PSC deficiency code 03103: Railing, gangway, walkway and means for safe passage
Area 03 Water and weathertight conditions
Code 03103 is a load line code. The gangway in its title is the permanent fore-and-aft gangway or catwalk on deck, as on a tanker. The code covers what keeps the crew from going over the side on an exposed deck: guardrails, walkways, gangways and lifelines between the accommodation, the machinery space and the working areas. The inspector writing it doubts a seaman could get forward safely with water on deck.
What the inspector looks at
The inspector usually walks the main deck and forecastle.
- Guardrails and stanchions complete, straight and not wasted at the foot
- Gaps in the rails at openings closed by chains or portable rails that are fitted and secured
- Catwalk or fore-and-aft gangway structure, gratings and supports free of holes and heavy corrosion
- Walkways with a non-slip surface and nothing stowed across them
- Lifelines rigged where the ship's arrangement relies on them, especially with deck cargo
Common findings
- Guardrail stanchions on main deck wasted at base, several broken
- Section of guardrail missing on forecastle, not replaced
- Guardrail replaced by rope between stanchions
- Catwalk gratings holed by corrosion
- Portable rail at deck opening not fitted
- Lifelines not rigged with deck cargo on board
The rule behind it
Annex I of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966, regulation 25 (protection of the crew) requires efficient guardrails or bulwarks on exposed decks, at least 1 m high with limited exceptions accepted by the flag, and safe means for the crew to reach their quarters, the machinery space and other working areas. Under the 1988 Protocol, as amended, regulation 25-1 sets out accepted means for safe passage of crew by ship type and freeboard. The shore gangway, accommodation ladder and pilot ladder have their own codes.
Action codes you are likely to see
A portable rail fitted or a chain secured during the visit is often marked 10. Welding repairs to stanchions, rails or gratings are usually 17. These items aren't among the examples in the IMO list of detainable deficiencies, but the officer may treat a serious case, such as long stretches of rail missing on a route used at sea, as a ground for detention (30). See action taken codes.
How to close it
The crew or a riding team renews wasted stanchions, rail sections and holed gratings. Rope between stanchions is unlikely to be accepted; if welding can't be finished in port, rig a temporary rail of proper material and tell the inspector how it will be made permanent. Tell class about structural repairs to gangways. Keep photos, the work order and any class note with the Form B. Related: access and structural features under MLC, deck corrosion, mooring equipment and bulwarks and freeing ports (03113).