292 SOCIETY NAVAL ARCHITECTS AND MARINE ENGINEERS. 



"The provisions of this convention are completed by regulations which have the same 

 force and take effect at the same time as the convention. Every reference to the convention 

 implies at the same time a reference to the regulations annexed thereto." 



Brief reference will now be made to the individual articles of the convention and the 

 regulations. As a rule the language is quite explicit and self-explanatory. In some instances, 

 however, the treatment of purely technical matters in technical language may not be alto- 

 gether clear to those not thoroughly versed in such matters. 



Article 16 of the convention is the first article of Chapter IV, a chapter which embraces 

 all matters under "Construction" which were treated by the conference. This article, in con- 

 nection with Articles 2, 3, and 4 of the convention, defines the vessels to which the require- 

 ments of the convention are applicable. The language is clear and specific. No comment 

 seems necessary other than to emphasize the fact that the requirements of the convention, in 

 their entirety, are applicable to all "new vessels," whereas "existing vessels" are subject to 

 such requirements as may be imposed by the governments of their respective countries. 

 The question of the reference to their respective countries of such detailed consideration 

 of existing ships as might seem necessary was fully discussed and it was finally determined 

 that such action was the only practicable one. 



Article 17 of the convention relates to the subdivision of ships and is largely supple- 

 mented by the provisions of Articles V-X of the regulations. Mention has already been 

 made of the great difficulty involved in reaching a satisfactory agreement with respect to 

 this highly important subject of "subdivision of vessels." It is a very complex question when 

 the object in view is the formulation of regulations which are subsequently to be enacted 

 into laws which shall have full force and effect in the principal maritime nations of the world. 



At the very beginning it was recognized that the three most important elements to be 

 considered were the "margin of safety," the number of compartments which could be 

 flooded without destroying the reserve buoyancy of the vessel, and the "permeability" to be 

 assigned to the various spaces below the "margin line" in making calculations affecting the 

 spacing of bulkheads. For all practical purposes the "margin of safety" is indicated by the 

 location of the bulkhead deck, a deck which is thus defined in paragraph 4, Article V, of the 

 regulations : 



"The bulkhead deck is the uppermost continuous deck to which all transverse water-tight 

 bulkheads are carried." 



"Permeability" is thus defined in paragraph 11, Article V, of the regulations: 



"The permeability of a space is the percentage of that space which can be occupied by 

 water." 



The determination of the percentages to be allowed for "permeability" therefore involved 

 one of the most important fundamental considerations. The conference greatly increased 

 this percentage over and above what had previously been considered necessary. Increase in 

 the value of the "permeability" percentages which are permitted to be used in the "flooding 

 calculations" of ships means a corresponding increase in the reserve buoyancy of a vessel. 

 Some idea can be formed of the increased buoyancy resulting from this one item when it is 

 stated that for cargo spaces this permeability percentage has been increased from 40 per 



