The Merchant Shipping (Life Saving Appliances)

DRAFT

Rules, 2014

(Shipping Wing)

NOTIFICATION

G.S.R. ----- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 288, 434, 435(k), 435U(h), 435V, 455, 456, 457 and read with 458 of Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958) and in super session of the Merchant Shipping (Life Saving Appliances) Rules, 1982, 1991 & Merchant Shipping (Life Saving Appliances) Amendment Rules 1995, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby makes the following rules namely:

Preliminary

1. 
   These rules may be called the Merchant Shipping (Life Saving Appliances) Rules 2014; and  
   
2. 
   They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. 
   

1. 
   Unless expressly provided otherwise –
   

1. 
   this rule shall apply to every Indian ship registered under the act including ship going to sea and every sea going vessel and fishing vessel, the keels of which was laid before 1^st day of July 1986;
   
2. 
   this rule shall apply to every Indian ship registered under the act including ship going to sea and every sea going vessel and fishing vessel, the keels of which was laid on or after 1^st day of July 1986;
   
3. 
   this rule shall apply to every Indian ship registered under the act going to sea and every sea going vessel and fishing vessel, the keels of which was laid before 1^st day of July 1998. Such ship shall be subjected to the provisions of Chapter III of SOLAS 1974 in force prior to 1^st July 1998 to new or existing ships. When life saving appliances or arrangements on such ships, vessels and fishing vessels are replaced or such ships, vessels & fishing vessels undergo repairs, alterations or modifications of a major character which involve replacement of, or any addition to, their existing life saving appliances or arrangements, such life saving appliances or arrangements, in so far as reasonable and practicable comply with the requirement of these rules.
   
4. 
   however, if a survival craft other than an inflatable life raft is replaced without replacing its launching appliance, or vice versa, the survival craft or launching appliance may be of the same type as that replaced; and
   
5. 
   this rule shall apply to every Indian ship registered under the act going to sea and every sea going vessel and fishing vessel, the keels of which are laid or which are at a similar stage of construction on or after 1^st July, 1998.
   

2. 
   For the purpose of this rule, the term a similar stage of construction means the stage at which:
   
   1. 
      construction identifiable with a specific ship begins; and
      
   2. 
      assembly of that ship has commenced comprising at least 50 tonnes or 1% of the estimated mass of all structural material, whichever is less.
      

3. 
   For the purpose of this rule –
   

1. 
   the expression ships constructed means “ships the keels of which are laid or which are at a similar stage of construction”;
   
2. 
   the expression all ships means ships constructed before, on or after 1^st July, 1998; the expressions all passenger ships and all cargo ships shall be construed accordingly; and
   
3. 
   a cargo ship, whenever built, which is converted to a passenger ship shall be treated as a passenger ship constructed on the date on which such a conversion commences.
   

These rules unless expressly provided otherwise, do not apply to

1. 
   ships of war and troopships;
   
2. 
   crafts not registered under the act and engaged in port services;
   
3. 
   crafts which are not registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 & operated by law enforcement agencies such as custom, immigration, marine police and Coast Guard;
   
4. 
   public ships, foreign and Indian ships belonging to any prince or state and employed otherwise then for profit in the public service of the foreign prince unless registered under Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 or regulated under the relevant provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958;
   
5. 
   a ship at the time of its departure on any voyage on account of any deviation from its intended voyage due to stress of weather or any other case of force majeure; and
   
6. 
   a ship carrying a large number of persons then is otherwise permissible in emergencies.
   

1. 
   The Competent Authority may under section 456 of the Act, if it considers that the sheltered nature and conditions of the voyage are such as to render the application of any specific requirements of this rules unreasonable or unnecessary, exempt from these requirements in respect of individual ships or classes of ships or vessels or sailing vessels or fishing vessels as the case may be which, in the course of their voyage, do not proceed more than 20 miles from the nearest land.
   
2. 
   In the case of passenger ships which are employed in special trades in the assigned area for the carriage of large numbers of special trade passengers, such as in special trade and pilgrim trade, the Competent Authority, if satisfied that it is impracticable to enforce compliance with the requirements of this rule, may exempt such ships from these requirements, provided that such ships comply fully with Merchant Shipping (Construction and Survey of Passenger Ships) Rules, as amended, framed under the provision of Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
   
3. 
   The Competent Authority under section 454 A of the act may permit such other fitting, material, appliance or apparatus or type thereof, or provisions to be used or provided with certain conditions to the ship or vessel prescribed under these rules.
   

