Pump rooms on tankers are required to be mechanically ventilated. The ventilation system must be of the exhaust type and designed to prevent the accumulation of flammable vapors. To ensure this, the system needs to have a minimum capacity of 20 air changes per hour based on the gross volume of the space. The exhaust fans must be a non-sparking type, and the air ducts should be arranged to provide effective ventilation throughout the entire space. The discharge from the exhaust fans must be led to a safe location on the open deck.

Cargo tanks are ventilated to make them "gas free," which means removing flammable or toxic vapors. This can be achieved using portable fans or blowers. These fans must be constructed to prevent incendiary sparking, for example, if the impeller were to touch the casing. The fans must also have sufficient capacity and penetration to quickly gas-free the entire tank atmosphere.

Alternatively, on tankers equipped with an Inert Gas System (IGS), the system itself can be used for ventilation. To do this, the connection from the scrubber tower is closed, an air inlet from the atmosphere is opened, and the IGS blowers are started. This process effectively ventilates the cargo tanks by drawing in fresh air and pushing out the existing atmosphere.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 mandates specific protections for cargo tanks to ensure safety. These include:

• Pressure/Vacuum Valves (P/V valves): These valves protect the tanks from over- or under-pressurization, which could lead to structural damage.
• Overfill Alarms and Shutdowns: To prevent spills and environmental pollution, tanks must be equipped with alarms that signal when a tank is nearing its maximum capacity. In some cases, these are linked to automatic shutdown systems.
• Corrosion Protection: Measures are taken to prevent corrosion, which can weaken the tank structure and lead to leaks.

Inert gas systems that use an inert gas generator are equipped with several alarms to monitor their safe and proper operation. These additional alarms include:

• High Casing Temperature Trip: This alarm activates if the temperature inside the generator casing becomes excessively high, indicating a potential malfunction.
• Low Lubricating Oil Pressure Trip: The system will alarm and trip if the lubricating oil pressure drops below a safe level, which could cause damage to the generator's internal components.
• Low/No Flow Scrubber Water: This alarm alerts the crew if there is insufficient water flow to the scrubber, which is essential for cooling the gas and removing sulfur dioxide and other impurities.