Fire safety is the single largest source of Port State Control deficiencies, and it has been for years. In the Paris MoU’s 2025 reporting year, across 16,474 inspections producing 51,797 deficiencies, SOLAS chapter II-2 items accounted for 16.8 per cent of everything written up — more than structural items, more than life-saving appliances, more than navigation. That is not because fire systems are unusually fragile. It is because a fire inspection is almost entirely made up of things an inspector can test in front of you: a damper that should close, a door that should self-close and latch, a detector that should alarm, a pump that should make pressure, a crew member who should know where the remote stops are. There is very little room to talk your way through it. This guide covers the items written up most, why each one fails in service rather than in theory, the fix for each, and what to work through in the week before an inspection. Start a free trial of Marine Inspection to run fire-safety rounds with photo evidence and close findings before an inspector finds them.
Paris MoU 2025 — where deficiencies actually land
One deficiency in six is a fire safety deficiency
Fire safety has topped the deficiency table for years, ahead of every other category. The reason is testability: almost every item on a fire inspection is something the officer can operate, and either it works or it does not.
The five items written up most
Class PSC reporting puts the same handful of items at the top year after year. If you only have time to walk five things before an inspection, walk these.
01
Fixed fire-extinguishing installations
The CO₂ or foam system, its release arrangements, alarms, and the condition of the bottles, pipework and directional valves. It heads the list because so much of it can be checked without discharging anything.
02
Fire doors and openings in fire-resisting divisions
The single most frequently cited individual item, around 3.1 per cent of all deficiencies recorded by the Paris MoU. Doors held open, damaged closers, defeated hold-back arrangements and penetrations never made good.
03
Fire pumps and fire main
Pressure at the furthest hydrant, emergency fire pump starting and priming, isolating valves seized, hydrants and couplings corroded, hoses perished.
04
Fire detection and alarm systems
Detectors in fault or isolated, zones inhibited and never restored, panel faults standing for weeks, and no record of the last functional test of each loop.
05
Ventilators, air pipes and casings
Fire dampers that will not close, closing appliances seized or painted, remote controls disconnected, and machinery space ventilation that cannot be stopped from outside the space.
Fire dampers: the classic failure
Dampers fail for a reason that has nothing to do with fire engineering. They sit in a duct for years, get painted during every deck programme, corrode in the pivot, and are operated once a year at most — by which time the linkage has seized. An inspector will ask for one to be closed, and the answer arrives within about four seconds. See how a damper-by-damper register is kept so the annual scramble becomes a maintained system.
Operate every damper, not a sample
Work through the full list on a schedule, close and reopen each one, and record it by damper number. A sample tells you about the sample; the inspector will pick the one behind the stores.
Paint is the enemy
Mask pivots, spindles and blade edges before painting, and free them afterwards. More dampers are lost to the deck painting programme than to corrosion alone.
Prove closure, not movement
A handle that moves is not a damper that closes. Confirm the blade has actually shut, and where a sight glass or indicator exists, check that it agrees with the handle position.
Remote controls are part of the item
Closing appliances operable from outside the space are the point of the requirement. A damper that can only be closed by going into the compartment on fire is a deficiency.
Mark and identify them
Clear, durable identification matching the fire control plan. An unidentifiable damper cannot be shown to have been tested, however diligently you tested it.
Lubricate and record
A light grease on pivots and linkages at each operation, logged. The record is what turns an annual scramble into a maintained system.
Fire doors: the most-cited single item
Doors wedged, hooked or tied open. The commonest finding on any ship, and the one crews most often defend as temporary. A self-closing door held open by anything other than an approved release arrangement is a deficiency on sight.
Closers weak, disconnected or removed. Test by releasing the door from the fully open position and watching it close and latch under its own power, every door, not by pushing it shut.
Latches that do not engage. A door that closes but does not latch will blow open under fire pressure. Check the latch actually catches, including after the door has settled on its hinges.
Remote release not tested. Where doors are held by electromagnetic holdbacks, release from the control station is part of the system, and the test belongs in the record.
Penetrations never made good. New cables and pipes run through a division and the penetration sealed with whatever was available. The division is only as good as its worst penetration.