These rules consolidate all the amendments adopted up to May 2011 amendments that is in force internationally from 01/01/2013 effecting the provisions of Chapter III of International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS 1974) as amended including the Life Saving Appliances Code [LSA] to which India is party.

1. 
   "Act" means the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 (44 of 1958);
   
2. 
   "Approved" means approved by the Nautical Adviser to the Government of India or Chief Surveyor with the Government of India or Recognized Organization by the Central Government as the case may be as per SOLAS,1974 or BIS or ISO Standards as the case may be acceptable to the Competent Authority;
   
3. 
   “Approved Person” means any person approved by Nautical Advisor to Government of India or the Chief Surveyor with the Government of India or the Recognised Organisation as the case may be & possessing the knowledge and experience required to conduct various tests on Life saving Appliances or launching appliances or associated equipments, arrangement and systems required under these rules;
   
4. 
   “Approved testing or servicing facility” means a facility approved by the Nautical Advisor to the Government of India or the Chief Surveyor with the Government of India or Recognized Organization as the case may be in respect of any tests required under these rules, for Indian ships trading or operating in coastal waters of India or overseas;
   
5. 
   “Anniversary date” means the day and the month of each year which will correspond to the date of expiry of the relevant certificate;
   
6. 
   “Anti exposure suit” is a protective suit designed for use by rescue boat crews and marine evacuation system parties conforming to the relevant provisions of LSA Code;
   
7. 
   “BIS” means the Bureau of Indian Standards;
   
8. 
   “Certified Person" means a person who holds a Certificate of Proficiency in Survival Craft, issued under the Authority of, or recognized as valid by, the Director General of Shipping in accordance with the requirements of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping (STCW) as amended for seafarers; 
   
9. 
   “Coastal vessel” means vessels that are registered under Merchant Shipping Act, and which operate from a port or place in India to any port or place in India, such that the vessel does not operate beyond 20 nautical miles from the shore. Provided that such vessel shall not cease to be a coastal vessel merely by reason of the fact that the vessel crosses during the voyage the Gulf of Kutch or Khambat. Provided also that Coastal Vessel may go around Sri Lanka without calling any port in Sri Lanka or entering the territorial waters of Sri Lanka.
   

10. 
    “Competent Authority” means Director General of Shipping appointed under Section 7 of the Act, delegated with powers and authority under the act by the Central Government for implementing and enforcing the provisions of these rules and also Nautical Advisor to the Government of India or the Chief Surveyor with the Government of India delegated with power and authority of the act by the Central Government for approving and granting exemption under section 456 of the act from the design, construction and carriage of Life saving appliances or arrangement or systems as the case may be;
    

11. 
    “Detection” is the determination of the location of survivors or survival craft;
    
12. 
    "Embarkation Ladder" means a ladder provided at a survival craft embarkation station to permit safe access to survival craft after launching.
    
13. 
    "Embarkation Station" means the area designated as such on board a ship from where the crew and passengers can embark a survival craft directly from that station; 
    
14. 
    "Fair Weather Season" means,-- 
    

1. 
   in the Arabian Sea, the season beginning on and from the 1st September and ending with the 31st May; and 
   
2. 
   in the Bay of Bengal, the season beginning on and from 1st December and ending with the 30th April.
   

15. 
    Foul Weather season" means, 
    

1. 
   in the Arabian Sea, the season beginning on and from the 1st June and ending with the 31st August; and 
   
2. 
   in the Bay of Bengal, the season beginning on and from the 1st May and ending with the 30th November; 
   

16. 
    "Float Free Launching" means the method of launching a survival craft whereby the craft is automatically released from a sinking ship and is ready for use; 
    
17. 
    "Free-Fall launching" means the method of launching a survival craft whereby the craft with its complement of persons and equipment on board is released and allowed to fall into the sea without any restraining apparatus; 
    
18. 
    "High-speed craft" is a craft capable of a maximum speed, in metres per second (m/s), equal to or exceeding:
    

where: ▼ = volume of displacement corresponding to the design waterline (m³),

19. 
    "Immersion Suit" means a protective suit which reduces body heat loss, of a person wearing in cold water conforming to the relevant provisions of LSA Code; 
    
