S.I. No. 277/1985:

MERCHANT SHIPPING (FIRE APPLIANCES) (AMENDMENT) RULES, 1985.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (FIRE APPLIANCES) (AMENDMENT) RULES, 1985.

I, JAMES MITCHELL, Minister for Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 427 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 (inserted by section 11 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952 (No. 29 of 1952)), as amended by section 10 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1966 (No. 20 of 1966), and the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1983 (No. 40 of 1983), hereby make the following Rules:--

1. These Rules may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Fire Appliances) (Amendment) Rules, 1985 and shall come into operation on the 16th day of September, 1985.

2. The Merchant Shipping (Fire Appliances) Rules, 1967 ( S.I. No. 101 of 1967 ) are hereby further amended as follows:--

(1) For the existing text of Rule 10 (1) (Firemen's outfits) there shall be substituted:

"Every ship of Class 1 shall be provided with:

( a ) two firemen's outfits which shall include breathing apparatus of the air hose type and in addition

( b ) two firemen's outfits for every 80 metres (or part thereof) of the aggregate of the lengths of all passenger spaces and service spaces on the deck which carries such spaces or, if there is more than one such deck, on the deck which has the largest of such lengths. Every such outfit shall comply with the requirements of Rule 63 of these Rules.";

(2) In Rule 36 (Firemen's outfits) after paragraph (3) there shall be added:

"(4) In every tanker of Class VII (T) and VIII (T) of 500 tons or over there shall be provided not less than four firemen's outfits complying with the requirements of Rule 63 of these Rules.";

(3) After Rule 64A there shall be added the following Rule--

"Combination carriers

64B Combination carriers shall not carry solid cargoes unless all cargo tanks are empty of crude oil and other petroleum products haveing a closed flash point not exceeding 60°C, and other liquids having a similar fire hazard and are gas freed or unless the arrangements provided in each case are in accordance with the relevant operational requirements contained in the "Guidelines for Inert Gas Systems" and to the satisfaction of the Minister.

"Guidelines for Inert Gas Systems" is MSC/Cir. 353 which forms part of the publication "Inert Gas Systems", 1983 Edition, published by the International Maritime Organisation.";

(4) In Rule 65 (Fire control plans) after paragraph (3) there shall be added:

"(4) A duplicate set of the general arrangement plans shall be permanently stored in a prominently marked weather-tight enclosure outside the deck house for the assistance of shore-side fire-fighting personnel.

(5) In ships to which this Rule applies instructions concerning the maintenance and operation of all the equipment and installations on board for the fire-fighting and containment of the fire shall be kept under one cover readily available in an accessible position.".

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 2nd day of September, 1985.

JAMES MITCHELL,

Minister for Communications.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Rules further amend the Merchant Shipping (Fire Appliances) Rules, 1967 ( S.I. No. 101 of 1967 ) and give effect to the provisions of the Amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 adopted by the International Maritime Organisation on 20th November, 1981 in so far as they apply to ships built before 25th May 1980.

They amend the requirements for firemen's outfits and control plans and impose more specific requirements for inert gas systems in combination carriers.

Ships build between 25th May, 1980 and 1st September, 1984 are covered by the Merchant Shipping (Fire Appliances) (Post 1980 Ships) Rules, 1983 ( S.I. No. 303 of 1983 ), as amended by the Merchant Shipping (Fire Appliances) (Post 1980 Ships) (Amendment) Rules, 1985 ( S.I. No. 278 of 1985 ). Ships built on or after 1st September, 1984 are covered by the Merchant Shipping (Fire protection) Rules, 1985 ( S.I. No. 279 of 1985 ).