No Access Sign

No Access Sign

Restricted spaces exist on every vessel: engine control rooms, cargo holds during fumigation, high-voltage compartments, confined tanks, bridge wings during heavy weather, and stores reserved for authorised crew only. A no access sign is the standard, internationally recognised way to mark the entrance to any of these spaces, telling unauthorised crew, passengers, contractors and visitors that entry is forbidden without needing a lengthy written explanation of why.

Built to the ISO 7010 prohibition format, this no access sign shows a red circular band and diagonal bar over a black silhouette of a walking figure, printed on a white background. The pictogram-based design means a no access sign is understood the same way by a deckhand from one country, a surveyor from another, and a stevedore working an Australian port, without any of them needing to read the accompanying text to grasp the instruction.

Typical Placements for This Prohibition Sign

Fit a no access sign at engine control rooms, switchboard rooms, confined space entries, fumigated cargo holds, chain lockers, steering gear compartments and any area restricted under the vessel’s permit-to-work or confined space entry procedures. AS 1319 requires prohibition signage to be positioned at the point where a person would otherwise proceed, so mount the sign directly on the door, hatch or gate itself rather than somewhere nearby where its relevance could be misread.

Safety Sign Hub manufactures this no access sign in a rigid, fire-retardant photoluminescent substrate that charges under ambient lighting and continues glowing for hours during a blackout or fire. That matters for restricted spaces in particular, since many of the areas carrying a no access sign are exactly the compartments where an emergency, gas release or electrical fault is most likely to knock out normal lighting first.

Ordering by IMPA and ISSA Code

Ship chandlers and marine safety suppliers typically order this signage against IMPA code 33.8502 or ISSA code 47.585.02, ensuring the correct pictogram and format arrive when restocking a vessel during survey, dry dock or a new-build fit-out. Quoting either code lets a superintendent standardise this no access sign across an entire fleet from a single catalogue reference, without needing to redescribe the requirement to every chandler.

Safety Sign Hub supplies this no access sign to Australian-flagged vessels, port authorities, terminal operators and shore-based industrial sites managing restricted compartments and permit-controlled spaces. For background on how ISO 7010 prohibition pictograms are structured internationally, see the ISO 7010 standard overview. A clearly mounted, photoluminescent no access sign supports the vessel’s permit-to-work system by giving a visible, standards-based reminder at the exact point entry would otherwise occur.

Chief officers and safety committees reviewing a vessel’s restricted-space register should confirm that a no access sign is fitted at every listed entry point, and that older signage has not faded past legibility after years of sun and salt exposure on exterior doors. Replacing a worn no access sign is inexpensive compared with the cost of an unauthorised entry incident, and keeping spares aboard means a newly identified hazard can be signed immediately rather than waiting for shore-based resupply.

Port state control officers reviewing a vessel during inspection routinely check restricted areas as part of their walkthrough, and a missing or illegible warning at a permit-controlled compartment can be logged as a deficiency even when the underlying access control procedure is otherwise sound. Pairing this signage with a physical lock, chain or barrier reinforces the message for anyone who might otherwise treat a printed notice as optional, and gives supervisors a simple visual check during rounds that every restricted door on their watch is still correctly marked and undamaged.

Browse our full range of prohibition signs for more IMO-compliant maritime safety signage.