The INSURV board inspects all parts of the ship,
including storerooms, magazines, operating spaces,
voids, cofferdams, chain lockers, and tanks. The ship’s
crew will open the spaces for inspection according to
detailed instructions on the condition sheets. Someone
who is responsible for each space must be available to
open the space as soon as the inspection party arrives,
to answer any questions about the space, and operate
any equipment in the space.
The inspection team will examine the operation of
all equipment and material during the INSURV
inspection. The exception is equipment opened or
disassembled for a more detailed inspection. Examples
of equipment that will be operated include the
following:
Anchor engines
Steering engines
Deck machinery and rigging
Lifeboat handling equipment
Boiler safety valves on steaming boilers
Overspeed tripping devices on generators and
pumps
Soot blowers
Fire control systems
Gun and missile batteries (in all methods of
control)
Hoists
Sprinkling systems
All electronic equipment
The INSURV board members in attendance are
considered to be the prime working group on board the
ship. The ship will furnish a stateroom for each member.
Each stateroom will have chairs and a writing desk
where the member can complete any inspection paper
work in private. The ship will also furnish each board
member a flashlight and a foul weather jacket, and
board members who will inspect the hull will be
furnished a scraper and chipping hammers. Department
heads, or their representatives who are qualified to
answer any operational and material questions, must be
prepared to accompany each board member.
During the material inspection, members of the
INSURV board must have access to the following
records:
Booklet of General Plans
Ship Information Book (SIB) (all volumes)
Records of watertight integrity tests
Damage Control Book
COSAL
Departmental logs and performance records
Waivers authorizing inactivation of major
machinery and equipment (other then those
disabled for the inspection)
Preventive maintenance history
Corrective maintenance history
Complete list of approved outstanding alterations
Lists (by department) of items of major
machinery and equipment inoperative due to lack
of material and/or test equipment
Ship’s copy of the work items prepared for the
INSURV inspection
When the inspection is complete, the INSURV
board will hold a critique. Each member of the board
reviews the results of his inspection, and the ship’s
officers have an opportunity to comment on the board
member’s remarks. For small ships with relatively
inexperienced department heads, each board member
reports his results in enough detail to be sure the
commanding officer understands the conditions. Work
items covering deficiencies that were corrected before
the critique are removed from the work list.
The senior member of the INSURV board submits
a complete report of the results of the inspection to the
president of the INSURV board. He also sends copies to
the appropriate type commander and other interested
commands, bureaus, and officers of the Department of
the Navy. The report includes the departmental
evaluations, the inspector’s remarks, and the list of
work items. The INSURV board does not assign a
numerical grade or particular award of merit, but simply
finds that the ship is in a satisfactory or unsatisfactory
material condition of readiness for war or for further
naval service.
When an inspection discloses a significant
unsatisfactory condition, the senior member of the
inspecting board sends an advance report in the form of
a speedletter to the president of the INSURV board. Its
purpose is to be sure the ship begins corrective action
immediately. He sends the report no later than the day
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