Part E – Operational Requirements

  2.1.1 The following fire protection systems shall be kept in good order so as to ensure their required performance if a fire occurs:

• .1 structural fire protection including fire resisting divisions, and protection of openings and penetrations in these divisions;

• .2 fire detection and fire alarm systems; and

• .3 means of escape systems and appliances.

  2.1.2 Fire-fighting systems and appliances shall be kept in good working order and readily available for immediate use. Portable extinguishers which have been discharged shall be immediately recharged or replaced with an equivalent unit.

  2.1.1 Crew members shall receive instruction on fire safety onboard the ship.

  2.1.2 Crew members shall receive instructions on their assigned duties.

  2.1.3 Parties responsible for fire-extinguishing shall be organized. These parties shall have the capability to complete their duties at all times while the ship is in service.

  2.2.1 Crew members shall be trained to be familiar with the arrangements of the ship as well as the location and operation of any fire-fighting systems and appliances that they may be called upon to use.

  2.2.2 Training in the use of the emergency escape breathing devices shall be considered as part of on board training.

  2.2.3 Performance of crew members assigned fire-fighting duties shall be periodically evaluated by conducting onboard training and drills to identify areas in need of improvement, to ensure competency in fire-fighting skills is maintained, and to ensure the operational readiness of the fire-fighting organization.

  2.2.4 Onboard training in the use of the ship’s fire-extinguishing systems and appliances shall be planned and conducted in accordance with provisions of regulation III/19.4.1.

  2.2.5 Fire drills shall be conducted and recorded in accordance with the provisions of regulations III/19.3 and III/19.5.

  2.3.1 A training manual shall be provided in each crew mess room and recreation room or in each crew cabin.

  2.3.2 The training manual shall be written in the working language of the ship.

  2.3.3 The training manual, which may comprise several volumes, shall contain the instructions and information required in paragraph 2.3.4 in easily understood terms and illustrated wherever possible. Any part of such information may be provided in the form of audio-visual aides in lieu of the manual.

  2.3.4 The training manual shall explain the following in detail:

• .1 general fire safety practice and precautions related to the dangers of smoking, electrical hazards, flammable liquids and similar common shipboard hazards;

• .2 general instructions on fire-fighting activities and fire-fighting procedures including procedures for notification of a fire and use of manually operated call points;

• .3 meanings of the ship’s alarms;

• .4 operation and use of fire-fighting systems and appliances;

• .5 operation and use of fire doors;

• .6 operation and use of fire and smoke dampers; and

• .7 escape systems and appliances.

  2.4.1 General arrangement plans shall be permanently exhibited for the guidance of the ship’s officers, showing clearly for each deck the control stations, the various fire sections enclosed by "A" class divisions, the sections enclosed by "B" class divisions together with particulars of the fire detection and fire alarm systems, the sprinkler installation, the fire-extinguishing appliances, means of access to different compartments, decks, etc., and the ventilating system including particulars of the fan control positions, the position of dampers and identification numbers of the ventilating fans serving each section. Alternatively, at the discretion of the Administration, the aforementioned details may be set out in a booklet, a copy of which shall be supplied to each officer, and one copy shall at all times be available on board in an accessible position. Plans and booklets shall be kept up to date; any alterations thereto shall be recorded as soon as practicable. Description in such plans and booklets shall be in the language or languages required by the Administration. If the language is neither English nor French, a translation into one of those languages shall be included.

  2.4.2 A duplicate set of fire control plans or a booklet containing such plans shall be permanently stored in a prominently marked weathertight enclosure outside the deckhouse for the assistance of shore-side fire-fighting personnel.^footnote

 In addition to the requirement of paragraph 2.2.3, fire drills shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of regulation III/30 having due regard to notification of passengers and movement of passengers to assembly stations and embarkation decks.

 In ships carrying more than 36 passengers, plans and booklets required by this regulation shall provide information regarding fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction based on the guidelines issued by the Organization.^footnote

 The fire safety operational booklet referred to in paragraph 2 shall include provisions for preventing fire spread to the cargo area due to ignition of flammable vapours and include procedures of cargo tank gas-purging and/or gas-freeing taking into account the provisions in paragraph 3.2.

  3.2.1 When the ship is provided with an inert gas system, the cargo tanks shall first be purged in accordance with the provisions of regulation 4.5.6 until the concentration of hydrocarbon vapours in the cargo tanks has been reduced to less than 2% by volume. Thereafter, gas-freeing may take place at the cargo tank deck level.

  3.2.2 When the ship is not provided with an inert gas system, the operation shall be such that the flammable vapour is discharged initially through:

• .1 the vent outlets as specified in regulation 4.5.3.4;

• .2 outlets at least 2 m above the cargo tank deck level with a vertical efflux velocity of at least 30 m/s maintained during the gas-freeing operation; or

• .3 outlets at least 2 m above the cargo tank deck level with a vertical efflux velocity of at least 20 m/s and which are protected by suitable devices to prevent the passage of flame.

  3.2.3 The above outlets shall be located not less than 10 m measured horizontally from the nearest air intakes and openings to enclosed spaces containing a source of ignition and from deck machinery, which may include anchor windlass and chain locker openings, and equipment which may constitute an ignition hazard.

  3.2.4 When the flammable vapour concentration at the outlet has been reduced to 30% of the lower flammable limit, gas-freeing may be continued at cargo tank deck level.