iii)

Where the volume of free air contained in air receivers in any machinery space of Category A is such that, if released in such space in the event of fire, such release of air within that space would seriously affect the efficiency of the fixed fire extinguishing installation, the Administration shall require the provision of an additional quantity of carbon dioxide.

(iv)	When carbon dioxide is used as an extinguishing medium both for cargo spaces and for machinery spaces of Category A the quantity of gas need not be more than the maximum required either for the largest cargo compartment or machinery space.

(v)	For the purpose of this paragraph the volume of carbon dioxide shall be calculated at 0,56 cubic metres to the kilogramme (9 cubic feet to the pound).

(vi)	When carbon dioxide is used as the extinguishing medium for machinery spaces of Category A the fixed piping system shall be such that 85 per cent of the gas can be discharged into the space within 2 minutes.

(vii)

Carbon dioxide bottle storage rooms shall be situated at a safe and readily accessible position and shall be effectively ventilated to the satisfaction of the Administration. Any entrance to such storage rooms shall preferably be from the open deck, and in any case shall be independent of the protected space. Access doors shall be gastight and bulkheads and decks which form the boundaries of such rooms shall be gastight and adequately insulated.

(e)

(i)

Where gas other than carbon dioxide or steam as permitted by paragraph (f) of this Regulation is produced on the ship and is used as an extinguishing medium, it shall be a gaseous product of fuel combustion in which the oxygen content, the carbon monoxide content, the corrosive elements and any solid combustible elements have been reduced to a permissible minimum.

(ii)	Where such gas is used as the extinguishing medium in a fixed fire-extinguishing system for the protection of machinery spaces of Category A it shall afford protection equivalent to that provided by a fixed carbon dioxide system.

(iii)

Where such gas is used as the extinguishing medium in a fixed fire-extinguishing system for the protection of cargo spaces a sufficient quantity of such gas shall be available to supply hourly a volume of free gas at least equal to 25 per cent of the gross volume of the largest compartment protected in this way for a period of 72 hours.

(f)

In general, the Administration shall not permit the use of steam as a fire-extinguishing medium in fixed fire-extinguishing systems of new ships. Where the use of steam is permitted by the Administration it shall be used only in restricted areas as an addition to the required fire-extinguishing medium and with the proviso that the boiler or boilers available for supplying steam shall have an evaporation of at least 1 kilogramme of steam per hour for each 0,75 cubic metres (1 pound of steam per hour per 12 cubic feet) of the gross volume of the largest space so protected. In addition to complying with the foregoing requirements the systems in all respects shall be as determined by, and to the satisfaction of the Administration.

(g)	Means shall be provided for automatically giving audible warning of the release of fire-extinguishing gas into any space to which personnel normally have access. The alarm shall operate for a suitable period before the gas is released.

(h)	The means of control of any such fixed gas fire-extinguishing system shall be readily accessible and simple to operate and shall be grouped together in as few locations as possible at positions not likely to be cut off by a fire in the protected space.