Hull Construction Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1431)

• 116 (1) Every crew access opening that gives access to a space usually occupied by crew when a ship is under way shall

  • (a) have a clear opening of not less than 560 mm;

  • (b) be free of any projections that could catch in clothing or lifejackets; and

  • (c) where the opening is a hatch, be provided with a fixed ladder or other means of easy access.

• (2) No hatch to which this section applies shall be located where heavy towing equipment can fall across the hatch cover.

Closing Appliances for Crew Access Openings

117 For the purposes of sections 119 and 120,

• (a) type ‘A’ closing appliance means a gasketed closing appliance of approved construction that

  • (i) is fitted in an opening adequately stiffened to provide strength equivalent to that of the unpierced bulkhead or deck in which it is fitted,

  • (ii) is attached by hinges or some other approved method,

  • (iii) is capable of being,

    • (A) in the case of a door, closed securely by clamps all around the perimeter of the door or opening, spaced a mean distance of not more than 762 mm apart, or

    • (B) in the case of a hatch cover, closed securely by not less than two clamps, and

  • (iv) provides the same weathertight integrity as the unpierced bulkhead or deck in which it is fitted; and

• (b) type ‘B’ closing appliance means a close fitting closing appliance of approved construction that

  • (i) is fitted in an opening adequately stiffened to provide strength equivalent to that of the unpierced bulkhead or deck in which it is fitted,

  • (ii) is attached by hinges or some other approved method, and

  • (iii) is capable of being closed securely by not less than two clamps.

• 118 (1) No sliding closing appliance for a crew access opening shall be set athwartships.

• (2) No closing appliance for an opening that gives access to a space usually occupied by crew when a ship is under way shall be fitted with a hasp and staple.

• (3) Every closing appliance for a crew access opening that is fitted with a locking device shall be capable of being readily unlocked from inside without the use of a key.

• (4) Every closing appliance for a crew access hatch shall be

  • (a) balanced by a spring, except where the weight of the appliance makes this provision unnecessary; and

  • (b) in the case of a closing appliance fitted to an opening provided for emergency escape, painted a bright orange colour inside and out and clearly marked to indicate that it is to be opened only during drills and emergencies.

• (5) Every closing appliance for a crew access opening shall be capable of being secured and unsecured from both inside and outside the space to which it gives access.

• (6) Where the space referred to in subsection (5) is usually occupied by crew when the ship is under way, the means for securing and unsecuring the closing appliance shall be a single action mechanism that requires only one hand to operate.

• 119 (1) Subject to subsection (4), every exterior crew access opening

  • (a) in the main deck or in a forecastle deck in the bow section, or

  • (b) in a structure, other than a wheelhouse, set on a deck referred to in paragraph (a) and through which flooding could occur into a space below the main deck,

  shall be fitted with a type ‘A’ closing appliance.

• (2) Every exterior crew access opening in a wheelhouse shall be fitted with a close fitting closing appliance of substantial construction, framing and attachment.

• (3) Every hinged exterior door shall be hinged on the forward side and open outwards.

• (4) In the case of an existing ship, if a type ‘B’ closing appliance is fitted to every crew access opening that gives direct access to space below the main deck from inside a structure described in subsection (1), any exterior crew access opening in that structure may be fitted with a type ‘B’ closing appliance, but, where major alterations or repairs are being made to the structure, every exterior crew access opening therein shall be fitted with a type ‘A’ closing appliance.

• 120 (1) Every interior crew access opening that gives direct access to a space below the main deck from inside a wheelhouse shall be fitted with a type ‘A’ closing appliance.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), every interior crew access opening that gives direct access to a space below the main deck, other than an opening described in subsection (1), shall be fitted with a closing appliance that

  • (a) in association with the reinforcing of the opening is of equivalent strength to the unpierced structure in which it is set;

  • (b) is close fitting and supported around the perimeter against external pressure;

  • (c) if hinged, opens outwards from the space below the main deck;

  • (d) if it gives access to the engine room, is self-closing and is provided with a fire protective sheathing on the engine room side; and

  • (e) if it gives access from an accommodation space to the engine room, is gastight.

