1 The Maritime Safety Committee, at its fifty-fourth
session (27 April to 1 May 1987), included an item on ventilation
of vehicle decks in the work programme on the Sub-Committee on Ship
Design and Equipment.
2 The Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment,
at its thirty-eighth session (23 to 27 January 1995), prepared, subject
to review by the Sub-Committee on Fire Protection with regard to fire
safety aspects, the draft Design Guidelines and Operational Recommendation
for Ventilation Systems in Ro-Ro Cargo Spaces. The guidelines and
operational recommendations are based on the SIS 150 "Cleaner air
in ro-ro cargo spaces" and ISO 9785, and are intended to address the
ventilation of ro-ro cargo spaces during loading, unloading and during
voyage in order to maintain an adequate level of air quality in these
spaces.
3 The Sub-Committee on Fire Protection, at its
fortieth session (17 to 21 July 1995), reviewed the draft design guidelines
and operational recommendations and prepared the final text of the
guidelines and recommendations for approval by the Committee.
4 The Maritime Safety Committee, at its sixty-sixth
session (28 May to 6 June 1996), approved the design guidelines and
operational recommendations as contained in the annex and invited
Member Governments to bring them to the attention of the designers,
shipyards, ship owners and personnel employed on board and to apply
the design guidelines to new ships and the operational recommendations
to new and existing ships.