Panama: Paris MoU Fire Door Inspection Campaign

Eda Zenic -

The Panama Maritime Authority issued Marine Notice MMN-07/2024 informing stakeholders about the Paris MoU Focused Inspection Campaign (FIC) focused specifically on fire doors during annual inspections.

The notice targets ship owners, operators, Recognized Organizations, flag inspectors, and masters of Panamanian-flagged vessels trading within the Paris MoU area.

The primary objective of this FIC, scheduled from July 1st to September 30th, 2024, is to ensure the proper maintenance and functionality of fire doors aboard ships. Fire doors play a critical role in preventing the spread of fire and smoke on vessels, thereby enhancing overall safety at sea. The campaign emphasizes several key inspection points:

  1. Verification of Control Panel Indicators: Ensuring that indicators on fire door control panels are operational and accurately display the status of fire doors.
  2. Testing of Fire Doors: Conducting tests on a sample of fire doors to confirm both local and remote operation capabilities, ensuring they function as intended in emergency situations.
  3. Proper Closure and Latching: Checking that fire doors close and latch correctly to maintain their integrity during fire incidents.
  4. Prevention of Improper Lashing: Ensuring that self-closing fire doors are not improperly secured or lashed in the open position, which could compromise their effectiveness.
  5. Gastightness and Fire Resistance: Verifying that fire doors installed in boundary bulkheads of machinery spaces (Category A) are gastight and self-closing. Additionally, ensuring that fire doors have the appropriate fire resistance classification (Class A or B) suitable for the bulkhead in which they are installed.

The Panama Maritime Authority stresses the importance of compliance with these inspection criteria during routine surveys conducted by Flag State Inspectors and Recognized Organizations. They encourage ship owners, operators, and masters to thoroughly review the details provided in the Marine Notice to ensure readiness and adherence to safety standards.