This document has been superseded by MSC.1/Circ.1533
1 The Maritime Safety Committee, at its seventy-first
session (19 to 28 May 1999), having approved MSC/Circ.909 on Interim
Guidelines for a simplified evacuation analysis of ro-ro passenger
ships as a guide for the implementation of SOLAS regulation II-2/28-1.3,
requested the Sub-Committee on Fire Protection (FP) to also develop
guidelines on evacuation analysis for passenger ships in general and
high-speed passenger craft.
2 The Committee, at its seventy-fourth session
(30 May to 8 June 2001), following a recommendation of the forty-fifth
session of the FP Sub-Committee (8 to 12 January 2001), approved MSC/Circ.1001 on Interim Guidelines for
a simplified evacuation analysis of high-speed passenger craft. The
Committee, at its eightieth session (11 to 20 May 2005), after having
considered a proposal by the forty-ninth session of the Sub-Committee
on Fire Protection (24 to 28 January 2005) made in light of the experienced
gained in the application of the aforementioned Interim Guidelines,
approved MSC/Circ.1166 on Guidelines
for a simplified evacuation analysis of high-speed passenger craft,
which supersede MSC/Circ.1001, together
with the worked example appended thereto.
3 The Committee, at its seventy-fifth session
(15 to 24 May 2002), further approved MSC/Circ.1033 on Interim Guidelines on evacuation analyses for new and existing
passenger ships and invited Member Governments to collect and submit
to the Sub-Committee on Fire Protection for further consideration,
any information and data resulting from research and development activities,
full-scale tests and findings on human behaviour which may be relevant
for the necessary future upgrading of the present Interim Guidelines.
4 The Committee, at its eighty-third session (3
to 12 October 2007), approved the Guidelines on evacuation analyses
for new and existing passenger ships, including ro-ro passenger ships,
as set out in the annexes to the present circular.
5 The annexed Guidelines offer the possibility
of using two distinct methods:
6 The assumptions inherent within the simplified
method are by their nature limiting. As the complexity of the vessel
increases (through the mix of passenger types, accommodation types,
number of decks and number of stairways) these assumptions become
less representative of reality. In such cases, the use of the advanced
method would be preferred. However, in early design iterations of
the vessel, the simplified method has merit due to its relative ease
of use and its ability to provide an approximation to expected evacuation
performance.
7 It is also to be noted that the acceptable evacuation
times in these Guidelines are based on an analysis of fire risk.
8 Member Governments are invited to bring the
annexed Guidelines (annexes 1 and 2) to the attention of all those
concerned and, in particular to:
-
.1 recommend them to use these Guidelines when
conducting evacuation analyses on new ro-ro passenger ships in compliance with
SOLAS regulation II-2/28-1.3 and regulation II-2/13.7.4 (which entered into force
on 1 July 2002); and
-
.2 encourage them to conduct evacuation analyses
on new and existing passenger ships other than ro-ro passenger ships
using these Guidelines.
9 Member Governments are also encouraged to:
-
.1 collect and submit to the Sub-Committee on
Fire Protection for further consideration, any information and data
resulting from research and development activities, full-scale tests
and findings on human behaviour, which may be relevant for the necessary
future upgrading of the present Guidelines;
-
.2 submit to the Sub-Committee on Fire Protection
information on experience gained in the implementation of the Guidelines;
and
-
.3 use the Guidance on validation/verification
of evacuation simulation tools provided in annex 3 to the present
circular when assessing the ability of evacuation simulation tools
to perform an advanced evacuation analysis.