Weather Deck vs Enclosed Deck Detection
SOLAS II-2/20 covers weather-deck suppression. Detection on the same deck differs materially from a deck below — wind, solar and visibility all matter.
A vehicle deck open to weather and a vehicle deck below the freeboard are different operating environments for a detection layer. The same sensor architecture works on both — the calibration and the algorithmic thresholds do not.
Weather deck specifics
- Strong solar gain on horizontal vehicle surfaces — coherence windows have to handle large environmental deltas.
- Wind-driven thermal mixing reduces local thermal stratification.
- Rain and salt-spray exposure on the sensor itself.
- Line-of-sight detection is more available because vehicles are not stacked under overhead structure.
Enclosed deck specifics
- Mechanical ventilation produces moving thermal gradients that look like anomalies if not modelled.
- Cargo density is higher; cell field-of-view crops to one or two vehicles.
- No solar component, smaller environmental swings — tighter baseline.
- No line-of-sight from any single mounting point — distributed sensing is required.
Implications for the regulatory split
SOLAS II-2/20 captures suppression on weather decks. The detection conversation on weather decks is closer to the yard-monitoring problem than to the enclosed-deck problem — and it benefits from camera-based imaging as a secondary. Enclosed decks remain a per-vehicle thermal grid problem.
Questions, answered
Why are weather decks and enclosed decks two different detection problems?+
The same sensor architecture works on both, but the calibration and algorithmic thresholds do not. Weather decks have strong solar gain, wind-driven thermal mixing, and rain/salt exposure on the sensor, but more available line of sight; enclosed decks have moving ventilation gradients, denser cargo, no solar component, and no line of sight from any single mounting point.
How does detection differ on a weather deck specifically?+
Coherence windows must handle large solar-driven environmental deltas, wind reduces local thermal stratification, and the sensor itself faces rain and salt spray. Because vehicles aren't stacked under overhead structure, line-of-sight detection is more available, so the weather-deck problem is closer to yard monitoring and benefits from camera imaging as a secondary.
Can one product cover both deck types?+
A single product can cover both environments, but a single calibration cannot. SOLAS II-2/20 captures suppression on weather decks; enclosed decks remain a per-vehicle thermal grid problem. The rule is to treat each deck as the environment it is, not the regulation it sits under.
Continue the thread
What SOLAS II-2/20 Requires From 2026
The amendment quietly took effect on 1 January 2026. The text is short. The operational implications for vehicle carriers and ro-ro pax are not.
Thermal Cameras vs Thermal Grids at Sea
Both can image temperature. They fail in different places. On a cargo deck the failure modes are what determine the answer.