Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)RegulationsMerchant Shipping (Radio Installations) Regulations, 2002Part 3 : Non-GMDSS Requirements25. Serviceability and maintenance requirements |
| (1) | Radio equipment required by this Part must be in an efficient working condition— |
| (a) | whenever the ship goes to sea; and |
| (b) | at all times when the ship is at sea, unless there is a defect in the equipment and maintenance is being carried out or such maintenance is not practicable. |
| (2) | Where any additional equipment, which is not required by this Part, is provided, it must be of such design that any malfunction of any part of that equipment will not adversely affect the operation of the radio equipment required by this Part. |
| (3) | Where appropriate, radio equipment required by this Part must be so constructed and installed that it is readily accessible for inspection and on-board maintenance purposes. |
| (4) | Adequate tools, testing equipment and spare parts, but at least those specified in Annex 4, must be provided on board the ship to enable the equipment to be maintained. Spare parts must be appropriately labelled and must be stowed so as to be readily accessible. |
| (5) | Adequate information, at least in the English language, must be provided on board the ship to enable the equipment to be properly operated and maintained. |
| (6) | In respect of ships to which this Part applies, being ships that are registered or licensed in the Republic, there must be available on board— |
| (a) | a rigging plan of the fitted antennas showing— |
| (i) | elevation and plan views of the antennas; and |
| (ii) | the dimensions of transmitting antennas; and |
| (b) | complete information on the wiring of the radio installation showing all cable interconnections and terminations. |
| (7) | In all ships to which this Part applies a radiotelephone operator must, while at sea, carry out the appropriate equipment tests and battery and reserve energy checks specified in Annex 5. Where the ship has two or more radiotelephone operators, the master must designate one of them to carry out those tests and checks. |
| (8) | If any of the radio equipment required by this Part is not in a working condition, the radiotelephone operator discovering the deficiency must without delay report that fact to the master and record the details of the deficiency in the ship's official logbook or in the radio log required by regulation 37, as the case requires. |