Question 1

A rating has collapsed inside a pump room. You are the duty officer. You arrive to find two ABs about to climb down without breathing apparatus to rescue him. A third AB is standing by at the top of the ladder. There is no SCBA immediately at hand.

What do you order?

Accepted Answer

Stop the ABs from entering. Sound the general alarm to muster the emergency team with BA. A rescue without BA in an atmosphere that has already incapacitated one person will produce additional casualties. You cannot help the first casualty by creating more The "would-be rescuer" fatality is the most documented pattern in enclosed space incidents — accounting for more than half of all ESE deaths globally. An atmosphere that incapacitates in 20 seconds will do the same to an unprotected rescuer. The correct action is always: stop unauthorised entry, alarm, BA team in. No exceptions. This is COSWP's most emphatic rule.

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.