PSC deficiency code 03107: Doors
Area 03 Water and weathertight conditions
Code 03107 sits in the load line group, so it covers doors protecting openings on exposed decks: doors in the end bulkheads of the accommodation and other superstructures, deckhouses and companionways leading below the freeboard deck. The inspector doubts the door would stay weathertight with green water on deck. Fire doors (07105) and watertight doors in subdivision bulkheads (02101) have their own codes.
What the inspector looks at
Inspectors usually pick a few doors on the main deck and poop and have the crew close and dog them.
- Rubber gasket complete, soft and meeting the knife edge evenly all round
- Dogs present, free to turn, adjustable and greased
- Hinges and pins sound, so the door doesn't sag or bind
- Knife edges, frames and door leaf straight and free of wastage and holes
- Sills intact, not cut down or holed
- Doors closed when the ship's procedures say so, not tied open with wire or rope
Common findings
- Weathertight door rubber gasket damaged and painted over
- Door dogs seized, two dogs missing on poop deck door (port side)
- Knife edge of accommodation door wasted and bent
- Holes in weathertight door frame
- Chalk test failed on engine room entrance door
- Weathertight door secured in open position with wire
The rule behind it
Annex I of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966, with the 1988 Protocol where it applies, sets requirements for doors in the end bulkheads of enclosed superstructures and other access openings on exposed decks. They must be of steel or equivalent, permanently attached, framed and stiffened, made weathertight with gaskets and clamping devices, operable from both sides, and fitted with sills. The Record of Conditions of Assignment lists the doors the freeboard was assigned on.
Action codes you are likely to see
A seized dog freed on the spot, or a missing one replaced from stock, is often marked 10. Gasket renewal is usually 17, or 16 if the profile has to be ordered. Defective weathertight doors are in the IMO list of load line deficiencies that may justify detention, so a door that can't be closed or has a holed frame can lead to 30, especially when it leads below the freeboard deck or into the engine room. See action taken codes.
How to close it
The crew can renew gaskets if the profile is on board, free and adjust dogs and repair hinges, then do a chalk test and record it. Wasted knife edges, frames and sills need a proper steel repair, and class should be told because the door is a load line closing appliance; any temporary fix needs class agreement. File photos, the chalk test record and any class report with the Form B. Related: hatch covers and ventilators and air pipes.