PSC deficiency code 13104: Bilge pumping arrangements
Area 13 Propulsion and auxiliary machinery
Code 13104 covers the system that removes water from the ship's compartments: bilge pumps, the bilge main and branch suctions, valves, strainers and bilge wells, plus the level alarms that tell the engine room water is collecting. When the inspector writes this code, the doubt is whether the ship could pump out a flooded engine room or hold, or would even notice the water rising.
What the inspector looks at
The check often ends with a pump running on a bilge suction.
- A bilge pump started and taking suction from a bilge well, with the gauge showing vacuum and the level dropping
- Bilge valves and their handwheels or remote actuators operating, with valves marked to show which space they serve
- Non-return arrangements working so sea water or water from another space can't flow back
- Strainers and mud boxes accessible and clean, bilge wells clear of rags, oil and debris
- Bilge high level alarms tested from the well, particularly on ships with periodically unattended machinery spaces
- The emergency bilge suction in the engine room, with its valve free to operate and clearly marked
Common findings
- Bilge pump unable to take suction from engine room bilge well
- Bilge suction valve seized, handwheel missing
- Bilge well high level alarm not operational when tested
- Bilge strainer clogged with debris and oily sludge
- Non-return valve on bilge branch line defective
- Emergency bilge suction valve seized, not marked
- Remote operated bilge valve for cargo hold not operating
The rule behind it
SOLAS Chapter II-1, Regulation 35-1 requires an efficient bilge pumping system able to pump out and drain any watertight compartment that isn't a tank, with non-return arrangements so water can't pass from the sea or between compartments through the bilge lines. For periodically unattended machinery spaces, SOLAS II-1 Part E requires bilge wells with level alarms. Under the ISM Code, the planned maintenance system should cover bilge valves, strainers and alarm tests.
Action codes you are likely to see
A strainer cleaned or an alarm float freed during the visit is usually 10. A seized valve or a pump that won't take suction is often 17, since the ship shouldn't sail without a working bilge system. Where one pump is down and the rest of the system is sound, 15 or 16 may be accepted. The IMO list of detainable deficiencies names improper operation of bilge pumping arrangements, so a system that can't pump out the machinery space can lead to 30. See action taken codes.
How to close it
The chief engineer has the pump, valve or alarm repaired and then demonstrates it working. Clean the wells and strainers, and repair or replace defective non-return valves. Record the work and the test in the planned maintenance system and keep it, with photos, with the Form B. Oily water from cleaned wells goes into the Oil Record Book. Bilge findings often come with cleanliness of engine room or 09232, and pumping overboard links to oil filtering equipment.