Damaged or missing gaskets and door edges. Corroded lower edges and missing intumescent or gasket material defeat the division as surely as an open door.
Doors that no longer match the fire control plan. Alterations made over years without the plan being updated, so the inspector is comparing the ship with a drawing of a different ship.
Find it on your round, not on the inspector’s
Damper-by-damper and door-by-door checks with photo evidence, faults raised as jobs the moment they are found, and a fleet view of what is still open before the ship arrives in a high-inspection port.
The failures, and the fix for each
What gets written up
Why it happens in service
The fix
Fire damper will not close
Painted or corroded pivot, seized linkage, operated once a year at best
Scheduled operation of every damper by number, pivots masked before painting and greased after, closure confirmed visually
Fire door held open
Working practice on a busy ship; door in a route people use constantly
Fit approved holdbacks with remote release where the traffic justifies it, and brief that wedges are a detention item, not a habit
Door closes but does not latch
Hinges settled, latch out of adjustment, closer weak
Adjust the closer and latch, test by release from fully open, and record door by door
Detection zone isolated or in fault
Isolated for hot work or a false alarm and never restored; fault standing on the panel
Log every isolation with a time and an owner, review the panel daily, and clear faults as jobs rather than living with them
Insufficient pressure at the furthest hydrant
Corroded main, partly closed isolating valve, worn pump, leaking hydrants
Test at the least favourable hydrant with the required number of jets, then work back through valves, leaks and pump condition
Emergency fire pump will not start or prime
Battery flat, priming system dry, suction valve shut, rarely run
Run it on schedule under real conditions, prove suction and delivery, and confirm it starts from its own supply
Fixed installation release arrangements defective
Pilot lines leaking, alarms not tested, doors and dampers for the protected space not proven
Test the release and alarm sequence without discharge to the maker’s procedure; check bottle pressures and pipework externally
Quick-closing valves and remote stops inoperative
Seized from disuse, air lost from the system, linkages painted
Operate every remote stop and quick-closing valve to the schedule and reset them; record by tag number
Fire hoses and nozzles unserviceable
Perished hose, corroded couplings, missing nozzles, hoses left connected and weathered
Inspect and pressure-test on a cycle, renew rather than repair, and stow hoses so they are not weathering permanently
Portable extinguishers overdue or wrong type
Service dates missed, units moved, wrong media in a space
Numbered inventory against the fire control plan with service dates tracked per unit, not per batch
Fire control plan not matching the ship
Alterations and refits never reflected on the plan
Update the plan when the ship changes, and check the wheelhouse and shore-side copies agree
Crew unfamiliar with the system
Drills run as a routine rather than as training; new joiners not covered
Vary drill scenarios, include remote stops and the fixed system sequence, and cover new joiners within their first days
Fixed installations and the fire main
Test the sequence, not just the bottles
A fixed system is a sequence: alarm, evacuation, ventilation stopped, dampers closed, then release. Inspectors test the parts of that chain that do not involve discharging gas, and it is usually the ventilation and damper steps that fail.
Know the space it protects
Openings, dampers and stops for the protected space are part of the installation. If the space cannot be sealed, the installation cannot work, whatever the bottle pressures say.
Least favourable hydrant, required jets
The fire main test that matters is pressure at the worst hydrant with the required number of jets running. Testing at a convenient hydrant close to the pump proves nothing about the far end.
The emergency fire pump is a separate system
Its own power, its own suction, its own starting arrangement, usually in a space nobody visits. It is the item most likely to fail on demand and the one most likely to be tested.
Isolating valves are the hidden fault
A partly closed or seized isolating valve explains more pressure problems than pump wear does. Operate them on a cycle and record the position they were found in.
International shore connection
Present, complete with gasket, bolts and nuts, and stowed where it can be found. A small item, easy to check, and regularly missing.
Detection, alarms and the panel nobody reads
Detection deficiencies are rarely about detectors. They are about isolations that outlived their reason and faults that became part of the scenery. An inspector reads the panel before speaking to anyone, and a standing fault list tells a story about the whole ship.
