Life Saving Equipment Regulations

Service Stations and Spaces

• • 1 (1) Every service station that services inflatable survival equipment shall have

    • (a) a minimum of three separate areas or rooms each of which is used exclusively for one of the following activities or groups of activities:

      • (i) the repair of glass fibre containers,

      • (ii) the servicing and repair of inflatable survival equipment and the painting of compressed gas cylinders, and

      • (iii) the delivery of inflatable survival equipment and the storage of repair materials and spare parts;

    • (b) a separate, safe and secure magazine, well away from the service and storage spaces, for the storage of spare or date-expired pyrotechnic distress signals;

    • (c) a storage space with a means to ensure that containers containing inflatable survival equipment are not

      • (i) stored in more than two tiers unless supported by shelving, or

      • (ii) subjected to loads that may damage or otherwise adversely affect the containers; and

    • (d) readily available

      • (i) a set of test procedures for Class II EPIRBs in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions,

      • (ii) a complete set of assembly drawings for each model of inflatable survival equipment that the service station is accredited to service, and

      • (iii) a current copy of the Life Saving Equipment Regulations and the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020.

  • (2) The area or room in a service station that is used for servicing inflatable survival equipment shall

    • (a) be fully enclosed and provide ample room for all of the inflatable survival equipment being serviced at any one time, including sufficient headroom for the inversion of the inflatable survival equipment when it is inflated;

    • (b) have a clean floor surface that is smooth enough to ensure that no damage occurs to the equipment being serviced;

    • (c) be well lit but with no direct sunlight entering the space;

    • (d) have such a temperature and relative humidity as to ensure that the quality of the equipment, repairs or maintenance is not adversely affected; and

    • (e) be well ventilated and free from draughts.

  • (3) Smoking is not allowed in the service spaces or packing areas.

Servicing of Inflatable Survival Equipment

• • 2 (1) Inflatable survival equipment shall be serviced annually in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturer of the equipment.

  • (1.1) Despite subsection (1), the interval between servicing may be two years if

    • (a) the ship on which the inflatable survival equipment is carried

      • (i) is not a Safety Convention ship,

      • (ii) operates for less than seven months per year, and

      • (iii) operates only during months in which the monthly historical average daily minimum air temperature is greater than 0°C according to the climate data compiled by the Department of the Environment from the weather station nearest to the ship’s area of operation;

    • (b) fewer than 15 years have elapsed since the inflatable survival equipment was manufactured;

    • (c) the validity period of the most recent hydrostatic test of the gas cylinders of the inflatable survival equipment will not expire before the next servicing;

    • (d) the inflatable survival equipment is stored in a dry location during the months in which the ship is not in operation.

  • (1.2) Despite subsection (1), the interval between servicing may be up to but not more than 30 months if

    • (a) the ship on which the inflatable survival equipment is carried is not a Safety Convention ship;

    • (b) the manufacturer of the inflatable survival equipment recommends an extended interval between servicing of up to but not more than 30 months; and

    • (c) the extended interval between servicing provides a level of safety at least equivalent to that provided by annual servicing.

  • (2) All of the tests and procedures recommended by the manufacturer of inflatable survival equipment shall be carried out each time the equipment is serviced.

• 3 The opening, testing, repairing and repacking of inflatable survival equipment shall be carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturer of the equipment, and shall include an inspection for signs of

  • (a) damage to the equipment container; or

  • (b) dampness in the interior of the equipment container and the equipment.

• • 4 (1) A gas inflation test shall be carried out every five years.

  • (2) When a gas inflation test is being carried out, special attention shall be paid to the effectiveness of the pressure relief valves.

  • (3) After gas inflation has been initiated, sufficient time shall be allowed to enable the pressure in the buoyancy compartments of the inflatable survival equipment to become stabilized and any solid particles of carbon dioxide to evaporate.

  • (4) After the time referred to in subsection (3) has elapsed, the buoyancy compartments shall, if necessary, be topped up with air and the inflatable survival equipment subjected to a pressure-holding test over a period of not less than one hour, during which time the pressure drop shall not exceed 5 per cent of the working pressure.

