Car deck drainage procedures required

摘要

The Al Salam Boccaccio 98 disaster, where 1069 passengers and crew lost their lives in February 2006, highlighted the drainage problems of ro-ro ferries and a number of modifications of SOLAS are now being discussed by IMO in order to improve the situation. The disaster furthermore indicated that pilot-doors were considered as useable for drainage at a time of peril [1]. (The sources studied merely state that such use was discussed by ship command. Whether or not any such doors were open, at time of disaster, is unknown.)The rear ramp of the Estonia-wreck was found slightly ajar, and drainage by doors at the bulkhead deck was indeed discussed some 10 years ago. The problem was raised again last summer when a scenario, suggesting the pilot door of Estonia might have been used for drainage, was presented at the 9th International Ship Stability Workshop in Hamburg.