[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 46, Volume 7]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 46CFR174.100]

[Page 173-175]
 
                           TITLE 46--SHIPPING
 
   CHAPTER I--COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 174--SPECIAL RULES PERTAINING TO SPECIFIC VESSEL TYPES--Table of Contents
 
  Subpart C--Special Rules Pertaining to Mobile Offshore Drilling Units
 
Sec. 174.100  Appliances for watertight and weathertight integrity.

    (a) Appliances to insure watertight integrity include watertight 
doors,

[[Page 174]]

hatches, scuttles, bolted manhole covers, or other watertight closures 
for openings in watertight decks and bulkheads.
    (b) Appliances to insure weathertight integrity include weathertight 
doors and hatches, closures for air pipes, ventilators, ventilation 
intakes and outlets, and closures for other openings in deckhouses and 
superstructures.
    (c) Each internal opening equipped with appliances to insure 
watertight integrity that is used intermittently during operation of the 
unit while afloat must meet the following:
    (1) Each door, hatch, and scuttle must--
    (i) Be remotely controlled from a normally manned control station, 
and be operable locally from both sides of the bulkhead; or
    (ii) If there is no means of remote control there must be an alarm 
system that signals whether the appliance is open or closed both locally 
at each appliance and in a normally manned control station.
    (2) Each closing appliance must remain watertight under the design 
water pressure of the watertight boundary of which it is a part.
    (d) Each external opening fitted with an appliance to insure 
weathertight integrity must be located so that it would not be submerged 
below the final equilibrium waterline if the unit is subjected 
simultaneously to--
    (1) Damage causing flooding described in Secs. 174.075 through 
174.085; and
    (2) A wind heeling moment calculated in accordance with Sec. 174.055 
using a wind velocity of 50 knots (25.8 meters per second).
    (e) If a unit is equipped with sliding watertight doors, each 
sliding watertight door must--
    (1) Be designed, constructed, tested, and marked in accordance with 
ASTM F 1196 (incorporated by reference, see Sec. 174.007);
    (2) Have controls in accordance with ASTM F 1197 (incorporated by 
reference, see Sec. 174.007), except that a remote manual means of 
closure, as specified in paragraphs 7.1 and 7.5.1, and a remote 
mechanical indicator, as specified in paragraph 7.5.2, will not be 
required; and
    (3) If installed in a subdivision bulkhead, meet Supplemental 
Requirements Nos. S1 and S3 of ASTM F 1196 (incorporated by reference, 
see Sec. 174.007), unless the watertight doors are built in accordance 
with plans previously approved by the Coast Guard, in which case, only 
Supplemental Requirements Nos. S1 and S3.1.4 of ASTM F 1196 
(incorporated by reference, see Sec. 174.007) must be met. In either 
case, control systems for watertight doors must have power supplies, 
power sources, installation tests and inspection, and additional remote 
operating consoles in accordance with Supplemental Requirements Nos. S1 
through S4 of ASTM F 1197 (incorporated by reference, see Sec. 174.007).
    (f) Installations of sliding watertight door assemblies must be in 
accordance with the following:
    (1) Before a sliding watertight door assembly is installed in a 
vessel, the bulkhead in the vicinity of the door opening must be 
stiffened. Such bulkhead stiffeners, or deck reinforcement where flush 
deck door openings are desired, must not be less than 6 inches nor more 
than 12 inches from the door frame so that an unstiffened diaphragm of 
bulkhead plating 6 to 12 inches wide is provided completely around the 
door frame. Where such limits cannot be maintained, alternative 
installations will be considered by the Marine Safety Center. In 
determining the scantlings of these bulkhead stiffeners, the door frame 
should not be considered as contributing to the strength of the 
bulkhead. Provision must also be made to adequately support the thrust 
bearings and other equipment that may be mounted on the bulkhead or 
deck.
    (2) Sliding watertight door frames must be either bolted or welded 
watertight to the bulkhead.
    (i) If bolted, a suitable thin heat and fire resistant gasket or 
suitable compound must be used between the bulkhead and the frame for 
watertightness. The bulkhead plating shall be worked to a plane surface 
in way of the frame when mounting.

[[Page 175]]

    (ii) If welded, caution must be exercised in the welding process so 
that the door frame is not distorted.

[CGD 79-023, 48 FR 51048, Nov. 4, 1983, as amended by CGD 88-032, 56 FR 
35828, July 29, 1991; USCG-2000-7790, 65 FR 58464, Sept. 29, 2000]

Subpart D [Reserved]