1
Every isolation gets a time, a reason and an owner. Isolating a zone for hot work is normal. Leaving it isolated for a fortnight is a finding, and nobody ever remembers who did it.
2
Clear the panel daily. A fault standing on the panel is a defect awaiting repair, not a background condition. Read it on rounds and raise what is there.
3
Function-test loops on a cycle, with records. Test heads by zone so the whole system gets covered over the year, and record which heads were tested and when.
4
Check the alarm reaches people. Audibility in accommodation with doors closed and in high-noise machinery spaces is part of the system working, not a detail.
5
Keep detectors clean and unobstructed. Dust, paint, stores stacked under a head, and a new bulkhead that changed the airflow all defeat detection quietly.
6
Prove the back-up supply. The system has to work when the ship does not. Test the changeover rather than assuming the battery is good.
Age is the strongest predictor of detention
Class PSC reporting shows detention risk rising sharply with vessel age, and fire safety is a large part of why — corrosion, accumulated modifications and ageing systems all land in chapter II-2 first.
Detention ratio by ship age
The week before the inspection
Walk the doors
Every self-closing door released from fully open, closing and latching on its own. Remove every wedge and hook on the ship, and deal with the reason each one was there.
Operate the dampers
By number, with closure confirmed, and the remote controls operated from outside the spaces. Free anything stiff now rather than demonstrating it later.
Clear the detection panel
No standing faults, no isolations without a current reason, and the test record up to date and findable.
Pressure-test the main properly
Least favourable hydrant, required jets, and the emergency fire pump started from its own supply and proven on suction.
Check extinguishers against the plan
Right type in the right place, service dates current, and every unit where the fire control plan says it is.
Brief the crew on the questions
Where the remote stops are, how the fixed system is released, what their muster duty is. Familiarity is tested by asking, and hesitation is recorded.
Frequently asked questions
01
What is the most common fire safety deficiency?
Fire doors and openings in fire-resisting divisions is the most frequently cited individual item, at around 3.1 per cent of all deficiencies in Paris MoU reporting. At category level, fire safety under SOLAS II-2 is the largest deficiency area overall at 16.8 per cent.
02
Why do fire dampers fail inspections so often?
Because they are operated rarely and painted often. Pivots and linkages seize, paint bridges the blade edges, and the first operation in a year happens in front of an inspector. Scheduled operation of every damper with the pivots masked before painting prevents almost all of it.
03
Can a fire door be held open?
Only by an approved arrangement that releases the door on alarm or from the control station. Wedges, hooks, lashings and disconnected closers are all findings, and they are the first thing an inspector notices walking through accommodation.
04
How should the fire main be tested?
At the least favourable hydrant — the one furthest from the pump or highest in the ship — with the required number of jets running simultaneously. A test at a convenient hydrant near the pump proves nothing about the far end of the main.
05
What do inspectors look for on the detection panel?
Standing faults, isolated zones, and whether there is a record of functional testing. An isolation with no time, reason or owner recorded suggests the system is being worked around rather than maintained, and that colours the rest of the inspection.
06
Does ship age really change detention risk?
Substantially. Class PSC reporting for 2025 shows detention ratios of about 1.4 per cent for ships up to five years old, 11.1 per cent at 20 to 25 years, and 16.2 per cent beyond 25 years. Older ships are not inspected to a different standard — there is simply more that has had time to deteriorate.
07
What changed for fire safety in 2026?
Fire-extinguishing media containing PFOS is prohibited, with existing ships required to comply by the first survey on or after 1 January 2026 and non-compliant media landed ashore. New cargo ships must have fire detection covering all control stations and cargo control rooms, and ro-ro passenger ships have a vehicle space fire safety package with retrofit dates running to 2028.
08
How do you stop the same findings recurring?
Treat each finding as a job with an owner and a closing date rather than as a note, and check the closure. Repeat deficiencies at successive inspections are read as a management failure rather than a technical one, and they weigh more heavily than the original item did.
Close the findings before someone else opens them
Damper and door registers, detection test records, fire main and pump results and extinguisher inventories — captured on the round with photo evidence, and visible fleet-wide before the ship reaches a high-inspection port.
