MacGREGOR continues to add to its growing reference list of flood control door installations on existing ferries and newbuildings, which now totals 157 doors on 47 vessels. In August this year MacGREGOR's Global Services Division retrofitted flood control doors to P&O North Sea Ferries' European Tideway and European Freeway. Both of these 8,600 dwt truck/passenger ferries, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in 1977 and 1978 were fitted with a single flood control door to bring the vessels into line with the Stockholm Agreement for vehicle/passenger ferries.

Each door on European Tideway and European Freeway is located midships and spans the width of the car deck. Both vessels were converted during a two-week annual docking period. The new design features single-panel doors. Each door operates in a very tight location and causes the minimum of disruption to the vehicle deck stowage arrangement.

A single built-in jigger winch operates the doors with power supplied by a local dedicated power pack, which was installed as part of the MacGREGOR conversion package.

The flood control doors divide the car deck into watertight compartments with longitudinal or transverse barriers. They prevent the free water from spreading over the whole car deck, and thus decrease the total free surface effect and its potential to capsize the vessel. The survivability of Ro-Ro vessels is substantially improved.