Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)SchedulesSecond ScheduleProtocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974AnnexChapter III : Live-Saving Appliances, etc.Part A — GeneralRegulation 11 : Equipment of lifeboats |
| (a) | The normal equipment of every lifeboat shall consist of— |
| (i) | a single banked complement of buoyant oars, two spare buoyant oars, and a buoyant steering oar; one set and a half of those pins or crutches, attached to the lifeboat by lanyard or chain; a boat hook; |
| (ii) | two plugs for each plug hole (plugs are not required when proper automatic valves are fitted) attached to the lifeboat by lanyards or chains; a baler, and two buckets of approved material; |
| (iii) | a rudder attached to the lifeboat and a tiller; |
| (iv) | two hatches, one at each end of the lifeboat; |
| (v) | a lamp, with oil sufficient for 12 hours; two boxes of suitable matches in a watertight container; |
| (vi) | a mast or masts, with galvanized wire stays together with sails (coloured orange); |
| (vii) | an efficient compass in binnacle, to be luminised or fitted with suitable means of illumination; |
| (viii) | a lifeline becketed round the outside of the lifeboat; |
| (ix) | a sea-anchor of approved size; |
| (x) | two painters of sufficient length. One shall be secured to the forward end of the lifeboat with strop and toggle so that it can be released, and the other shall be firmly secured to the stem of the lifeboat and be ready for use; |
| (xi) | a vessel containing 4½ litres (1 gallon) of vegetable, fish or animal oil. The vessel shall be so constructed that the oil can be easily distributed on the water, and so arranged that it can be attached to the sea-anchor; |
| (xii) | a food ration, determined by the Administration, for each person the lifeboat is certified to carry. These rations shall be kept in airtight receptacles which are to be stowed in a watertight container; |
| (xiii) | watertight receptacles containing 3 litres (6 pints) of fresh water for each person the lifeboat is certified to carry, or watertight receptacles containing 2 litres (4 pints) of fresh water for each person together with an approved desalting apparatus capable of providing 1 litre (2 pints) of drinking water per person; a rustproof dipper with lanyard; a rustproof graduated drinking vessel; |
| (xiv) | four parachute signals of approved type capable of giving a bright red light at a high altitude; six hand flares of an approved type giving a bright red light; |
| (xv) | two buoyant smoke signals of an approved type (for daytime use) capable of giving off a volume of orange-coloured smoke; |
| (xvi) | approved means to enable persons to cling to the boat should it be upturned, in the form of bilge keels or keel rails, together with grab lines secured from gunwale to gunwale under the keel, or other approved arrangements; |
| (xvii) | an approved first-aid outfit in a watertight case; |
| (xviii) | a waterproof electric torch suitable for signalling in the Morse Code together with one spare set of batteries and one spare bulb in a waterproof container; |
| (xix) | a daylight-signalling mirror of an approved type; |
| (xx) | a jack-knife fitted with a tin-opener to be kept attached to the boat with a lanyard; |
| (xxi) | two light buoyant heaving lines; |
| (xxii) | a manual pump of an approved type; |
| (xxiii) | a suitable locker for stowage of small items of equipment; |
| (xxiv) | one whistle or equivalent sound signal; |
| (xxv) | one set of fishing tackle; |
| (xxvi) | one approved cover of a highly visible colour capable of protecting the occupants against injury by exposure; and |
| (xxvii) | one copy of the illustrated table of lifesaving signals referred to in Regulation 16 of Chapter V. |
| (b) | In the case of ships engaged on voyages of such duration that in the opinion of the Administration the items specified in subparagraphs (vi), (xii), (xix), (xx) and (xxv) of paragraph (a) of this Regulation are unnecessary, the Administration may allow them to be dispensed with. |
| (c) | Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this Regulation, motor lifeboats or other approved mechanically propelled lifeboats need not carry a mast or sails or more than half the complement of oars, but they shall carry two boat hooks. |
| (d) | All lifeboats shall be fitted with suitable means to enable persons in the water to climb into the lifeboat. |
| (e) | Every motor lifeboat shall carry portable fire-extinguishing equipment of an approved type capable of discharging froth or other suitable substance for extinguishing oil fires. |