Ship fire doors and fire dampers: SOLAS II-2/9 checks

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Passive fire protection does nothing visible for the whole life of a ship. Steel bulkheads with insulation, self-closing fire doors, fire dampers in ventilation ducts and sealed cable penetrations simply sit there. In a fire they decide whether the fire stays in one cabin or one engine room, or spreads through the ship. They are also the first things to be damaged without anyone noticing: a door wedged open for a breeze, a damper seized with rust, a new cable run pushed through a bulkhead and sealed with builder’s foam.

Port State control inspectors know this. In the 2023 Paris MoU annual report, fire doors (3.2% of deficiencies) were singled out as one of the specific items with a high rate of non-compliance. This lesson shows how the passive system is built and how to keep it intact.

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In this lesson

Try it: A port State control inspection of the passive fire protection
In plain words
In detail
What the rules say
Flag and class notes
Key numbers
What inspectors find
Questions people ask
Quiz: 6 questions

Sources

1 IMO Resolution MSC.99(73), revised SOLAS chapter II-2 (adopted 5 December 2000, in force 1 July 2002), regulations II-2/1.3, 3.2, 3.4, 9.3, 9.4 and 14.2.1, as amended. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.99(73).pdf
2 IMO MSC.1/Circ.1432, Revised guidelines for the maintenance and inspection of fire protection systems and appliances (31 May 2012), as amended by MSC.1/Circ.1516, annex, paragraphs 2, 4.3, 6.3, 6.4, 7.6 and 7.7 (consolidated copy annexed to Cayman Islands Shipping Notice 01/2014 Rev 2). https://www.cishipping.com/system/files/notices/documents/CISN%202014_01%20Rev%202%20with%20Annex.pdf
3 IMO Resolution MSC.365(93), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (adopted 22 May 2014, in force 1 January 2016), annex, regulation II-2/3 (new definitions 54 to 56) and II-2/9.7 (paragraphs 7.1 and 7.3). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.365(93).pdf
4 IMO Resolution MSC.307(88), International Code for Application of Fire Test Procedures, 2010 (2010 FTP Code) (adopted 3 December 2010, effective 1 July 2012), annex 1, Parts 3 and 4. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.307(88).pdf
5 Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator, Marine Notice 2-011-14 (Rev. Aug/2025), Appendix A. https://www.register-iri.com/wp-content/uploads/MN-2-011-14.pdf
6 Bahamas Maritime Authority, Marine Notice 79, Firefighting Equipment, version 2.2 (20 November 2025), paragraph 4.6. https://www.classnk.or.jp/hp/pdf/activities/statutory/solas/solas_treaty/fire_protection/circular/ci_fi_bahama.pdf
7 IMO Resolution A.1186(33), Survey guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC), 2023, annex, (CA) 2.2.2.28 (cargo ship safety construction annual survey), (PR) 5.2.2.79 (passenger ship renewal survey) and (EA) 1.2.2.7. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.1186(33).pdf
8 Paris MoU, Annual Report 2023, as summarised by the International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS). https://www.iims.org.uk/paris-mou-annual-report-2023/
9 UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Report of investigation into fire in main galley of Edinburgh Castle on 21 August 1998, sections 1.7 and 2.5. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/547c71a5ed915d4c0d000143/edinburgh_castle_fire.pdf
10 Tokyo MOU, Report of the 2012 Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety Systems (November 2013), section 3, question 5a. https://www.tokyo-mou.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/Final-Tokyo-MOU-Report-FSS-CIC-public-web-site.pdf

Free awareness training. Al Safwan Marine is not an approved training provider, so no certificate is given, and these courses are not a qualification. They don't replace STCW training, manufacturer training or the certification technicians need for this work. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.

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