Overview - ISO 17338:2009 (Ships and marine technology - Drawings for fire protection)
ISO 17338:2009 defines how drawings should be designed and laid out to indicate the fire rating of thermal and structural boundaries (divisions) used for fire protection on ships and high‑speed craft. The standard focuses on consistent visual communication of fire‑resistant divisions so ship designers, builders and surveyors can unambiguously identify fire ratings on technical drawings. The published edition (first edition, 2009) includes recommendations about the use of colour in electronic documents and practical printing considerations.
Key topics and requirements
- Scope: Specifies the design and layout conventions for drawings that indicate fire ratings of structural and thermal divisions on ships and high‑speed craft.
- Fire‑rating indication: Requirements for clearly showing the fire performance of bulkheads, decks and other boundaries (divisions) on plans and sections.
- Drawing layout: Guidelines to ensure consistency in presentation so fire ratings are quickly and accurately interpreted on construction and approval drawings.
- Colour and presentation: The document highlights the use of colours to aid correct understanding and advises users to print colour documents where appropriate.
- Electronic document considerations: Notes on embedded typefaces and file handling to preserve legibility and compliance when sharing PDFs and other electronic formats.
(ISO 17338:2009 concentrates on drawing practice and presentation - it does not itself set fire test criteria or ratings.)
Applications and practical use
- Producing ship construction and modification drawings that clearly identify fire‑rated divisions for:
- design review and approval by classification societies and flag administrations
- shipyard construction and installation coordination
- maintenance, repair and retrofit planning
- emergency response and safety documentation onboard
- Improving interoperability between naval architects, marine engineers, drawing offices and surveyors by standardizing how fire ratings are shown on drawings.
- Ensuring that electronic delivery and printed copies preserve the intended visual cues (colour, linework, annotations) critical for safety assessments.
Who should use this standard
- Naval architects and ship designers
- Shipyards and drawing offices producing construction documentation
- Classification societies and flag state surveyors reviewing fire protection arrangements
- Marine safety engineers, ship operators and regulatory compliance teams
Related standards
- IMO and SOLAS fire safety regulations (as applicable for compliance and fire test criteria)
- Classification society rules and other ISO standards on ship safety and marine documentation
Keywords: ISO 17338:2009, fire protection drawings, fire rating, divisions, ships, high‑speed craft, marine technology, shipbuilding, classification societies.