Life Saving Equipment Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1436)

Survival Craft VHF Radiotelephone Apparatus

• 124 (1) Every survival craft VHF radiotelephone apparatus carried on a ship shall meet the requirements of sections 222 and 232 of the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020.

• (2) Every survival craft VHF radiotelephone apparatus carried on a ship shall be tested in accordance with the requirements of subsection 239(3) of the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020.

SARTs

• 125 (1) Every SART carried on a ship shall meet the requirements of sections 222 and 231 of the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020.

• (2) Every SART carried on a ship shall be inspected and tested in accordance with the requirements of subsection 239(2) of the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020.

Class II EPIRBs

• 126 (1) A Class II EPIRB carried on a ship shall meet the requirements of sections 222 and 228 to 230 of the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020.

• (2) A Class II EPIRB carried on a ship shall be inspected and tested in accordance with the requirements of subsection 239(1) of the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020.

Immersion Suits

127 The marking of an immersion suit and its storage container referred to in section 9 of Canadian General Standards Board Standard CAN/CGSB-65.16-M89, published in February 1989 and entitled Marine Abandonment Immersion Suit Systems, shall be in English and French.

Lifejackets

127.1 Every lifejacket carried on a ship shall be readily accessible for immediate use and stowed in a location that is conspicuously marked.

Signs

• 128 (1) Signs that indicate the location of survival craft, launching devices, emergency equipment, muster stations or embarkation stations and that provide directions to muster or embarkation stations shall

  • (a) be clearly visible under emergency lighting conditions; and

  • (b) use

    • (i) in the case of an existing ship, words in English and French or symbols; and

    • (ii) in the case of a new ship, symbols.

• (2) Symbols shall be those set out in International Maritime Organization Resolution A.760(18), adopted on November 4, 1993 and entitled Symbols Related to Life-Saving Appliances and Arrangements, as amended from time to time.

• (3) Where symbols referred to in subsection (2) require the use of words, the words shall be in English and French.

Launching Devices

129 Launching devices shall meet the requirements set out

• (a) in the case of an existing ship, in Part I or II of Schedule IX; and

• (b) in the case of a new ship, in Part II of Schedule IX.

Securing and Packing of Lifeboat, Rescue Boat and Emergency Boat Equipment

• 130 (1) Subject to subsection (2), all equipment that is carried on a lifeboat, rescue boat or emergency boat shall be

  • (a) secured in the boat by lashings, stowed in lockers or compartments or secured to brackets or other similar mountings;

  • (b) secured so that it does not interfere with procedures for abandoning ship; and

  • (c) packed in as light and compact a form as is practicable.

• (2) So that they are readily available for immediate use in fending off, boat-hooks shall not be secured.

Lifebuoys and Lifebuoy Equipment

• 131 (1) Lifebuoys and lifebuoy equipment shall meet the requirements of Schedule XIV.

• (2) Every lifebuoy carried on a ship shall be marked, in letters that are in a colour that contrasts with that of the lifebuoy and are not less than 100 mm in height, with the ship’s name and port of registry.

Means of Embarkation into Survival Craft

132 Means of embarkation into survival craft shall meet the requirements set out in Schedule VI.

Muster Stations and Embarkation Stations

133 Every new ship that is a passenger ship shall have muster stations that

• (a) are in the vicinity of, and permit ready access by passengers to, the embarkation stations; and

• (b) subject to section 135, provide a clear area of at least 1 m² for every four passengers assigned to that station for marshalling and instruction.

134 Every new ship that is a passenger ship shall have embarkation stations each of which provides

• (a) where a marine evacuation system is used, a clear area with enough space to allow a continuous and unencumbered flow of passengers from the muster station to the head of the evacuation system; or

• (b) in any other case and subject to section 135, a clear area of at least 1 m² for every two persons to be embarked into survival craft from that station.

135 Where a muster station and an embarkation station share a common area on a new ship that is a passenger ship, the common area shall provide at least 1 m² for every four persons to be mustered there and embarked into survival craft from there, in addition to the space required to launch the survival craft.

136 Every embarkation station on a new ship that is a cargo ship shall have an area of at least 1 m² for every two persons to be embarked into survival craft from that station.

137 Muster and embarkation stations for davit-launched survival craft on new ships shall be arranged so as to enable persons on stretchers to be placed in survival craft.

138 Every muster station and every embarkation station shall be

• (a) readily accessible from accommodation and service areas; and

• (b) adequately illuminated, with lighting capable of being supplied from the ship’s emergency electrical power source.

• 139 (1) Every approach route to a muster station or an embarkation station, including alley-ways, stairways and exits, shall be adequately illuminated, with lighting capable of being supplied from the ship’s emergency electrical power source.

• (2) Every ship shall be capable of supplying lighting to illuminate, during the preparation and launching of survival craft, the survival craft, their launching devices and the area of water into which they are to be launched.

