What are regulations for Spacing and number of Bulkhead on ship as per SOLAS ?

105-115

115-125

125-145

145-165

165-190 5

6

6

7

8

9 5

5

6

6

7

8

• Some adjustment can be made to permit special requirements for example holds being sized to carry containers.
• Passenger ships which have to comply with SOLAS will have their case specially considered as flooding due to damages is to be controlled more stringently in such ships.

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Construction of bulkhead:

• Bulkheads are constructed of plates joined together and stiffened by vertical and horizontal stiffeners.
• As the water pressure increases with depth, the thickness of the plating in the lower part needs to be increased accordingly.
• The thickness of the plates used in the construction will also depend on the size of the stiffeners used to stiffen the bulkhead plating.
• In practice plate thickness could range from7mm at the top to 12 mm at the bottom.
• Plate bulkheads would usually be stiffened vertically with angle bars ,channels or offset bulb plates.
• Scantlings of stiffeners depend on the stiffener spacing and type of connection at the ends.
• Stiffeners are normally connected to the deck and bottom by welding directly or by a bracket.
• Separation between stiffeners is 750 -760 mm which can be increased if horizontal stringers are inserted between the vertical stiffeners.
• The plating of the bulkheads is connected to the surroundings plating-deck, ship’s side and tank top by welding after being double Veed at the edges.
• Modern Shipbuilding practice and technology enables more efficient corrugated bulkheads to be constructed.
• Because the plates are corrugated the bulkheads need not be fitted with stiffeners.
• Normally the corrugation is vertical or horizontal for transverse bulkheads and horizontal for longitudinal bulkheads.
• In areas where it is difficult to connect the corrugated bulkhead directly to the shell plating a flat plate with stiffening may be fitted at the sides.
• In order that watertight subdivision is continued below the level of the tank top the double bottom is fitted with a water tight floor.
• This floor must be as close to the watertight bulkhead above it.
• Bulkheads which form boundaries of oil carrying compartments will be of heavier scantlings ,the reason being that it may be necessary to carry a full tank cargo while the neighboring tank remains empty.
• Oil tightness must be guaranteed because often cargoes of different density/quality may be carried sharing the same separating bulkhead.
• Cargo contamination must not occur through leakage across the bulkhead.
• Adjacent tanks may be carrying water ballast.
• This must not get contaminated under any circumstances.
• In such case, precautions have to be taken to ensure water-tightness.