Chapter 3 - Accommodation and Escape Measures

3.1 General

3.1.1 Passenger and crew accommodation should be designed and arranged so as to protect the occupants from unfavourable environmental conditions and to minimize the risk of injury to occupants during normal and emergency conditions.

3.1.2 Spaces accessible to passengers should not contain controls, electrical equipment, high-temperature parts and pipelines, rotating assemblies or other items, from which injury to passengers could result, unless such items are adequately shielded, isolated, or otherwise protected.

3.1.3 Passenger accommodation should not contain operating controls unless the operating controls are so protected and located that their operation by a crew member could not be impeded by passengers during normal and emergency conditions.

3.1.4 Windows in passenger and crew accommodation should be of adequate strength and suitable for the worst intended conditions specified in the Permit to Operate and be made of material which will not break into dangerous fragments if fractured.

3.1.5 The public spaces, crew accommodation and the equipment therein should be designed so that any person making proper use of these facilities will not suffer injury during the craft's normal and emergency start, stop and manoeuvring in normal cruise and in failure or maloperation conditions.

3.2 Public Address and Information System

3.2.1 A general emergency alarm system should be provided. The alarm should be audible throughout all the accommodation and normal crew working spaces and open decks, and the sound pressure level should be at least 10 dB(A) above ambient noise levels under way in normal cruise operation. The alarm should continue to function after it has been triggered until it is normally turned off or is temporarily interrupted by a message on the public address system.

3.2.2 There should be a public address system covering all areas where passengers and crew have access, escape routes, and places of embarkation into survival craft. The system should be such that flooding or fire in any compartment does not render other parts of the system inoperable. The public address system and its performance standards should be approved by the Administration having regard to the recommendations adopted by the Organization.^footnote

3.2.3 All passenger craft should be equipped with illuminated or luminous notices or video information system(s) visible to all sitting passengers, in order to notify them of safety measures.

3.2.4 The master should, by the means specified in 3.2.2 and 3.2.3, be able to request passengers to be seated and/or secure their seat belts when he finds this appropriate to safeguard passengers.

3.2.5 Emergency instructions including a general diagram of the craft showing the location of all exits, routes of evacuation, emergency equipment, life-saving equipment and illustration of lifejacket donning should be available to each passenger and placed near each passenger's seat.

3.3 Design Acceleration Levels

3.3.1 For passenger craft, superimposed vertical accelerations above 1.0 g at longitudinal centre of gravity for more than one second measured RMS should be avoided unless special precautions are taken with respect to passenger safety.

3.3.2 Passenger craft should be designed with respect to the safety in, and escape from, the public spaces, crew accommodation and escape routes, including in way of life-saving appliances and emergency source of power. The size and type of craft together with its operational mode, speed, displacement and building material should be taken into consideration. Appropriate measures with regard to equipment, training and procedures should be implemented under part C to reduce the risk associated with collision to an acceptable level. Such measures should be detailed in the craft operational manual.

3.3.3 Limiting sea states for operation of the craft should be specified in the Permit to Operate for the operational range of mass and longitudinal centre of gravity and in the worst intended conditions in all modes. Operational information should be available on board for guidance, or the craft should have an instrument system for on-line check of operational performance. As a minimum, an audible and visual alarm should be fitted in the operating compartment to indicate excessive vertical acceleration. Operation of any automatic or electronic flight control system fitted should be based on measurements of linear and angular accelerations in all three axes close to the craft's longitudinal centre of gravity.

3.4 Accommodation Design

3.4.1 The operating compartment, public spaces and crew accommodation should be located and designed to protect passengers and crew as much as practicable under the collision design condition.

3.4.2 The accommodation should be designed according to the guidelines given in table 3.4.1 or by other methods which have been proven to have equal protective qualities.

3.4.3 Equipment and baggage in public spaces and in the operator's compartment should be positioned and secured so that they remain in the stowed position when exposed to the collision design acceleration according to 3.4.2.

3.4.4 Seats, life-saving appliances and items of substantial mass and their supporting structure should not deform or dislodge under any loads up to those specified in 3.4.2 in any manner that would impede subsequent rapid evacuation of passengers.

3.4.5 There should be adequate handholds on both sides of any passage to enable passengers to steady themselves while moving about.

Table 3.4.1 – Overview general design guidelines^footnote

3.5 Seating Construction

3.5.1 There should be a seat or berth provided for each passenger and crew member which the craft is certified to carry. Such seats should be arranged in enclosed spaces.

