Directive 2009/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

3 Bilge pumping arrangement (R 21)

NEW CLASS B, C AND D AND EXISTING CLASS B SHIPS:

.1.1 An efficient bilge pumping system shall be provided, capable of pumping from and draining any watertight compartment other than a space permanently appropriated for the carriage of fresh water, water ballast, oil fuel or liquid cargo and for which other efficient means of pumping are provided, under all practical conditions. Efficient means shall be provided for draining water from insulated holds.

.1.2 Sanitary, ballast and general service pumps may be accepted as independent power bilge pumps if fitted with the necessary connections to the bilge pumping system.

.1.3 All bilge pipes used in or under fuel storage tanks or in boiler or machinery spaces, including spaces in which oil-settling tanks or oil fuel pumping units are situated, shall be of steel or other suitable material.

.1.4 The arrangement of the bilge and ballast pumping system shall be such as to prevent the possibility of water passing from the sea and from water ballast spaces into the cargo and machinery spaces, or from one compartment to another. Provision shall be made to prevent any deep tank having bilge and ballast connections being inadvertently flooded from the sea when containing cargo, or being discharged through a bilge pump when containing water ballast.

.1.5 All distribution boxes and manually operated valves in connection with the bilge pumping arrangements shall be in positions which are accessible under ordinary circumstances.

NEW CLASS B, C AND D SHIPS:

.1.6 Provision shall be made for the drainage of enclosed cargo spaces situated on the bulkhead deck.

.1.6.1 Where the freeboard to the bulkhead deck is such that the deck edge is immersed when the ship heels more than 5 °, the drainage shall be by means of a sufficient number of scuppers of suitable size discharging directly overboard, fitted in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 15.

.1.6.2 Where the freeboard is such that the edge of the bulkhead deck is immersed when the ship heels 5 ° or less, the drainage of the enclosed cargo spaces on the bulkhead deck shall be led to a suitable space, or spaces, of adequate capacity, having high water level alarm and provided with suitable arrangements for discharge overboard. In addition it will be ensured that:

.1

the number, size and disposition of the scuppers are such as to prevent unreasonable accumulation of free water;

.2

the pumping arrangements required by this regulation take account of the requirements for any fixed pressure water-spraying fire-extinguishing system;

.3

water contaminated with petrol or other dangerous substances is not drained to machinery spaces or other spaces where sources of ignition may be present; and

.4

where the enclosed cargo space is protected by a carbon dioxide fire-extinguishing system the deck scuppers are fitted with means to prevent the escape of the smothering gas.

NEW CLASS A, B, C AND D SHIPS:

.1.6.3 The drainage from ro-ro decks and car decks shall be of sufficient capacity that the scuppers, wash ports etc. on the starboard and the port side shall be able to cope with a quantity of water originating from drencher and fire pumps, taking into account the ship's conditions of heel and trim.

.1.6.4 When provided with sprinkler installations and hydrants, passenger and crew lounges shall have an adequate number of scuppers, sufficient to cope with the quantity of water originating from fire extinguishing by the room's sprinkler heads and from two fire hoses with jets. The scuppers shall be located in the most effective positions, e.g. in each corner.

NEW CLASS B, C AND D AND EXISTING CLASS B SHIPS:

.2.1 The bilge pumping system required by paragraph .1.1 shall be capable of operation under all practicable conditions after a casualty whether the ship is upright or listed. For this purpose wing suctions shall generally be fitted except in narrow compartments at the end of the ship where one suction may be sufficient. In compartments of unusual form, additional suctions may be required. Arrangements shall be made whereby water in the compartment may find its way to the suction pipes.

.2.2 Where practicable, the power bilge pumps shall be placed in separate watertight compartments and so arranged or situated that these compartments will not be flooded by the same damage. If the main propulsion machinery, auxiliary machinery and boilers are in two or more watertight compartments, the pumps available for bilge service shall be distributed as far as is possible throughout these compartments.

.2.3 With the exception of additional pumps which may be provided for peak compartments only, each required bilge pump shall be so arranged as to draw water from any space required to be drained by paragraph .1.1.

.2.4 Each power bilge pump shall be capable of pumping water through the required main bilge pipe at a speed of not less than 2 m/sec. Independent power bilge pumps situated in machinery spaces shall have direct suctions from these spaces, except that not more than two such suctions shall be required in any one space. Where two or more such suctions are provided there shall be at least one on each side of the ship. Direct suctions shall be suitably arranged and those in a machinery space shall be of a diameter not less than that required for the bilge main.

.2.5 In addition to the direct bilge suction or suctions required by paragraph .2.4 a direct emergency bilge suction fitted with a non-return valve shall be led from the largest available independent power-driven pump to the drainage level of the machinery space; the suction shall be of the same diameter as the main inlet to the pumps used.

.2.6 The spindles of the sea inlet and direct suction valves shall extend well above the engine-room platform.

.2.7 All bilge suction piping up to the connection to the pumps shall be independent of other piping.

.2.8 The diameter ‘d’ of the main and branch bilge suction pipes shall be calculated according to the following formulae. However, the actual internal diameter may be rounded off to the nearest standard size acceptable to the Administration of the flag State: main bilge suction pipe:

branch bilge suction pipes between collecting boxes and suctions:

where:

d

is the internal diameter of the bilge main (millimetres),

L and B

are the length and the breadth of the ship (metres),

L₁

is the length of the compartment, and

D

is the moulded depth of the ship to bulkhead deck (metres) provided that, in a ship having an enclosed cargo space on the bulkhead deck which is internally drained in accordance with the requirements of paragraph .1.6.2 and which extends for the full length of the ship, D shall be measured to the next deck above the bulkhead deck. Where the enclosed cargo spaces cover a lesser length, D shall be taken as the moulded depth to the bulkhead deck plus lh/L where l and h are the aggregate length and height respectively of the enclosed cargo spaces.

.2.9 Provision shall be made to prevent the compartment served by any bilge suction pipe being flooded in the event of the pipe being severed or otherwise damaged by collision or grounding in any other compartment. For this purpose, where the pipe is at any part situated nearer the side of the ship than one fifth of the breadth of the ship (measured at right angles to the centreline at the level of the deepest subdivision load line), or is in a duct keel, a non-return valve shall be fitted to the pipe in the compartment containing the open end.

.2.10 Distribution boxes, cocks and valves in connection with the bilge pumping system shall be so arranged that, in the event of flooding, one of the bilge pumps may be operative on any compartment; in addition, damage to a pump or its pipe connecting to the bilge main outboard of a line drawn at one fifth of the breadth of the ship shall not put the bilge system out of action. If there is only one system of pipes common to all the pumps, the necessary valves for controlling the bilge suctions must be capable of being operated from above the bulkheads deck. Where in addition to the main bilge pumping system an emergency bilge pumping system is provided, it shall be independent of the main system and so arranged that a pump is capable of operating on any compartment under flooding condition as specified in paragraph .2.1; in the case only the valves necessary for the operation of the emergency system need be capable of being operated from above the bulkhead deck.

.2.11 All cocks and valves referred to in paragraph .2.10 which can be operated from above the bulkhead deck shall have their controls at their place of operation clearly marked and shall be provided with means to indicate whether they are open or closed.