Enclosed space entry remains a safety challenge in ship operations and for seafarers’ working conditions. On 27 June 2025, the IMO adopted revised recommendations for entering enclosed spaces aboard ships, to be handled in accordance with the SMS systematics. This statutory news summarizes this topic.
NEED TO KNOW
• Continued failure to systematically identify the hazards, assess risks and implement appropriate entry
• procedures remains a significant factor in many accidents.
• The SMS must be reviewed to ensure safety related to enclosed spaces.
• Organizational leadership on board and ashore is crucial for successful implementation of measures.
• Empowering shipboard staff to make the right decisions is essential.
Why updated recommendations
The industry continues to experience loss of life resulting from personnel entering shipboard spaces in which the atmosphere is unable to support life, owing to oxygen depletion, oxygen enrichment, toxicity or flammability. Consequently, the IMO has adopted revised recommendations for entering enclosed spaces aboard ships, IMO Resolution 581(110).
Investigations into enclosed space accidents consistently show that many incidents stem from a failure to systematically identify the hazards, assess associated risks and apply appropriate entry procedures. In addition, the complex structure of certain shipboard spaces can hinder effective ventilation, lighting and safe movement. Organizational leadership, both on board and ashore, is essential to ensure this guidance is properly implemented, as well as empowering shipboard personnel to make sound, safety-focused decisions. (....)