Stowage and Handling of Survival Craft

General Requirements

140 Where davits are required for lifeboats, rescue boats or emergency boats, a separate set of davits shall be provided for each boat.

141 A survival craft under launching devices shall be capable of being launched with its full complement and equipment, under 10° of trim and listing 20°.

• 142 (1) Where a life raft or an inflatable rescue platform is carried in such a position that it may be lost or damaged by weather or another cause, it shall be secured with a lashing that incorporates a senhouse slip, hydrostatic release or other quick-release device.

• (2) Every ship that is under 25 m in length shall carry its life rafts and inflatable rescue platforms

  • (a) placed in deep chocks, without lashings, so as to float free if the ship sinks; or

  • (b) secured by a lashing fitted with a hydrostatic release unit.

• 143 (1) Survival craft that require launching devices shall be stowed as close to accommodation and service areas as possible.

• (2) Launching stations shall be located so that survival craft may be launched

  • (a) safely, taking into account the clearance from the propeller and steeply overhanging portions of the hull; and

  • (b) insofar as it is possible, down the straight side of the ship, unless the survival craft are specially designed for free-fall launching.

• (3) Where launching stations are positioned forward, they shall be located abaft the collision bulkhead in a sheltered position.

• (4) The preparation and handling of survival craft at any one launching station shall not interfere with the prompt handling of any other survival craft at any other station.

• (5) Every survival craft shall be stowed

  • (a) as near the waterline as is safe and practicable;

  • (b) so that, when in the embarkation position, it is not less than 2 m above the waterline when the ship is loaded with its full complement and equipment, under 10° of trim and listing by the lesser of 20° and the angle at which the ship’s weatherdeck edge becomes submerged;

  • (c) in a state of continuous readiness so that two crew members may carry out preparation for embarking and launching in less than five minutes; and

  • (d) in such a position as to prevent flooding by any discharge from the ship when the survival craft is being lowered to the water.

• (6) Paragraph (5)(b) does not apply to an inflatable life raft that does not require launching devices.

Lifeboats

• 144 (1) Lifeboats for lowering down the side of the ship shall be stowed

  • (a) on ships under 80 m in length, as far forward of the propeller as is practicable;

  • (b) on cargo ships 80 m or over but under 120 m in length, so that the after end of the lifeboat is not less than the length of the lifeboat forward of the propeller; and

  • (c) on passenger ships 80 m or over in length and cargo ships 120 m or over in length, so that the after end of the lifeboat is not less than 1.5 times the length of the lifeboat forward of the propeller.

• (2) Lifeboats in their stowed location shall be protected from damage by heavy seas insofar as it is practicable.

• (3) Lifeboats shall be stowed attached to their launching devices.

• (4) Lifeboats shall be capable of being launched, where necessary utilizing painters, with the ship making headway at speeds of up to five knots in calm water.

Life Rafts

• 145 (1) Life rafts shall be stowed so as to permit manual release from their securing arrangements.

• (2) Life rafts that are designed to be davit-launched shall be

  • (a) stowed within reach of their lifting hooks; or

  • (b) provided with a means of transfer that is not rendered inoperable by

    • (i) the ship’s motion,

    • (ii) a power failure,

    • (iii) a list of 20° of the ship, or

    • (iv) a trim of 10° of the ship.

• 146 (1) On a passenger ship, every life raft that is boarded from a location on deck that is more than 4 m above the waterline of the ship in its lightest seagoing condition shall be davit-launched.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of an existing ship that is a Class II, Class III or Class IV ship referred to in

  • (a) subparagraph 10(d)(ii);

  • (b) subparagraph 11(c)(ii);

  • (c) subparagraph 12(b)(ii);

  • (d) subparagraph 14(d)(ii); or

  • (e) paragraph 16(1)(d).

• 147 (1) Subject to subsection (2), if a life raft on a ship that is not a passenger ship is stowed more than 4 m above the waterline of the ship in its lightest seagoing condition, it shall be davit-launched unless it

  • (a) has a mass of not more than 185 kg; or

  • (b) is stowed for launching directly from the stowed position, from which it may be safely launched against a trim of 10° and a list of 20°.

• (2) If the ship carries life rafts for more than 200 per cent of the complement, those life rafts in excess of 200 per cent need not be davit-launched.

Rescue Boats and Emergency Boats

• 148 (1) Rescue boats and emergency boats shall be stowed

  • (a) in a state of continuous readiness and capable of being launched in less than five minutes; and

  • (b) in a location suitable for launching and recovery.

• (2) A rescue boat that is also a lifeboat shall meet the requirements of section 144.

• (3) Every rescue boat, when loaded with its full complement and equipment, shall be capable of being hoisted at a rate of not less than 0.3 m/s.