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RightShip Guide

THE DEEPDRAFT · RIGHTSHIP PREPARATION

Firefighting readiness in freezing conditions

RISQ 16.15Section 16 · Ice or Polar Water OperationsSource marking: V

Applicability: Complete this section only where the vessel has an ice-class notation, is navigating or intends to navigate in ice, or holds a polar water certificate. Retain each question’s additional conditions.

What is being checked

Cold-weather procedures protect firefighting access and availability.

Ready on board

0 / 7 checked

Prepare the ship-specific evidence against RISQ 3.2. Use the approved vessel procedures and equipment instructions for operation and maintenance.

Have the source’s door-gasket de-icing treatment schedule, at least monthly or when required, reflected in the vessel’s arrangements.Address snow/ice removal and immediate draining/drying or frost-free storage of used fire hoses.Have vessel procedures addressing the source’s fire-main drainage provision at 0°C or below while retaining emergency readiness.Have external fire-equipment checks daily, or more often as required, below 0°C; check and function-test weather-exposed fire dampers daily at 0°C or below.Check heated compartments and freeze protection for fire pumps, emergency fire pumps and auxiliaries at design service temperature.Check accessible isolating valves, protection from freezing spray and arrangements to isolate/drain external main sections.Check hydrant operability, two-handed levers or hand wheels and quick hose connections; address the source’s exclusion of cast-iron exposed valves/hydrants at design temperatures of -30°C or lower.

Practice questions

Preparation prompts derived from this entry, not an official inspector interview script.

1Are the source’s temperature triggers identical for external equipment and fire dampers?

No. External equipment checks are specified below 0°C; exposed damper checks/function tests are specified at 0°C or below.

Where a finding may arise

Missing evidence, defects or gaps in familiarity against these checks may prevent a satisfactory answer. These are derived preparation concerns, not additional explicit finding criteria or reported past observations.

Past observations for practice

Anonymised reports, manually reviewed before publication. These are reported experiences, not additional inspection requirements.

No reviewed observations have been added for this entry.

Share an observation for private review

Remove vessel, company and inspector names, report numbers, exact dates and confidential information. Do not paste a complete inspection report.

Source clarification

Prepare evidence of the approved arrangements. This entry is not an instruction to disable a fire main, apply heat/steam to equipment or operate valves without the vessel’s controlled procedure.

References and source status

RightShip Inspection Ship Questionnaire, November 2025, version 3.2. Section 16, page 227, reference 16.15.

The explanation, checklist and practice answer derive from the supplied questionnaire. Reported observations are separately contributed and manually reviewed; they are not official RISQ guidance.

Independent DeepDraft preparation guide, based on the supplied RISQ 3.2 questionnaire. Not an official RightShip product or inspection report.