Chapter I - Regulations Common to all Systems of Approval
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - International Conventions - CSC - International Convention for Safe Containers, 1972 - International Convention for Safe Containers, 19721 - Annex I - Regulations for the Testing, Inspection, Approval and Maintenance of Containers - Chapter I - Regulations Common to all Systems of Approval

Chapter I - Regulations Common to all Systems of Approval

  General Provisions

 The following definitions shall be applied for the purpose of this annex:

 The letter g means the standard acceleration of gravity; g equals 9.8 m/s2.

 The word load, when used to describe a physical quantity to which units may be ascribed, signifies mass.

  Maximum operating gross mass or Rating or R means the maximum allowable sum of the mass of the container and its cargo. The letter R is expressed in units of mass. Where the annexes are based on gravitational forces derived from this value, that force, which is an inertial force, is indicated as Rg.

  Maximum permissible payload or P means the difference between maximum operating gross mass or rating and tare. The letter P is expressed in units of mass. Where the annexes are based on the gravitational forces derived from this value, that force, which is an inertial force, is indicated as Pg.

  Tare means the mass of the empty container, including permanently affixed ancillary equipment.

Regulation 1 - Safety Approval Plate

  1

  • (a) A Safety Approval Plate conforming to the specifications set out in the appendix to this annex shall be permanently affixed to every approved container at a readily visible place, adjacent to any other approval plate issued for official purposes, where it would not be easily damaged.

  • (b) On each container, all maximum operating gross mass markings shall be consistent with the maximum operating gross mass information on the Safety Approval Plate.

  • (c) The owner of the container shall remove the Safety Approval Plate on the container if:

    • (i) the container has been modified in a manner which would void the original approval and the information found on the Safety Approval Plate, or

    • (ii) the container is removed from service and is not being maintained in accordance with the Convention, or

    • (iii) the approval has been withdrawn by the Administration.

  2

  • (a) The plate shall contain the following information in at least the English or French language:

    "CSC SAFETY APPROVAL"
    Country of approval and approval reference
    Date (month and year) of manufacture
    Manufacturer's identification number of the container or, in the case of existing containers for which that number is unknown, the number allotted by the Administration
    Maximum operating gross mass (kg and lbs)
    Allowable stacking load for 1.8 g (kg and lbs)
    Transverse racking test force (newtons);
  • (b) A blank space should be reserved on the plate for insertion of end-wall and/or side-wall strength values (factors) in accordance with paragraph 3 of this regulation and annex II, tests 6 and 7. A blank space should also be reserved on the plate for the first and subsequent maintenance examination dates (month and year) when used.

  3 Where the Administration considers that a new container satisfies the requirements of the present Convention in respect of safety and if, for such container, the end-wall and/or side-wall strength values (factors) are designed to be greater or less than those stipulated in annex II, such values shall be indicated on the Safety Approval Plate. Where the stacking or racking values are less than 192,000 kg or 150 kN, respectively, the container shall be considered as having limited stacking or racking capacity and shall be conspicuously marked, as required under the relevant standardsfootnote, at or before their next scheduled examination or before any other date approved by the Administration, provided this is not later than 1 July 2015.

  4 The presence of the Safety Approval Plate does not remove the necessity of displaying such labels or other information as may be required by other regulations which may be in force.

  5 A container, the construction of which was completed prior to 1 July 2014, may retain the Safety Approval Plate as permitted by the Convention prior to that date as long as no structural modifications occur to that container.

Regulation 2 - Maintenance and Examination

  1 The owner of the container shall be responsible for maintaining it in safe condition.

  2

  • (a) The owner of an approved container shall examine the container or have it examined in accordance with the procedure either prescribed or approved by the Contracting Party concerned, at intervals appropriate to operating conditions.

  • (b) The date (month and year) before which a new container shall undergo its first examination shall be marked on the Safety Approval Plate.

  • (c) The date (month and year) before which the container shall be re-examined shall be clearly marked on the container on or as close as practicable to the Safety Approval Plate and in a manner acceptable to that Contracting Party which prescribed or approved the particular examination procedure involved.

  • (d) The interval from the date of manufacture to the date of the first examination shall not exceed five years. Subsequent examination of new containers and re-examination of existing containers shall be at intervals of not more than 30 months. All examinations shall determine whether the container has any defects which could place any person in danger.

  3

  • (a) As an alternative to paragraph 2, the Contracting Party concerned may approve a continuous examination programme if satisfied, on evidence submitted by the owner, that such a programme provides a standard of safety not inferior to the one set out in paragraph 2 above.

  • (b) To indicate that the container is operated under an approved continuous examination programme, a mark showing the letters ACEP and the identification of the Contracting Party which has granted approval of the programme shall be displayed on the container on or as close as practicable to the Safety Approval Plate.

  • (c) All examinations performed under such a programme shall determine whether a container has any defects which could place any person in danger. They shall be performed in connection with a major repair, refurbishment, or on-hire/offhire interchange and in no case less than once every 30 months.

  4 As a minimum, approved programmes should be reviewed once every 10 years to ensure their continued viability. In order to ensure uniformity by all involved in the inspection of containers and their ongoing operational safety, the Contracting Party concerned shall ensure the following elements are covered in each prescribed periodic or approved continuous examination programme:

  • .1 methods, scope and criteria to be used during examinations;

  • .2 frequency of examinations;

  • .3 qualifications of personnel to carry out examinations;

  • .4 system of keeping records and documents that will capture:

    • .1 the owner's unique serial number of the container;

    • .2 the date on which the examination was carried out;

    • .3 identification of the competent person who carried out the examination;

    • .4 the name and location of the organization where the examination was carried out;

    • .5 the results of the examination; and

    • .6 in the case of a Periodic Examination Scheme (PES), the Next Examination Date (NED);

  • .5 a system for recording and updating the identification numbers of all containers covered by the appropriate examination scheme;

  • .6 methods and systems for maintenance criteria that addresses the design characteristics of the specific containers;

  • .7 provisions for maintaining leased containers if different than those used for owned containers; and

  • .8 conditions and procedures for adding containers into an already approved programme.

  5 The Contracting Party shall carry out periodic audits of approved programmes to ensure compliance with the provisions approved by the Contracting Party. The Contracting Party shall withdraw any approval when the conditions of approval are no longer complied with.

  6 For the purpose of this regulation, the Contracting Party concerned is the Contracting Party of the territory in which the owner is domiciled or has his head office. However, in the event that the owner is domiciled or has his head office in a country the government of which has not yet made arrangements for prescribing or approving an examination scheme and until such time as the arrangements have been made, the owner may use the procedure prescribed or approved by the Administration of a Contracting Party which is prepared to act as the Contracting Party concerned. The owner shall comply with the conditions for the use of such procedures set by the Administration in question.

  7 Administrations shall make information on approved Continuous Examination Programmes publicly available.


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