INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA. 253 



secutive bulkheads of this description shall not be greater than 40 meters (equivalent to 

 131 feet). Recesses in these bulkheads shall be fireproof, and the openings in these bulk- 

 heads shall be fitted with fireproof doors. 



Article XIII. 



EXITS FROM WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENTS. 



(1) In passenger and crew spaces a practicable means of escape for the occupants 

 shall be provided from each watertight compartment. 



(2) There shall be a means of escape for the crew from each engine room, shaft tun- 

 nel and stokehold compartment independent of the watertight doors. 



Article XIV. 



CONSTRUCTION AND INITIAL TESTING OF WATERTIGHT BULKHEADS. 



(1) Watertight bulkheads shall be constructed in such a manner that they shall be 

 capable of supporting, with a proper margin of resistance, the pressure due to a head of 

 water up to the margin line. 



(2) Steps and recesses in bulkheads shall be as watertight and as strong as the bulk- 

 head at the place where each occurs. 



Where frames or beams pass through a watertight deck or bulkhead, the watertight- 

 ness shall be obtained by caulked angle chocks, or cast iron or steel chocks efficiently se- 

 cured and rust-jointed, and not by wood or cement. 



(3) Testing main compartments by filling them with water is not compulsory. A 

 complete examination of the bulkheads shall be made by a surveyor; and, in addition, a 

 hose test shall be made in all cases. 



(4) The foremost and aftermost compartments shall be tested with water to a head 

 up to the margin line. 



Double bottoms, deep tanks, and all compartments intended to hold liquids shall be 

 tested with water to a head 2.44 meters (8 feet) above the top of the tank or to the load 

 water line, whichever is the greater. 



(5) No change may be made in the structure of the bulkheads after the completion 

 of the survey without the permission of the Administration. 



(6) All provisions relating to main transverse watertight bulkheads shall apply to 

 longitudinal bulkheads, so far as is practicable. 



Article XV. 



OPENINGS IN watertight BULKHEADS. 



( 1 ) The number of openings in watertight bulkheads shall be reduced to the minimum 

 compatible with the design and proper working of the vessel; satisfactory means shall be 

 provided for closing these openings. 



(2) No doors, sluice valves, manholes, or access openings are permitted — 



(a) In the collision bulkhead below the margin line. 



(b) In watertight transverse bulkheads dividing a cargo space from an adjoining cargo 

 space or from a reserve bunker, except as provided in paragraph (6) of this Article. 



(3) In the machinery space and apart from bunker and shaft-tunnel doors, not more 