• (3) An interior crew access opening that gives direct access to a watertight accommodation space below the main deck is not required to be fitted with a closing appliance where

  • (a) the opening is located inside a structure in which every exterior crew access opening is fitted with a type ‘A’ closing appliance; and

  • (b) no part of the main deck is submerged when that accommodation space is completely flooded.

• (4) Every interior door that gives access to an accommodation space and that is not required by these Regulations to be fitted with a type ‘A’ closing appliance, a type ‘B’ closing appliance or a closing appliance described in subsection (2) shall be fitted with a kick-out panel in the lower half of the door.

Stowage Hatchways and Skylights

• 121 (1) Every exterior stowage hatchway shall be made as small as is practicable and fitted with an approved weathertight cover.

• (2) Every exterior skylight shall be

  • (a) of weathertight construction;

  • (b) made as small as is practicable;

  • (c) fitted with circular glass panels of an approved thickness that shall, where the skylight is located aft of the towing point, be protected on the exterior side by substantial guards; and

  • (d) fitted with hinged deadlights that may be readily closed when the ship is under way.

Door-sills and Coamings

122 Every crew access opening shall be provided with a door-sill or coaming that complies with section 123 and every exterior stowage hatchway and skylight shall be provided with a coaming that complies with section 125.

• 123 (1) In this section, freeboard plane means the plane that is parallel to the deepest load waterplane of a ship and tangent to the line of sheer taken at the level of the upper surface of the main deck, excluding any raised portions thereof, but including any sheathing.

• (2) The door-sill or coaming top of every

  • (a) exterior crew access opening

    • (i) in a wheelhouse,

    • (ii) through which no flooding could occur into a space below the main deck, or

    • (iii) located on any deck, other than the part of a forecastle deck in the bow section or the main deck, and through which flooding could occur into a space below the main deck, and

  • (b) interior crew access opening that gives direct access from a space above the main deck to a space below the main deck

  shall be not less than 150 mm above the deck outside the door-sill or coaming.

• (3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the door-sill or coaming top of every exterior crew access opening, other than a wheelhouse door opening, located on the part of a forecastle deck in the bow section or on the main deck and through which flooding could occur into a space below the main deck shall be not less than 610 mm the deck outside the door-sill or coaming.

• (4) Where a crew access opening described in subsection (3) is located on a raised portion of the main deck extending aft not more than three-quarters of the length of the ship, the height of its door-sill or coaming may

  • (a) in the case of a door-sill or coaming located in the part of the forward half-length of the ship not in the bow section, be reduced by 460 mm or an amount equal to one-quarter of the vertical distance between the freeboard plane and the upper surface of the deck outside the mid-point of the opening, whichever is the lesser;

  • (b) in the case of the door-sill of a doorway located in the aft half-length of the ship, be reduced by 460 mm or an amount that would reduce the height of the door-sill to a level 610 mm above the freeboard plane, whichever is the lesser; and

  • (c) in the case of the coaming of a hatch located in the aft half-length of the ship, be reduced by 305 mm or an amount that would reduce the height of the coaming top to a level 610 mm above the freeboard plane, whichever is the lesser.

• (5) The door-sill or coaming top of every exterior crew access opening referred to in subsection (3) on a ship that has

  • (a) no sleeping accommodation on board,

  • (b) no accommodation of any kind below the main deck, and

  • (c) a type ‘A’ closing appliance fitted to every crew access opening that gives direct access to a space below the main deck

  shall be not less than 150 mm above the deck outside the door-sill or coaming.

