| Safe Movement On Board Ship |
General |
 Merchant
Shipping Regulations place an obligation on both the
Master of a ship and the employer of the Master to ensure
that a safe means of access is provided and maintained to
any place on the ship at which a person may be expected
to be. In carrying out the duties arising from these
Regulations full account must be taken of the principles
and the guidance contained in this Web Page. Places on
the ship at which a person may be expected to be include
accommodation areas as well as normal places of work.
Persons in this context include passengers, dock-workers,
and other visitors to the ship on business but exclude
persons who have no right to be on the ship. |
| Transit Areas |
| All deck
surfaces used for transit about the ship and all
passageways, walkways and stairs shall so far as is
reasonably practicable be properly maintained and kept
free from materials or substances liable to cause a
person to slip or fall. Where necessary for safety,
walkways on decks should be delineated by painted lines
or otherwise and indicated by pictorial signs. Where
normal safe transit across an area is made impracticable,
it should be isolated until suitable remedial action can
be taken. Transit
areas should where practicable have slip-resistant
surfaces. Where an area is made slippery by snow, ice or
water, sand or some other suitable substance should be
spread over the area. Spillages of oil or grease etc.
should be cleaned up as soon as practicable. Gratings in
the deck should be properly maintained and kept closed
when access to the space below is not required. Permanent
fittings which may cause obstruction and be dangerous to
vehicles, lifting appliances or persons should be made
conspicuous by means of colouring or marking or lighting.
Temporary obstacles can also be dangerous and if they are
to be there for some time their presence should also be
indicated by appropriate warning signs. When at sea,
any gear or equipment stowed to the side of a passageway
or walkway should be securely fixed or lashed against the
movement of the ship. Litter and
loose objects, e.g. tools, should not be left lying
around. Wires and ropes should be stowed and coiled so as
to cause least obstruction. When rough
weather is expected, life-lines should be rigged securely
across open decks. Particular
attention should be given to ensure the safe movement
about ship of dock-workers and passengers who will be
less familiar with possible hazards, especially on deck. Shipboard
lashing and securing arrangements for deck cargo may call
for special measures to ensure safe access to the top of,
and across, the cargo. |
| Lighting |
| Those
areas of the ship being used for the loading or unloading
of cargo, or other work processes or for transit
purposes, shall be adequately and appropriately
illuminated. Lighting facilities should be properly
maintained. For loading
and unloading areas and for other working areas a
lighting level of at least 20 lux should be provided and
for transit areas a level of at least 8 Iux should be
provided (both measured at a height of 1 metre above the
surface level) unless:-- (a) A higher level is required by other Regulations, e.g. the Crew Accommodation Regulations, or, (b) Provision of such levels of lighting would contravene other Regulations, e.g. the Collision Regulations and the Distress Signals Order. Where
visibility is made worse, e.g. by
fog, clouds of dust, or steam, which could lead to an
increase in the risks of accident occurring, the level of
lighting should be increased appropriately. The level of
lighting should be such as to enable obvious damage to,
or leakage from, packages to be seen. When there is a
need to read labels or container plates or to distinguish
colours the level of lighting should be adequate to allow
this, or other means of illumination should be provided. Lighting
should be reasonably constant and arranged to minimise
glare and dazzle, the formation of deep shadows and sharp
contrasts in the levels of illumination between one area
and another. Broken or
defective lights should be reported to the responsible
officer and repaired as soon as practicable. Before
leaving an illuminated area or space a check should be
made that there are no other persons remaining within
that space before switching off or removing lights. Unattended
openings in the deck should either be kept illuminated or
be properly and safely closed before lights are switched
off. When
portable or temporary lights are in use, the light
supports and leads should be arranged, secured or covered
so as to prevent a person tripping, or being hit by
moving fittings, or walking into the cables or supports.
Any slack in the leads should be coiled. The leads should
be kept clear of possible causes of damage e.g. running
gear, moving parts of machinery, equipment and loads. If
they pass through doorways the doorways should be secured
open. Leads should not pass through doors in watertight
bulkheads or fire door openings when the ship is at sea.
