Question 1

Last week's entry into the forward void space was completed without incident. The same job is needed again next week. The bosun suggests that since the space was safe last week and no cargo or ballast operations have occurred since, the pre-entry atmosphere test can be skipped "to save time."

What is the correct response?

Accepted Answer

Reject this. A previous safe entry gives no guarantee of current conditions. Atmospheres in enclosed spaces can change without any external operations — through corrosion, biological activity, temperature changes, or adjacent pipe leaks. A full pre-entry atmosphere test is mandatory every time This is textbook normalisation of deviance — previous success is misread as evidence of ongoing safety. Corrosion of steel surfaces actively consumes oxygen. A void space corroding at even a slow rate in warm conditions can drop to a dangerously hypoxic atmosphere within days. The "no operations" assumption ignores all the processes that don't require human intervention to change an atmosphere. Every entry: full test, valid permit, standby on post.

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.