• • 5 (1) Inflatable survival equipment shall be subjected to the necessary additional pressure test set out in subsection (2) or any other similar test recommended by the manufacturer

    • (a) during the first servicing of the equipment;

    • (b) whenever a visual inspection indicates that a necessary additional pressure test should be carried out to ensure the safety and reliability of the equipment; and

    • (c) at each servicing of the equipment after its tenth year in service.

  • (2) A necessary additional pressure test shall be conducted by

    • (a) plugging the pressure relief valves;

    • (b) gradually raising the pressure to the lesser of

      • (i) twice the working pressure, and

      • (ii) a pressure that is sufficient to impose a tensile load on the compartment fabric of at least 20 per cent of the minimum tensile strength recommended by the manufacturer;

    • (c) after five minutes, checking that there is no significant pressure drop, seam slippage, cracking or other defects;

    • (d) if there is no audible cracking in the buoyancy compartments, reducing the pressure in all of the buoyancy compartments simultaneously by removing the plugs from the pressure relief valves; and

    • (e) after sufficient time has elapsed for the equipment to regain fabric tension at the working pressure, subjecting the equipment to a pressure-holding test over a period of not less than one hour, during which time the pressure drop shall not exceed 5 per cent of the working pressure.

  • (3) If, at any time during the necessary additional pressure test, there is audible cracking in the buoyancy compartments, the equipment shall be withdrawn from service.

• • 6 (1) Where a gas inflation test or a necessary additional pressure test is not required as part of a particular servicing, inflatable survival equipment shall be removed from its container and from any fitted retaining straps and subjected to a working pressure test.

  • (2) A working pressure test shall be conducted by

    • (a) inflating the inflatable survival equipment with dry compressed air to the working pressure; and

    • (b) subjecting the inflatable survival equipment to a pressure-holding test over a period of not less than one hour, during which time the pressure drop shall not exceed 5 per cent of the working pressure.

  • (3) If, during a working pressure test, the ambient temperature varies by more than 3°C, the results shall be disregarded and the test repeated.

• 7 The seams of inflatable survival equipment shall be inspected and tested during the first servicing of the equipment and each servicing of the equipment after its tenth year in service, by

  • (a) inspecting both sides of the bottom seams of a life raft;

  • (b) inspecting the seams of a marine evacuation system with the system fully deployed;

  • (c) inspecting the seams between the floor and the buoyancy compartments of inflatable survival equipment for slippage or edge lifting; and

  • (d) after completion of each inspection referred to in paragraph (c), supporting the buoyancy chamber at a suitable height above the service floor, having a person weighing not less than 75 kg walk or crawl around the entire circumference of the floor of the equipment and inspecting the floor seams a second time.

• 8 At every second servicing, a davit-launched life raft shall be subjected to a 10-per-cent overload suspension test that is carried out in such a way that abrasive material is not introduced into the life raft.

• 9 At each servicing of inflatable survival equipment, the emergency pack shall be inspected to ensure that it is in good condition and that its expiry date will not pass before the next scheduled servicing.

• 10 Where a Class II EPIRB is packed in an inflatable life raft, it shall be tested in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions each time the life raft is serviced.

• 11 Inflatable survival equipment and its emergency pack shall be inspected when they are repacked after inspection or servicing to ensure that they, and the air around them, are dry.

• 12 At every servicing of inflatable survival equipment and its emergency pack, the markings required by these Regulations to be placed on the equipment or the pack shall be checked and updated.

• • 13 (1) An accredited service technician shall prepare a record of the servicing of each piece of inflatable survival equipment, setting out

    • (a) the name of the ship or person to whom the service station sends the equipment after servicing;

    • (b) the name of the accredited service technician in charge of servicing;

    • (c) the model and serial number of the equipment;

    • (d) the date of servicing;

    • (e) the type of container for the equipment;

    • (f) the medium of inflation used;

    • (g) the tests carried out on the equipment;

    • (h) details of any repair made to the equipment;

    • (i) the date of the last hydrostatic test of the gas cylinders;

    • (j) the date of servicing of the hydrostatic release unit;

    • (k) in the case of an inflatable davit-launched life raft, the date of servicing of the release hook;

    • (l) the date of the most recent test of the Class II EPIRB;

    • (m) the class of the emergency pack;

    • (n) a list of all of the items in the emergency pack that were replaced;

    • (o) details of any defects in the equipment revealed during servicing; and

    • (p) a list of any equipment withdrawn from service.