Portable lights should never be lowered or suspended by
their leads. Where
portable or temporary lighting has to be used fittings
and leads should be suitable and safe for the intended
usage. To avoid risks of electric shock from mains
voltage, the portable lamps used in damp or humid
conditions should be of low voltage, preferably 12 volts,
or other suitable precautions taken. |
| Safety Signs |
| Any
safety signs permanently erected on board the ship for
the purpose of giving health or safety information or
instruction shall comply with the appropriate a national
or international standard providing for equivalent
safety. Safety
signs, which include hazard warnings, should be used
whenever a hazard or obstruction exists and such a sign
is appropriate. Particular attention should be paid on
passenger ships to hazards which may be familiar to
seafarers but not to passengers. Where a
language other than English is extensively used on a
ship, any text used in conjunction with a sign should
usually be displayed also in that language. Further
information on the use of safety signs is contained in
Section "Signs, Notices and
Colour Codes" of this Code. |
| Guarding of Openings |
| Any
opening, open hatchway or dangerous edge into, through or
over which a person may fall shall be fitted with secure
guards or fencing of adequate design and construction
(see paragraphs below). These requirements do not apply:- (a) where any opening affords a permanent means of transit about the ship, to the side of the opening used for access, (b) where, and to the extent that, the person upon whom a duty is imposed is able to show that the work process being carried out or about to be carried out makes the provision of such guards or fencing not reasonably practicable. This would include short interruptions of work for meals or other purposes. Any hatchway
open for the purposes of handling cargo or stores through
which a person may fall should be closed as soon as those
operations cease, except during short interruptions of
work, including meal breaks, or where closure cannot be
effected without prejudice to safety or mechanical
efficiency because of the heel or trim of the ship. The
guardrails or fencing should be free from sharp edges and
should be properly maintained. Where necessary, locking
devices, and suitable stops or toe-boards should be
provided. Each course of rails should be kept
substantially horizontal and taut throughout their
length. Guardrails
or fencing should consist of an upper rail at a height of
1 metre and an intermediate rail at a height of 0.5
metres. The rails may, where necessary, consist of taut
wire or taut chain. Where existing fencing to a height of
at least 920 mm has been provided this need not be
replaced while it remains secure and adequate. |
| Ladders General |
| All
ship's ladders shall be of good construction and sound
material, of adequate strength for the purpose for which
they are used, free from patent defect and properly
maintained. Where a
fixed ladder or stairway is found to have become unsafe
or where it has proved necessary to remove such a ladder
or stairway, access to that ladder or stairway, or the
opening where the ladder or stairway was positioned,
should be blocked off and warning notices placed at all
approaches. Suitable
hand-holds should be provided at the top and at any
intermediate landing place of all fixed ladders. |
| Hold Access - New Ships |
| Where
the keel of a ship is laid or the ship is at a similar
stage of construction after 31 December 1988 the
following standards of hold access shall be provided:- (i) The access shall be separate from the hatchway opening, and shall be by a stairway if possible. (ii) A fixed ladder, or a line of fixed rungs, shall have no point where they form a reverse slope. (iii) The rungs of a fixed ladder shall be at least 300 mm wide, and so shaped or arranged that a person's foot cannot slip off the ends. Rungs shall be evenly spaced at intervals of not more than 300 mm and there shall be at least 150 mm clear space behind each rung. (iv) There shall be space outside the stiles of at least 75 mm to allow a person to grip them. (v) There shall be a space at least 760 mm wide for the user's body, except that at a hatchway this space may be reduced to a clear space of at least 600 mm by 600 mm. (vi) Fixed vertical ladders shall be provided with a safe intermediate landing platform at intervals of not more than 9 metres. (vii) Where vertical ladders to lower decks are not in a direct line a safe intermediate landing shall be provided. (viii) Intermediate landings shall be of adequate width and afford a secure footing and extend from beneath the foot of the upper ladder to the point of access to the lower ladder. They shall be provided with guard rails. (ix) Fixed ladders and stairways giving access to holds shall be so placed as to minimise the risk of damage to them from cargo handling operations. (x) Fixed ladders shall, if possible, be so placed or installed as to provide back support for a person using them; but hoops shall be fitted only where they can be protected from damage to them from cargo handling operations. |
| Hold Access - Existing Ships |
| Where
the keel of a ship was laid or the ship was at a similar
stage of construction before 1 January 1989, at least the
