Question 1

Three crew members have been working in a double-bottom void space under a permit valid from 0800–1200. It is now 1215. The job is 90% complete and the team inside estimate 20 more minutes will finish it. The permit has expired.

What is the correct action?

Accepted Answer

Evacuate the space immediately. Work must stop while a new atmosphere test is conducted, the permit is re-issued by the officer responsible, and the authorising officer reviews current conditions before re-entry is approved Permit expiry is not a bureaucratic formality — it reflects that the atmosphere and conditions verified at the start of the permit may have changed. Atmospheres in void spaces can change due to product ingress, temperature shifts, or adjacent operations. The 90%-done pressure is a classic plan continuation trap. The cost of a permit re-issue is minutes; the cost of not doing it can be fatal. Verbal extensions and self-authorisation have no standing under ISM or COSWP.

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.