Automatic Watertight Door Keep Clear Sign

Automatic Watertight Door Keep Clear Sign – MS0038

The Automatic Watertight Door Keep Clear Sign identifies a power-operated watertight door that can close automatically, without warning, as part of the vessel’s watertight subdivision and damage-control system. This mandatory sign instructs crew and passengers to keep the doorway and its immediate approach clear at all times, preventing entrapment or injury when the door activates during a drill, a flooding alarm, or a genuine emergency closure.

Manufactured from durable photoluminescent material, MS0038 continues to glow after the ship’s main lighting fails, keeping the warning legible during a blackout, heavy smoke, or a night-time evacuation. Its blue circular mandatory-action field with bold white text is designed for instant recognition in the passageways and bulkhead openings where automatic watertight doors are fitted, supporting the IMO’s emphasis on clear, standardised shipboard signage.

Why the Automatic Watertight Door Keep Clear Instruction Matters

Automatic watertight doors can close with considerable force and with little or no warning once triggered from the bridge or by a local flooding sensor, and a person caught in the opening risks serious injury. A clearly marked keep-clear instruction reduces the chance that crew or passengers linger, store equipment, or prop the doorway open, helping the vessel’s watertight integrity be restored quickly and safely whenever the door is required to close during a flooding response or scheduled test.

Compliance and Certification

MS0038 is produced to support compliance with the vessel’s Safety Management System under the ISM Code, and watertight door signage forms part of the damage-control and structural fire protection provisions addressed within SOLAS Chapter II-1. For the full regulatory text, see the IMO’s SOLAS convention overview. Maintaining clear, legible signage at every automatic watertight door supports a positive outcome at Port State Control and flag-state inspections.

Installation Recommendations

Install MS0038 directly on or immediately adjacent to the watertight door frame, at eye level where anyone approaching the opening will see it before entering. Mount on a flat, stable surface using marine-grade adhesive or corrosion-resistant fasteners suited to the passageway’s environment. Keep the surrounding area genuinely clear of stowed equipment, trolleys, or cargo that could obstruct the door’s automatic closing action, and confirm the sign remains visible under emergency lighting.

• Photoluminescent pictogram charges under ambient light and glows during power loss
• Bold mandatory-action blue circle format for instant multilingual recognition
• Rigid, UV-stable substrate engineered for continuous marine and weather exposure
• Compact format suited to bulkhead openings, passageways, and watertight door frames
• Supports ISM Code safety-management and SOLAS damage-control documentation

Equip every automatic watertight door aboard your vessel with the MS0038 Automatic Watertight Door Keep Clear Sign, and keep passageways clear, compliant, and safe when it matters most.

Complete your vessel’s safety signage programme by pairing this sign with our Hazard Signs and Fire Fighting Signs ranges, ensuring full coverage across every shipboard risk area.