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Answer: All of our ships comply with and in many cases exceed the applicable SOLAS safety standards. Each Holland America Line ship has a double hull and is constructed with a collision bulkhead located near the bow of the ship to withstand significant impact. Our ships are subdivided into multiple watertight compartments separated by watertight doors that can all be closed from the ship’s bridge as well as at the door itself. The ships can sustain flooding in up to two adjacent compartments and still remain afloat. To maximize fire safety, our ships have sprinkler systems throughout passenger and crew areas together with enhanced fire suppression systems in machinery spaces. In addition, every ship is divided into fire zones that are separated by fire screen doors that can be operated from the ship’s bridge and fire-rated bulkheads in order to minimize the risk of fire spreading beyond one fire zone.

Each ship has several fire teams that drill together so they are prepared to respond to a fire. In these drills, our teams are trained to be assembled, suited up and in place to enter a fire area within minutes of an alarm being sounded. During these drills, the firefighting teams practice implementing plans that have been developed to provide guidance for fighting fires in the different parts of a ship. We also conduct live fire drills at training facilities around the world and have expert trainers on our full-time payroll who regularly visit all of our ships several times during the year.

Every ship has a stand-by emergency diesel generator located on one of the top decks that is automatically connected whenever there is a main engine room failure. The emergency diesel generator is tested regularly and ensures that critical safety systems and lighting can be maintained in the event of a power loss. Every ship is equipped with damage control equipment that enables the ship to effectively respond to a hull breach should that occur.

Holland America Line ships contain the latest safety technology and safety systems including but not limited to:

Structural stability software programs which ensure the weight of fuel, wastewater and other onboard supplies are properly distributed to maintain structural integrity.
State-of-the-art navigational systems:

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to precisely locate our position on the sea.
Radar to precisely locate other vessels along our path.
Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) that enable our ships to be located and identified should there be a communications failure.
Echo sounders for measuring the depth of water.
Fire safety systems include:

Automated fire detection systems.
Sprinkler systems throughout the ships
Hi-Fog systems in the Engine Room and Incinerators
CO2 or Similar Fire Suppression Systems
Fuel System Shut-Off Valves in the Engine Control Room
Audible smoke alarms in all staterooms and public areas.
Kitchen exhaust fire-suppression systems.