Hong Kong Regulations

MERCHANT SHIPPING (INSTRUCTIONS TO SURVEYORS) (PASSENGER SHIPS) REGULATIONS - REGULATION 52

Fire-resisting bulkheads and doors

(1) Ships shall be fitted above the bulkhead deck with fire-resisting
bulkheads of such construction, and so fitted, as to serve the purpose of
retarding the spread of fire. The mean distance between any two consecutive
bulkheads of this description shall not in general exceed 131 feet. Recesses
and steps and the means for closing all openings in these bulkheads shall be
fire-resisting and flametight.

(2) (a) Steel bulkheads of scantlings and stiffening equal to those specified
for watertight bulkheads in the 'tween decks immediately below the bulkhead
deck may be accepted, provided they are not lined with inflammable material.
Any other fire-resisting material may be used for these bulkheads, provided it
is shown by suitable experiments that bulkheads so constructed are capable of
withstanding a fire of considerable fierceness and high temperature for a
reasonable period, say, 1500 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour.

   (b)  Recesses and steps in these bulkheads shall be of equivalent
        construction, from the fire-resisting point of view, to the bulkheads
        themselves.

   (c)  Any openings in the bulkheads should be closed with doors which are,
        if practicable, of similar construction. If hinged doors are fitted,
        each shall be secured by suitable clips or slip-bolts workable from
        either side of the bulkhead, and the number of the clips or slip-bolts
        shall be sufficient to prevent the door from warping under the
        conditions mentioned above.