124 Notwithstanding section 123, where a door-sill on an existing ship does not comply with that section, a permanently attached coaming of a height prescribed for the door-sill in that section shall be fitted inside the doorway, but where major repairs to the door are required or a new door is required, the door-sill shall be altered to comply with section 123.

• 125 (1) Every exterior stowage hatchway and skylight on a ship shall be fitted with a coaming the top of which

  • (a) is 610 mm above the deck at the coaming, in the case of the coaming of an opening located on the part of a forecastle deck in the bow section or on the main deck forward of the towing point;

  • (b) is 305 mm above the deck outside the coaming, in the case of the coaming of an opening located on

    • (i) any part of a forecastle deck aft of the bow section,

    • (ii) any deck above the main deck, or other than a forecastle deck, and

    • (iii) the main deck aft of the towing point that is not opened in the usual daily routine of the ship when it is under way; and

  • (c) is 610 mm above the deck outside the coaming, in the case of the coaming of an opening located on the main deck aft of the towing point that is opened in the usual daily routine of the ship when it is under way.

• (2) Every interior stowage hatchway on the main deck shall be provided with a coaming the top of which is not less than 150 mm above the deck outside the coaming.

Ventilation

• 126 (1) Subject to subsection (2), every ventilation opening on a ship shall be located

  • (a) as close to the centre line of the ship as is practicable, and

  • (b) as high above the main deck as is practicable,

  but on no ship shall the lower edge of the opening be less than 915 mm above the main deck.

• (2) The Board may approve a ventilation opening the lower edge of which is less than 915 mm above the main deck if it

  • (a) is self-closing when submerged; and

  • (b) does not ventilate the engine room.

• (3) and (4) [Repealed, SOR/95-254, s. 13]

Windows and Sidelights

• 127 (1) Subject to section 128, every window frame and sidelight frame shall have a strength appropriate to the strength of the bulkhead to which it is fastened and shall be fitted

  • (a) in the case of a window, with toughened glass of an approved thickness, but in no case less than 6 mm thick; and

  • (b) in the case of a sidelight, with glass of an approved thickness.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), at least one window or sidelight that opens to give a clear opening of not less than 460 mm shall be provided in every fully enclosed cabin, messroom, galley or other accommodation space on or above the main deck that has only one crew access opening, and an exterior hand bar shall be fixed over each such window or sidelight.

• (3) Where during the normal operation of a ship a window or sidelight fitted in the side of a superstructure of the ship might be in contact with another ship, no window or sidelight is required to be provided in that side of the superstructure.

• (4) Subject to subsection (5), no window shall be located so that the bottom of the aperture, if the window opens, or the bottom of the glass aperture, if the window does not open, is less than 610 mm above the main deck or forecastle deck, as the case may be.

• (5) The bottom of every window located in the bow section, other than a wheelhouse window, shall be not less than 2.75 m vertically above the weather deck at that location.

• (6) At least one sliding window that gives a clear opening of not less than 560 mm shall be provided on each side of every wheelhouse, unless the wheelhouse has more than one exterior crew access opening and the provision of such a sliding window is not practicable.

• (7) No sidelight shall be located below the main deck.

• (8) Every sidelight in a structure set on the main deck or a forecastle deck that

  • (a) can be opened, or

  • (b) has a glass aperture of more than 250 mm in diameter

  shall be so located that the bottom of the aperture, if the sidelight opens, or the bottom of the glass aperture, if the sidelight does not open, is at least 610 mm above the main deck or forecastle deck, as the case may be.

• (9) Every sidelight in the bow section shall be fitted with an internal hinged deadlight.

• (10) Every sidelight not in the bow section shall be fitted with an internal shutter attached to the frame by a keep chain or an internal hinged deadlight.

• (11) Every window, other than a wheelhouse window, in a structure set on the main deck shall be fitted with a permanently attached internal shutter or hinged deadlight.

• (12) Every wheelhouse window that faces forward or athwartships shall be provided with a shutter that, if it is not permanently attached, shall be kept readily available.