3.5.2 Seats fitted in addition to those required under 3.5.1 and which are not permitted to be used in hazardous navigational situations or potentially dangerous weather or sea conditions need not comply with 3.5 or 3.6. Such seats should be secured according to 3.4.4 and clearly identified as not being able to be used in hazardous situations.

3.5.3 The installation of seats should be such as to allow adequate access to any part of the accommodation space. In particular, they should not obstruct access to, or use of, any essential emergency equipment or means of escape.

3.5.4 Configuration of the cabin should minimize the possibility of injury and avoid trapping of the passengers after the assumed damage in the collision design condition according to annex 6. Dangerous projections and hard edges should be eliminated or padded.

3.5.5 All seats, their supports and their deck attachments should have good energy-absorbing characteristics and should meet the requirements of annex 6.

3.6 Safety Belts

3.6.1 One-hand-release safety belts of three-point type or with shoulder harness should be provided for all seats from which the craft may be operated for all craft with a collision load exceeding 3 g, as provided in 3.4.2.

3.6.2 Safety belts should be provided on passenger seats and crew seats, if necessary, to obtain the protective performance measures described in annex 6.

3.7 Exits and Means of Escape

3.7.1 In order to ensure immediate assistance from the crew in an emergency situation, the crew accommodation, including any cabins, should be located with due regard to easy, safe and quick access to the public spaces from inside the craft. For the same reason, easy, safe and quick access from the operating compartment to the passenger accommodation should be provided. On unassisted craft, exits should provide access to the alternative safe area required by 6.2.1.1.

3.7.2 The design of the craft should be such that all occupants may safely evacuate the craft into survival craft under all emergency conditions, by day or by night. The positions of all exits which may be used in an emergency, and of all life-saving appliances, the practicability of the evacuation procedure, and the evacuation time to evacuate all passengers and crew should be demonstrated.

3.7.3 Public spaces, evacuation routes, exits, survival craft stowage, and the embarkation stations should be clearly and permanently marked and illuminated as provided in chapter 7.

3.7.4 Each enclosed public space and similar permanently enclosed space allocated to passengers or crew should be provided with at least two exits, arranged as far as practicable at the opposite ends of the space. Exits should be safely accessible and may comprise part of a normal boarding or disembarkation route.

3.7.5 Exit doors should be capable of being readily operated from inside and outside the craft in daylight and in darkness. The means of operation should be obvious, rapid and of adequate strength.

3.7.6 The closing, latching and locking arrangements for exits should be such that it is readily apparent to the appropriate crew member when the doors are closed and in a safe operational condition, either in direct view or by an indicator. The design of external doors should be such as to eliminate the possibility of jamming by ice or debris.

3.7.7 The craft should have a sufficient number of exits which are suitable to facilitate the quick and unimpeded escape of persons wearing approved lifejackets in emergency conditions, such as collision, damage or fire.

3.7.8 Sufficient space for a crew member should be provided adjacent to exits to facilitate the safe and rapid evacuation of passengers.

3.7.9 All exits, together with their means of opening, should be adequately marked for the guidance of passengers. Adequate marking should also be provided for the guidance of rescue personnel outside the craft.

3.7.10 Footholds, ladders, etc., provided to give access to exits from inside the craft should be of rigid construction and permanently fixed in position. Permanent handholds should be provided wherever necessary to assist persons using exits, and should be suitable for conditions where the craft has developed significant angles of list or trim.

3.7.11 At least two unobstructed evacuation paths should be available for the use of each person. Evacuation paths should be disposed such that adequate evacuation facilities will be available in the event of any likely damage or emergency conditions. Evacuation paths should have adequate lighting supplied from both the main and emergency sources of power.

3.7.12 The dimensions of passages, doorways and stairways which form part of evacuation paths should be such as to allow easy movement of persons when wearing lifejackets. There should be no protrusions in evacuation paths which could cause injury, ensnare clothing, damage lifejackets or restrict evacuation of disabled persons.

3.7.13 Adequate notices should be provided to direct passengers to exits.

3.7.14 Provision should be made on board for embarkation stations, if installed, to be properly equipped for evacuation of passengers into life-saving appliances. Such provision should include handholds, anti-skid treatment of the embarkation deck, and adequate space which is clear of cleats, bollards and similar fittings.

3.8 Evacuation Time

3.8.1 "Evacuation time" is the demonstrated time taken for a number of untrained people corresponding to the total number of passengers and crew to escape from the craft following the order to evacuate. The evacuation time should not exceed 7 minutes and 40 seconds or, where the structural fire protection time (T) is less than 30 minutes, a time of:

(T-7)/3 (minutes).

