S.I. No. 278/1985 - Merchant Shipping (Fire Appliances) (Post 1980 Ships) (Amendment) Rules, 1985.

S.I. No. 278 of 1985.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (FIRE APPLIANCES) (POST 1980 SHIPS) (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 Conventions) 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) (Post 1980 Ships) (Amendment) Rules, 1985 and shall come into operation on the 16th day of September, 1985.

2. The Merchant Shipping (Fire Appliances) (Post 1980 Ships) Rules, 1983 ( S.I. No. 303 of 1983 ), are hereby amended as follows:—

(1) ( a ) in Rule 1 (3) sub-paragraph (a), after the words "ships registered in the State" there shall be added "except those the keels of which were laid or which were at a similar stage of construction on or after 1st September, 1984: and for the purposes of this Rule "similar stage of construction" means a stage at which:

(i) construction identifiable with a particular ship began; and

(ii) assembly of that ship has commenced comprising at least 50 tonnes or 1 per cent of the estimated mass of all structural material whichever is the less";

( b ) in Rule 1 (3) sub-paragraph (b) there shall be added the words "except those the keels of which were laid or were at a similar stage of construction on or after the 1st September, 1984".

(2) In Rule 39 by the substitution of the following paragraph (3):

"(3) 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 71 of these Rules; such outfits shall not be required to be provided in addition to those required by sub-paragraph (1) of this Rule.";

(3) In Rule 64 by the addition of the following paragraph:—

"Combination carriers

64A. Combination carriers shall not carry solid cargoes unless all cargo tanks are empty of crude oil and other petroleum products having 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/Circ. 353 which forms part of the publication "Inert Gas Systems", 1983 edition published by the International Maritime Organisation.'."

(4) In Rule 73 by the addition after paragraph (4) of the following paragraph:

"(5) In ships to which this Rule applies, instructions concerning the maintenance and operation of all the equipment and installations on board for the fighting and containment of 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 amend the Merchant Shipping (Fire Appliances) (Post of 1980 Ships) Rules, 1983 ( S.I. No. 303 of 1983 ) 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 insofar as they apply to ships built on or after 25th May, 1980.

They disapply those Rules from ships built on or after 1st September, 1984, amend the requirements for firemen's outfits and impose more specific requirements for inert gas systems in combination carriers.

Ships build on or after 1st September, 1984 are covered by the Merchant Shipping (Fire protection) Rules, 1985 ( S.I. No. 279 of 1985 ).