  • (2) The record shall be kept for at least 10 years after the date of servicing of the piece of inflatable survival equipment and shall be made available to an inspector on request.

Responsibilities of Manufacturers and Service Stations

• • 14 (1) Every manufacturer of inflatable survival equipment is responsible for

    • (a) ensuring that the equipment is designed in such a way that, if an accredited service technician follows the requirements of this Schedule and the manufacturer’s servicing manual, including any additional instructions for servicing a particular product or model, the equipment will be adequately serviced;

    • (b) ensuring that every service station that it accredits is designed, organized and maintained so as not to compromise the integrity of the equipment that is serviced there;

    • (c) ensuring that every service technician whom it accredits to service its equipment is a qualified person whom the manufacturer has adequately trained;

    • (d) keeping the Board informed of the names of the service stations and service technicians that are accredited by the manufacturer and providing the Board with not less than eight weeks notice before any accreditation ends;

    • (e) making available to its accredited service stations

      • (i) changes to its servicing manuals, servicing bulletins and instructions,

      • (ii) appropriate repair materials and replacement parts, and

      • (iii) bulletins and instructions from the Board;

    • (f) keeping the Board informed of

      • (i) any shipping casualties that are known to the manufacturer and involve its equipment, and

      • (ii) any failures of the manufacturer’s equipment, other than failures that occur during inspections; and

    • (g) informing ship owners whenever possible of any deficiency or danger that is known to the manufacturer and is related to the use of the manufacturer’s equipment and taking appropriate remedial measures.

  • (2) Every manufacturer shall include in its servicing manuals tables of exact necessary additional pressure test pressures corresponding to the buoyancy compartment sizes and material tensile strength requirements of its inflatable survival equipment, determined by the formula

    NAP = (2T/25d)

    where

    NAP

    is the necessary additional pressure measured in kg/cm²;

    T

    is the material tensile strength of the inflatable survival equipment measured in kg/5 cm width of fabric; and

    d

    is the diameter of the buoyancy compartment in cm.

• 15 The owner of an accredited service station shall ensure that

  • (a) inflatable survival equipment is serviced by an accredited service technician in accordance with the manufacturer’s required service checklist;

  • (b) a copy of the manufacturer’s service checklist for any inflatable survival equipment that is serviced by the service station, dated and signed by the accredited service technician, is provided to an inspector on request;

  • (c) after each servicing of inflatable survival equipment, a certificate, dated and signed by the accredited service technician, is provided to the ship owner, and sets out

    • (i) the name of the ship,

    • (ii) the name of the ship owner,

    • (iii) the model, serial number and type of container of the equipment,

    • (iv) the name of the manufacturer,

    • (v) the number of the gas cylinder and type of gas,

    • (vi) the class of the emergency pack,

    • (vii) the expiry date of the pyrotechnic distress signals, and

    • (viii) the following statement:

      “This is to certify that the inflatable survival equipment described above has been inflated, tested, inspected, serviced, repaired and properly repacked, all in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations for this make and model of equipment and in accordance with the Life Saving Equipment Regulations”;

  • (d) the gas cylinder is sent to a recharging plant for servicing when

    • (i) the gas charge is below the specified weight,

    • (ii) the gas cylinder is due for requalification as required under Part 5 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations,

    • (iii) servicing is recommended by the gas cylinder manufacturer, or

    • (iv) the condition of the gas cylinder causes any doubt as to its safety or efficiency;

  • (e) the threads of a gas cylinder that is sent by the service station for servicing are capped or otherwise protected from damage; and

  • (f) after the servicing of a gas cylinder, a certificate dated and signed by a person authorized by the plant that serviced the gas cylinder is provided to the service station, and sets out

    • (i) the type of charge,

    • (ii) the date of recharging,

    • (iii) the tare weight, the net weight and the full weight,

    • (iv) the date of the most recent hydrostatic test,

    • (v) the name of the recharging plant, and

    • (vi) the following statement:

      “This is to certify that the gas cylinder bearing serial number has been examined internally and externally, placed in good condition, charged with the specified weights of non-toxic gas or gases and checked for leakage.”