What is Deck Water Seal on tanker and its types in detail?

SOLAS Regulation :

• SOLAS Chapter 11-2, Regulation 62, provides the requirements for the non-return devices installed in the inert gas main of a typical system.
• Regulation 62 requires that the inert gas system is equipped with two non-return devices, one of which shall be a water seal, to prevent the return of hydrocarbon vapour to the gas-safe spaces.
• In addition, Regulation 62 requires that the arrangement of the deck seal shall be such that it will prevent the backflow of hydrocarbon vapours and will ensure the proper functioning of the seal under operating conditions.
• The IMO “Guidelines for Inert Gas Systems”, Sections 3.6 and 3.7, indicate the design considerations, and provide details on the function, of various types of deck water.

TYPES OF DECK SEAL:

1. Dry type deck seal.
2. Semi dry deck seal.
3. Wet type deck seal.

Dry Type Deck Seal

The dry type deck water seal has an upper reservoir (drop tank) and a lower reservoir (sealing tank). The flow of water from the drop tank to the sealing tank and from the sealing tank to the overboard discharge is controlled automatically via level sensors and other control equipment.

The above figure indicates a typical dry type deck water seal with upper and lower reservoirs. The upper reservoir is filled with water at all times and supplies water to the lower reservoir.

The lower reservoir is empty during system operation (gas flowing to tanks) and filled with water when the inert gas blower is shut down, either because of normal stopping or because of automatic system shutdown activated by off-design conditions. The filling and drainage of the upper and lower reservoirs is triggered automatically by the sensing of levels in the sealing tank and drop tanks, by the on/off status of the blowers or by the gas-to-tank push button switch. The upper and lower reservoirs are usually equipped with float-type level sensors.

The IMO Guidelines indicate that the deck seal lower reservoir will be filled with water when the cargo tank pressure exceeds the blower discharge pressure. However, there appears to have been little action by administrations to ensure that this detail of the Guidelines is followed by, for example, requiring devices to sense the pressure differential between the inert gas main and the pressure at the blower discharge.