20. 
    “Inflatable Appliance” is an appliance which depends upon non-rigid, gas-filled chambers for buoyancy and which is normally kept un-inflated until ready for use;
    
21. 
    “Inflated Appliance” is an appliance which depended upon non-rigid, gas-filled chambers for buoyancy and which is kept inflated and ready for use at all times;
    
22. 
    "Inflatable Life raft" means a life raft which conforming to the relevant provisions of LSA Code;
    
23. 
    “International Life Saving Appliance (LSA)” Code means the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee of the Organization by the resolution MSC.48 (66), as it may be amended by the organization, provided that such amendments are adopted, brought into force and taken effect in accordance with the provisions of article VIII of SOLAS Convention 1974 concerning the amendment procedures applicable to the annex;
    
24. 
    “ISO” means International Organization for standardization as applicable to the relevant product of LSA, system and the arragements;
    
25. 
    "Launching Appliance or Arrangements" means a method of transferring a survival craft or rescue boat from its stowed position safely to the water;
    
26. 
    "Length" means 96% of the total length on a waterline at 85% of the least moulded depth measured from the top of the keel, or the length from the fore-side of the stern to the axis of the rudder stock on that waterline, if that be greater.  In ships designed with a rake of keel the waterline on which this is measured shall be parallel to the designed waterline; 
    
27. 
    “Lightest seagoing condition” is the loading conditions with the ship on even keel, without cargo, with 10% stores and fuel remaining and in the case of a passenger ship with the full number of passengers and crew and their luggage;
    
28. 
    "Lifeboat" means a boat which conforming to the relevant provisions of LSA Code;
    
29. 
    "Rigid life-rafts" means a life raft which conforming to the relevant provisions of LSA Code; 
    
30. 
    “Marine Evacuation System” is an appliance for the rapid transfer of persons from the embarkation deck of a ship to a floating survival craft conforming to relevant provisions of LSA Code;
    
31. 
    “Merchant Shipping notice” means a notice issued by the Director General as such;
    
32. 
    “Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU)” means a vessel capable of engaging in drilling operations for the exploration for or exploitation of resources beneath the sea-bed such as liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, sulphur or salt and conforming to the provisions of MODU Code in respect of design, construction and equipment;
    
33. 
    "Moulded Depth", means- 
    

1. 
   the vertical distance measured from the top of the keel of the top of the freeboard deck beam at side.  In wood and composite ships the distance is measured from the lower edge of the keep rabbet.  Where the form at the lower part of the mid-ship section is of a hollow character, or where thick garboards are fitted, the distance is measured from the point where the line of the flat of the bottom continued inwards cuts the side of the keel; 
   
2. 
   in ship having rounded gunwales, the moulded depth shall be measured to the point of inter-section of the moulded lines of the deck and side shell plating, the lines extending as though the gunwale were of angular design; and 
   
3. 
   where the freeboard deck is stepped and the raised part of the deck extends over the point at which the moulded depth is to be determined, the moulded depth shall be measured to a line of reference extending from the lower part of the deck along a line parallel with the raised part; 
   

34. 
    "Muster List" means a list of the crew and passengers who are required to assemble at a given muster station; 
    
35. 
    "Muster Station" means the area designated as such on board a ship or assembly of crew and passengers; 
    
36. 
    “Novel life-saving appliances and arrangement” is a life-saving appliance or arrangement which embodies new features not fully covered by the provisions of this chapter or the Code but which provides an equal or higher standard of safety;
    
37. 
    “Offshore Supply Vessel [OSV]” means a vessel which is used for the transportation on shores, materials, equipment or personnel to, from and between offshore installations.
    
38. 
    "Person" means a person above the age of one year and included ship's crew and officers; 
    
39. 
    “Positive stability” is the ability of a craft to return to its original position after the removal of a heeling moment;
    
40. 
    “Recovery Time” for a rescue boat is the time required to raise the boat to a position where persons on board can disembark to the deck of the ship. Recovery time includes the time required to make preparations for recovery on board the rescue boat such as passing and securing a painter, connecting the rescue boat to the launching appliance, and the time to raise the rescue boat. Recovery time does not include the time needed to lower the launching appliance into position to recover the rescue boat;
    
41. 
    “River Sea Vessel” means vessels that are registered under Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and which operate from a port or place in India to any port or place in India, such that the vessel does not operate beyond the territorial waters of India and categorized as follows;