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RightShip Guide

THE DEEPDRAFT · RIGHTSHIP PREPARATION

Cargo-hold ventilation and closing devices

RISQ 6.8Section 6 · Ship’s StructureSource marking: V

Applicability: Cargo-hold ventilation as fitted. Wire-guard and spark-screen provisions depend on the cargo; the finer-screen guidance explicitly names the three listed UN cargo entries.

What is being checked

Hold ventilation works, closes effectively and has applicable guards.

Ready on board

0 / 7 checked

Check the vessel’s actual procedures, equipment and records against these points from RISQ 3.2.

Provide a positive means of closing every ventilator, such as a weathertight door, flap/damper or screw-down cowl appropriate to its design.Maintain closing devices, grease as needed and inspect sealing gaskets, including readiness for fire or sea spray near intakes.Check ventilation ports and fan spaces for loose rust or paint that could contaminate cargo.Before loading, check that mechanical ventilation fans operate.Follow the recommendation to mark mechanical ventilators prominently and permanently with the served space, open/closed position and damper operating direction.For cargoes requiring deck fan-opening wire guards, check mesh not exceeding 13 × 13 mm, preventing foreign objects entering the casing and sparking against the rotating impeller.For SEED CAKE UN 1386 (b), SEED CAKE UN 2217 and SULPHUR UN 1350, check spark-arresting screens on all deck ventilation openings as specified by the source; these are finer than wire mesh guards.

Practice questions

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

1Can a coarse fan-opening guard be treated as a spark-arresting screen?

No. The source distinguishes the guard’s maximum 13 × 13 mm mesh from much finer spark-arresting screens for the named cargoes.

2What needs checking before loading?

Mechanical fans should operate, and ventilation ports and fan spaces should be free of loose rust or paint that could fall onto the cargo.

3Does the quoted US screen example define an IMSBC-wide mesh requirement?

No. The PDF explicitly says IMSBC does not define the term, then gives a US Coast Guard example. Apply the vessel/cargo requirements rather than treating that example as a universal specification.

Where a finding may arise

Missing evidence or defects inconsistent with the checks above may prevent a satisfactory answer. These are preparation concerns derived from the question, not explicit additional 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

The PDF quotes a US Coast Guard example: one screen of at least 30 × 30 threads per square inch, or two 20 × 20 screens spaced 0.5–1.5 inches apart. It states that IMSBC does not define the term. This example is not converted into a universal inspection requirement. Ventilator marking is recommended; cargo-specific guard/screen conditions remain conditional.

References and source status

RightShip Inspection Ship Questionnaire, November 2025, version 3.2. Section 6, page 84, reference 6.8.

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.