Question 1

You are the officer responsible for issuing an ESE permit. The space requires a certified gas tester. The only competent gas tester on board is currently off-watch after a night watch. The Master says: "We sail in two hours — get the job done, it'll only take 30 minutes."

What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Do not issue the permit. The job cannot proceed without a competent person to test the atmosphere. Explain this to the Master clearly. If the Master orders you to proceed regardless, document your objection — this is a SOLAS stop-work situation Schedule pressure is the most common management-level precursor to ESE fatalities. COSWP is unambiguous: a competent person must test the atmosphere with calibrated equipment before any permit is issued. You have legal and ISM authority — and duty — to refuse. Documenting a Master override is not insubordination; it is required under the ISM Code's "stop work authority" provision. Historical incidents (Bulk Jupiter, 2017; BW Orinoco, 2019) show the pattern: time pressure overrides procedure, person enters, person dies.

Question 2

The bosun approaches you — the duty officer — and says he needs to "pop into the pump room for two minutes" to check the bilge level. The gas meter is on charge. No permit has been raised. He says he knows the space well and has done this dozens of times.

What is your response?

Accepted Answer

Stop him. No entry is permitted without a valid atmosphere test and an authorised Enclosed Space Entry permit, regardless of familiarity with the space or duration of entry Familiarity and brevity are the two most lethal attitudes in enclosed space entry. The pump room atmosphere can change in seconds from an undetected gas source. A permit and atmosphere test are mandatory before any entry — COSWP Ch.17 and SOLAS XI-1/7 make no exception for "quick checks". The majority of ESE fatalities involve spaces the victim entered regularly without incident.

Question 3

Pre-entry atmosphere test at the manhole opening of a cargo hold: O₂ 20.5%, LEL 0%, H₂S 0 ppm, CO 0 ppm. The bosun says "It's fine — readings are all in range, let's go in." The hold contained a grain cargo and has been empty for 18 days.

What additional step is essential before entry proceeds?

Accepted Answer

The atmosphere must also be tested at lower levels within the space — at working depth and at the bottom. A safe reading at the entry point does not guarantee safe conditions deeper in the hold Gases heavier than air (CO₂, H₂S) pool at the bottom of cargo holds. Grain cargo self-heats and consumes O₂ through biological activity — the dangerous zone may be the bottom metre of an apparently safe space. COSWP requires testing at multiple levels, especially in spaces with a known biological or chemical cargo history. Testing only at the hatch is a common precursor to fatalities.