following standards of hold access should be provided:- (i) Access should be provided by steps or ladder, except: (a) at coamings; and (b) where the provision of a ladder on a bulkhead or in a trunk hatchway is clearly not reasonably practicable. In such cases ladder cleats or cups may be used. (ii) All ladders between lower decks should be in the same line as the ladder from the top deck, unless the position of the lower hatch or hatches prevents this. (iii) Cleats or cups should be at least 250 mm wide and so constructed as to prevent a person's foot slipping off the side. (iv) Each cleat, cup, step or rung of a ladder should provide a foothold, including any space behind the ladder, at least 115 mm deep. Cargo should not be so stowed as to reduce this foothold. (v) Ladders which are reached by cleats or cups on a coaming should not be recessed under the deck more than is reasonably necessary to keep the ladder clear of the hatchway. (vi) Shaft tunnels should be equipped with adequate handholds and footholds on each side. (vii) All cleats, cups, steps or rungs of ladders should provide adequate handholds. |
| Portable Ladders |
| A
portable ladder should only be used where no safer means
of access is reasonably practicable. Portable
ladders should be pitched between 60° and 75° from the
horizontal, properly secured against slipping or shifting
sideways and be so placed as to afford a clearance of at
least 150 mm behind the rungs. Where practicable the
ladder should extend to at least 1 metre above any upper
landing place unless there are other suitable handholds. |
| Vehicles |
| Persons
selected to drive ships' powered vehicles and powered
mobile lifting appliances should be fit to do so, and
have been trained for the particular category of vehicle
or mobile lifting appliance to be driven, and tested for
competence. Persons authorised to operate types of
powered vehicles or powered mobile lifting appliances
before 1 January 1989 should be considered competent and
authorised accordingly.
Authorisations of crew members should either be
individually issued in writing or comprise a list of
persons authorised to drive. These authorisations may
need to be made available for inspection to Dock
Authorities. Maintenance
of ships' powered vehicles and powered mobile lifting
appliances should be undertaken in accordance with
manufacturers' instructions . Drivers of
ships' powered vehicles and powered mobile lifting
appliances should exercise extreme care, particularly
when reversing. There should
be suitable traffic control arrangements, including speed
limits, and where appropriate the use of signallers.
Collaboration may be necessary with shore side management
where they also control vehicle movements on board ship. As far as
possible routes used by vehicles should be separated from
pedestrian passageways. No ramp used
by vehicles should be so steep as to be unsafe. |
| Drainage |
| Decks
which need to be washed down frequently or are liable to
become wet and slippery, should be provided with
effective means of draining water away. Apart from any
open deck these places include the galley, the ship's
laundry and the washing and toilet accommodation. Drains and
scuppers should be regularly inspected and properly
maintained. Where
drainage is by way of channels in the deck, these should
be suitably covered. Duck boards,
where used, should be soundly constructed and designed
and maintained so as to prevent accidental tripping. |
| Watertight Doors |
| All
members of the crew who would have occasion to use any
watertight doors should be instructed in their safe
operation. Particular
care should be taken when using power operated watertight
doors which have been closed from the bridge. If opened
locally under these circumstances the door will re-close
automatically with a force sufficient to crush anyone in
its path as soon as the local control has been released.
The local controls are positioned on each side of the
door so that a person passing through may open the door
and then reach to the other control to keep the door in
the open position until transit is complete. As both
hands are required to operate the controls, no person
should attempt to carry any load through the door
unassisted. Notices
clearly stating the method of operation of the local
controls should be prominently displayed on both sides of
each watertight door. No-one
should attempt to pass through a watertight door when it
is closing and/or the warning bell is sounding. |
| General Advice to Seafarers |
|
Seafarers are reminded to take care as they move about
the ship and to do so in a seamanlike fashion. In
particular, the following points, though obvious, are too
often overlooked: (a) the possibility of an unusual lurch or heavy roll of the ship should always be borne in mind; (b) suitable footwear should be worn which will protect toes against accidental stubbing and falling loads and will afford a good hold on deck and give firm support when using ladders; extra care should be taken when using ladders whilst wearing sea boots or gloves; (c) it is dangerous to swing on or vault over stair rails, guardrails or pipes; (d) injuries often happen due to jumping off hatches etc. or by stumbling over door sills or other obstacles. A seafarer
who finds any defects in any equipment, or a condition he
believes to be a hazard or unsafe, should immediately
report it to a responsible person, who should take
appropriate action. |
| Ends |
