Regulation 11 - Initial testing of watertight bulkheads, etc.
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - International Conventions - SOLAS - International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea - Chapter II-1 - Construction - Structure, subdivision and stability, machinery and electrical installations - Part B-2 - Subdivision, Watertight and Weathertight Integrity - Regulation 11 - Initial testing of watertight bulkheads, etc.

Regulation 11 - Initial testing of watertight bulkheads, etc.

  1 Testing watertight spaces not intended to hold liquids and cargo holds intended to hold ballast by filling them with water is not compulsory. When testing by filling with water is not carried out, a hose test shall be carried out where practicable. This test shall be carried out in the most advanced stage of the fitting out of the ship. Where a hose test is not practicable because of possible damage to machinery, electrical equipment insulation or outfitting items, it may be replaced by a careful visual examination of welded connections, supported where deemed necessary by means such as a dye penetrant test or an ultrasonic leak test or an equivalent test. In any case a thorough inspection of the watertight bulkheads shall be carried out.

  2 The forepeak, double bottom (including duct keels) and inner skins shall be tested with water to a head corresponding to the requirements of regulation 10.1.

  3 Tanks which are intended to hold liquids, and which form part of the watertight subdivision of the ship, shall be tested for tightness and structural strength with water to a head corresponding to its design pressure. The water head is in no case to be less than the top of the air pipes or to a level of 2.4 m above the top of the tank, whichever is the greater.

  4 The tests referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 are for the purpose of ensuring that the subdivision structural arrangements are watertight and are not to be regarded as a test of the fitness of any compartment for the storage of oil fuel or for other special purposes for which a test of a superior character may be required depending on the height to which the liquid has access in the tank or its connections.

Parent topic: Part B-2 - Subdivision, Watertight and Weathertight Integrity
Copyright 2022 Clasifications Register Group Limited, International Maritime Organization, International Labour Organization or Maritime and Coastguard Agency. All rights reserved. Clasifications Register Group Limited, its affiliates and subsidiaries and their respective officers, employees or agents are, individually and collectively, referred to in this clause as 'Clasifications Register'. Clasifications Register assumes no responsibility and shall not be liable to any person for any loss, damage or expense caused by reliance on the information or advice in this document or howsoever provided, unless that person has signed a contract with the relevant Clasifications Register entity for the provision of this information or advice and in that case any responsibility or liability is exclusively on the terms and conditions set out in that contract.