Regulation 26 - General
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Regulation 26 - General

  1 The machinery, boilers and other pressure vessels, associated piping systems and fittings shall be of a design and construction adequate for the service for which they are intended and shall be so installed and protected as to reduce to a minimum any danger to persons on board, due regard being paid to moving parts, hot surfaces and other hazards. The design shall have regard to materials used in construction, the purpose for which the equipment is intended, the working conditions to which it will be subjected and the environmental conditions on board.footnote

  2 The Administration shall give special consideration to the reliability of single essential propulsion components and may require a separate source of propulsion power sufficient to give the ship a navigable speed, especially in the case of unconventional arrangements.

  3 Means shall be provided whereby normal operation of propulsion machinery can be sustained or restored even though one of the essential auxiliaries becomes inoperative. Special consideration shall be given to the malfunctioning of:

  • .1 a generating set which serves as a main source of electrical power;

  • .2 the sources of steam supply;

  • .3 the boiler feedwater systems;

  • .4 the fuel oil supply systems for boilers or engines; footnote

  • .5 the sources of lubricating oil pressure;

  • .6 the sources of water pressure;

  • .7 a condensate pump and the arrangements to maintain vacuum in condensers;

  • .8 the mechanical air supply for boilers;

  • .9 an air compressor and receiver for starting or control purposes;

  • .10 the hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical means for control in main propulsion machinery including controllable pitch propellers.

However, the Administration, having regard to overall safety considerations, may accept a partial reduction in propulsion capability from normal operation.

  4 Means shall be provided to ensure that the machinery can be brought into operation from the dead ship condition without external aid.

  5 All boilers, all parts of machinery, all steam, hydraulic, pneumatic and other systems and their associated fittings which are under internal pressure shall be subjected to appropriate tests including a pressure test before being put into service for the first time.

  6 Main propulsion machinery and all auxiliary machinery essential to the propulsion and the safety of the ship shall, as fitted in the ship, be designed to operate when the ship is upright and when inclined at any angle of list up to and including 15° either way under static conditions and 22.5° under dynamic conditions (rolling) either way and simultaneously inclined dynamically (pitching) 7.5° by bow or stern. The Administration may permit deviation from these angles, taking into consideration the type, size and service conditions of the ship.

  7 Provision shall be made to facilitate cleaning, inspection and maintenance of main propulsion and auxiliary machinery including boilers and pressure vessels.

  8 Special consideration shall be given to the design, construction and installation of propulsion machinery systems so that any mode of their vibrations shall not cause undue stresses in this machinery in the normal operating ranges.

  9 Non-metallic expansion joints in piping systems, if located in a system which penetrates the ship's side and both the penetration and the non-metallic expansion joint are located below the deepest load waterline, shall be inspected as part of the surveys prescribed in regulation I/10(a) and replaced as necessary, or at an interval recommended by the manufacturer.

  10 Operating and maintenance instructions and engineering drawings for ship machinery and equipment essential to the safe operation of the ship shall be written in a language understandable by those officers and crew members who are required to understand such information in the performance of their duties.

  11 Location and arrangement of vent pipes for fuel oil service, settling and lubrication oil tanks shall be such that in the event of a broken vent pipe this shall not directly lead to the risk of ingress of seawater splashes or rainwater. Two fuel oil service tanks for each type of fuel used on board necessary for propulsion and vital systems or equivalent arrangements shall be provided on each new ship, with a capacity of at least 8 h at maximum continuous rating of the propulsion plant and normal operating load at sea of the generator plant.footnote This paragraph applies only to ships constructed on or after 1 July 1998.


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