15B.1 General Requirements
(1) All vessels shall comply with the requirements of SOLAS
II-2/10. as may be amended, and as appropriate to the vessel and its
equipment. For the purpose of the SOLAS regulations, the standards for a cargo ship
apply. However, in interior locations, fire hoses shall be connected to hydrants at
all times. Existing vessels are encouraged to comply with this requirement in so far
as is practicable.
(2) In no case shall the standards applied be less than those applied to a vessel of
less than 500GT.
(3) The location of concealed fire appliances shall be clearly marked.
(4) An onboard means of recharging breathing apparatus cylinders used during drills
shall be provided, or 2 spare cylinders shall be carried onboard to replace those
used for each self-contained breathing apparatus set carried.
(5) Fireman’s outfits provided for helideck crew shall be of EN 469 standard or
another suitable recognised national or international standard.
15B.2 Additional Equivalence Considerations
(1) None
15B.3 Alternative Design and Arrangements
(1) Vessels may follow Section 1.9 on Alternative Design and Arrangements for this
chapter as allowed by SOLAS II-2/17.
(2) The engineering analysis required by 1.9(3) shall be prepared and submitted to
the Administration, based on the guidelinesfootnote and shall include, as a minimum, the following
engineering analysis elements:
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(a) determination of the ship type and space(s) concerned;
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(b) identification of prescriptive requirement(s) with which the ship or the
space(s) will not comply;
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(c) identification of the fire and explosion hazards of the ship or the
space(s) concerned, including;
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(i) identification of the possible ignition sources;
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(ii) identification of the fire growth potential of each space
concerned;
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(iii) identification of the smoke and toxic effluent generation
potential for each space concerned;
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(iv) identification of the potential for the spread of fire, smoke or
of toxic effluents from the space(s) concerned to other spaces;
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(d) determination of the required fire safety performance criteria for the
ship or the space(s) concerned addressed by the prescriptive requirement(s)
in particular:
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(i) performance criteria shall be based on the fire safety objectives
and on the functional requirements of this chapter;
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(ii) performance criteria shall provide a degree of safety not less
than that achieved by using the prescriptive requirements; and
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(iii) performance criteria shall be quantifiable and measurable;
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(e) detailed description of the alternative design and arrangements,
including a list of the assumptions used in the design and any proposed
operational restrictions or conditions; and
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(f) technical justification demonstrating that the alternative design and
arrangements meet the required fire safety performance criteria.