Give a pragmatic approach to dealing with a sea water leakage from the sea chest filter that is flooding the engine room and has the potential to seriously impair the vessel's stability.

This is a serious flooding/Damage Control situation. The pragmatic priorities are: life safety first, then stopping/reducing the ingress, preserving stability, damage control and finally recovering.

(1) Raise the alarm and initiate emergency organisation:

• Sound the general alarm / flooding alarm; call the Master and the emergency response team; all personnel must use the emergency muster list (damage control parties, communication).
• If the leak is worsening and there is a risk to propulsion or stability, stop the main engines as necessary, reduce speed/weather helm appropriately, and inform the Master; put the vessel on the most favourable heading (e.g. stop if safe).

(2) Isolate and attempt to stop the leak at source:

• Identify the sea chest and its filter from which the leak is coming; clam/batten down that sea chest by closing its isolating valves (sea chest gate valves). If the leak is from a filter joint/gland, try to tighten the joint or use a softwood plug/wedge or a pipe clamp; engage the filter cover with a jacking bolt / additional gaskets if time.
• Close the isolating valves on the section, or switch to another sea chest/suction to reduce pressure. Blank off piping if needed.
• Do not rush into the flooded space: the switchboard/motor may be at risk; the electrical power may need isolating if water reaches it, but this could stop pumps.

(3) Bower/dewater using all available pumps:

• Start bilge pumping immediately: use the bilge lines, the damage/emergency fire pump, portable submersible (diesel/electric) pump, and the main engine/cooling water pumps if usable. Use every available bilge/ballast pump or the sea-water pump suction connected to bilges to take suction and discharge over the side.
• Connect the bilge injector (eductor/venturi) to a suitable pump discharge as an extra dewatering capacity; use any portable bilge pump lowered below the engine room floor plates.
• Direct the discharge over the side as bilge (bilge oil separator may be bypassed in a flooding emergency but care for pollution - if contaminated, discharge via OWS or to a tank subject to MARPOL; in a damage/flooding emergency priority is to dewater to save the ship and crew, and the ship should take the appropriate measures and report).

(4) Preserve stability and prevent capsize:

• Conserve free surface: close watertight doors below the waterline, shut the watertight hatch for the engine room, and prevent the water spreading to other compartments; alert to heeling and monitor list/trim.
• Pump out water from the flooded compartment, but also consider the effect of moving ballast/fuel to counter a list; if the vessel is listing dangerously, pump bilges and consider transferring ballast/fuel to reduce the heel.
• Do not open watertight doors; maintain bulkhead integrity; if the engine room is flooded above the tank top, the stability is severely compromised and the priority is to remove water and lower the waterline.
• Where possible, use the emergency/damage control team with submersible pumps and the ship's bilge system; also close scuppers/sea inlets on the same side.

(5) Stop or reduce engine room flooding by arranging for the affected trim/utilising the lower compartment: keep the water at bilge level, isolate the sea chest, and pump continuously.

(6) Inform/seek assistance:

• Call for shore/pilot/casualty assistance, notify the company/DPA, and consider putting into the nearest port. If stability cannot be maintained, may need to beach or be prepared to abandon. Report the situation to the flag/coastal State per the pollution/incident rules.

(7) General precautions:

• Personnel wearing PFPE and PFDs; obey the emergency organisation; don't jeopardise people to save equipment; keep the casualty area clear; keep the deck free of obstructions for the rescue/damage control.
• After securing, document the incident, carry out a root-cause analysis, inspect/tighten the sea chest filter and renew the gasket, and restore the vessel's systems and watertight/sea chest arrangement, and test before sailing.

(Note: Because flooding in the machinery spaces can affect buoyancy/stability, rapid response, effective dewatering and control of free surface are paramount; the emergency fire pump (with its own sea suction) may be used for dewatering.)