why are there huge heavy metal doors like every 15 feet on cruise ships?
safety for emergencies. in case of fire they can be closed and contain a problem. have a good day (cc)
If water goes in they shut the metal doors.....
I work on the cruise ships. The answer to your question depends on what deck you are on to the job done by the doors. If it is a deck at water-line level or below, it is to stop spread of water should there be flooding for any reason. Water-line and above it is to stop spread of smoke or flames should in the rare event they have a fire.
You exaggerate in saying every 15 feet, but other people have given you the answers. On modern ships, all these doors are operated remotely from the bridge. You have to be careful with the watertight ones on the lower decks, because the hydraulics that operate them are powerful and engineers have been killed by trying to get through while they are closing. They usually have manual reverse handles beside them for emergency opening, but remember that they are closed for a reason, and every compartment of the ship has at least one stairway to allow you to escape without opening the doors. Forget those dramatic films about men trapped in submarines!
There are 2 types of metal doors inside a ship, there are doors which form watertight compartments within the ship and like buildings ships must have fire doors. Both types of door can be operated remotely from the bridge in an emergency or manually by the the crew at the site of the emergency. The entire ship could be closed down into individual watertight and fire tight compartments within minutes of the alarm being raised.
