Escape-route integrity
What is being checked
The inspector is checking whether planning, equipment condition, competent supervision and real-time monitoring provide safe emergency escape from accommodation, machinery, pump, compressor, cargo and deck spaces under the vessel's actual freeboard, weather, movement and terminal conditions.
Ready onboard
0/6 completePractice questions
Answer aloud, then open the preparation point.
1Who authorises and supervises emergency escape from accommodation, machinery, pump, compressor, cargo and deck spaces?
Identify the responsible officer and the competent operator or attendant, including who monitors changing conditions.
2What are the stop criteria?
Use defined limits for primary and secondary routes, fire boundaries, vertical escape, emergency lighting, signs, doors, hatches, breathing devices and muster access, equipment defect, lost communication and unsafe movement.
3Show the pre-use inspection.
Physically verify doors, hatches, ladders, handrails, lighting, signs, EEBDs and route clearances and reconcile the check with escape-route inspections, emergency-light tests, fire-door checks and drills.
4How will a person be recovered after a fall or equipment failure?
Explain the immediate alarm, fall protection or flotation, retrieval method, medical response and alternative access.
5What changed since the last use?
Check rigging, certification, repairs, berth geometry, weather and vessel condition rather than copying the previous assessment.
Where an observation may arise
The assessment did not address primary and secondary routes, fire boundaries, vertical escape, emergency lighting, signs, doors, hatches, breathing devices and muster access.
Inspection identified locked or obstructed exit, seized hatch, missing handrail, failed light, unreadable sign or storage narrowing the route.
The arrangement lacked a responsible officer, competent attendant or continuous monitoring.
Operation continued beyond a weather, movement, angle, freeboard or maker limit.
No effective recovery method was immediately available.
Physical condition or configuration did not agree with escape-route inspections, emergency-light tests, fire-door checks and drills.
Master's practical note
Assess the arrangement as a moving system, not a static appliance. Vessel movement, changing tide and the interface with shore usually determine whether a compliant arrangement remains safe.
Equipment boundary and references
Equipment boundary: Follow SOLAS, flag, port, terminal and maker requirements. Stop the operation if a safe arrangement cannot be maintained, even if commercial delay results.
References
- OCIMF SIRE 2.0 Question Library Part 1, Version 1.0, Question 5.10.7
- SOLAS Chapter II-2 regulation 13
Last reviewed: 2026-09-13