3.8.2 An evacuation procedure, including a critical path analysis, should be developed for the information of the Administration in connection with the approval of fire insulation plans and for assisting the owners and builders in planning the evacuation demonstration required in 3.8.3. The evacuation procedures should include:

• .1 the emergency announcement made by the master;

• .2 contact with the base port;

• .3 the donning of lifejackets;

• .4 manning of survival craft and emergency stations;

• .5 the shutting down of machinery and oil fuel supply lines;

• .6 the order to evacuate;

• .7 the deployment of survival craft and marine escape systems;

• .8 the bowsing in of survival craft;

• .9 the supervision of passengers;

• .10 the orderly evacuation of passengers under supervision;

• .11 crew checking that all passengers have left the craft;

• .12 the evacuation of crew; and

• .13 releasing the survival craft from the craft.

3.8.3 Achievement of the required evacuation time (as ascertained in accordance with 3.8.1) should be verified by a practical demonstration conducted under controlled conditions on the craft or an identical craft and should be fully documented and verified for passenger craft by the Administration.

3.8.4 Evacuation demonstrations should be carried out with due concern for the problems of mass movement or panic acceleration likely to arise in an emergency situation when rapid evacuation is necessary. The evacuation demonstrations should be dry shod with the survival craft initially in their stowed positions and be conducted as follows:

• .1 The evacuation time on all craft should be the time elapsed from the moment propulsion machinery is shut down and the first abandon craft announcement is given, with any passengers distributed in a normal voyage configuration, until the last person has embarked in a survival craft, and should include the time for passengers and crew to don lifejackets.

• .2 For all craft the evacuation time should include the time necessary to launch, inflate and secure the survival craft alongside ready for embarkation.

3.8.5 Where an evacuation path is not shared between evacuation stations on both sides of the craft, the evacuation time for personnel using that path may be verified by an evacuation demonstration which should be performed using the survival craft and exits on one side, for which the critical path analysis indicates the greatest evacuation time, with the passengers and crew allocated to them.

3.8.6 On any other craft where a half trial is impracticable, the Administration may consider a partial evacuation trial using a route which the critical path analysis shows to be the most critical.

3.8.7 The demonstration should be carried out in controlled conditions in the following manner in compliance with the evacuation plan.

• .1 The demonstration should commence with the craft afloat in the harbour, in reasonably calm conditions, with machinery and equipment operating in the normal seagoing condition.

• .2 All exits and doors inside the craft should be in the same position as they are under normal seagoing condition.

• .3 Safety belts, if required, should be fastened.

• .4 The evacuation routes for all passengers and crew should be such that no person need enter the water during the evacuation.

3.8.8 For passenger craft, a representative composition of persons with normal health, height and weight should be used in the demonstration, and should consist of different sexes and ages so far as it is practicable and reasonable.

3.8.9 The persons, other than the crew selected for the demonstration, should not have been specially drilled for such a demonstration.

3.8.10 An emergency evacuation demonstration should be carried out for all new designs of high-speed craft and for other craft where evacuation arrangements differ substantially from those previously tested.

3.8.11 The specific evacuation procedure followed during the craft's initial demonstration on which certification is based should be included in the craft operating manual together with the other evacuation procedures contained in 3.8.2. During the demonstration, video recordings should be made, both inside and outside the craft, which should form an integral part of the training manual required by 17.2.

3.9 Baggage, Stores, Shops and Cargo Compartments

3.9.1 Provisions should be made to prevent shifting of baggage, stores and cargo compartment contents, having due regard to occupied compartments and accelerations likely to arise. If safeguarding by positioning is not practicable, adequate means of restraint for baggage, stores and cargo should be provided. Shelves and overhead shelves for storage of carry-on baggage in passenger accommodation should be provided with adequate means to prevent the luggage from falling out in any conditions that may occur.

3.9.2 Controls, electric equipment, high-temperature parts, pipelines or other items, the damage or failure of which could affect the safe operation of the craft or which may require access by crew members during a voyage, should not be located in baggage, store and cargo compartments unless such items are adequately protected so that they cannot be damaged or, where applicable, operated inadvertently by loading, by unloading or by movement of the contents of the compartment.

3.9.3 Loading limits, if necessary, should be durably marked in those compartments.

3.9.4 Having regard to the purpose of the craft, the closures of the exterior openings of the luggage and cargo compartments as well as special-category spaces should be appropriately weathertight.

3.10 Noise Levels

3.10.1 The noise level in crew and passengers' accommodations should be kept as low as possible to enable the public address system to be heard, and should not in general exceed 75 dB(A).

3.10.2 The maximum noise level in the operating compartment should not in general exceed 65 dB(A) to facilitate communication within the compartment and external radiocommunications.