[07 June 2022] G.S.R.
425(E).-Whereas draft of the Inland Vessels (Life Saving Appliances) Rules,
2022 were published, as required under sub-section (1) of section 106 of the
Inland Vessels Act, 2021 (24 of 2021), vide notification of the Government of
India in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways vide number G.S.R.
140(E) dated the 22nd February, 2022 in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary,
Part-II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) dated the 22nd February, 2022 inviting
objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby
before the expiry of the period of thirty days from the date on which copies of
the Gazette containing the said notification were made available to public; And, whereas, copies
of the said Gazette notification were made available to the public on 22nd
February, 2022; And, whereas the
objections and suggestions received from the public in respect of the said
draft rules have been considered by the Central Government. Now, therefore in
exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 51 and clause
(e) of subsection (1) of section 98 read with clause (zl) and (zza) of
sub-section (2) of section 106 of the Inland Vessels Act, 2021, the Central
Government hereby makes the following rules, namely. (1)
These rules may be called
the Inland Vessels (Life Saving Appliances) Rules, 2022. (2)
Save as otherwise provided,
these rules shall come into force on the date of their publication in the
Official Gazette. (1)
In these rules, unless the
context otherwise requires, (a)
"Act" means the
Inland Vessels Act, 2021(24 of 2021); (b)
"existing vessel"
or "existing inland vessel" means any inland vessel which is not any
new inland vessel that falls within the ambit of the definition of "inland
vessel" as defined in clause (q) of section 3 of the Act; (c)
"major conversion or
modification" means any of the following- (i)
change in gross tonnage of
the vessel by more than ten per cent.; (ii)
change of vessel type; (iii)
change of propulsion system
or main engines or type of fuel. (d)
"new inland
vessel" means any inland vessel whose keel is laid or which is at a
similar stage of construction on or after the date of coming into force of
these rules. (2)
Words and expressions used
and not defined in these rules but defined in the Act, shall have the meanings
respectively assigned to them in the Act. (1)
All existing inland vessels
shall comply with the requirements existing prior to coming into force of these
rules: Provided that the
existing inland vessels that undergo major conversion or modification shall
comply with the requirements specified under these rules, as may be considered
necessary by the Designated Authority: Provided
further that in the case of change of propulsion system or main engines, the
new rules shall apply to that equipment and systems only: Provided also that
existing vessels shall comply with the requirements of provision of life
jackets, life buoys and life-raft or buoyant apparatus specified in rule 7 and
the safety equipment plan specified in Rule 16 within one year from the date of
coming into force of these rules. (2)
The owner and master of any
new inland vessel, shall ensure that the vessel is constructed, maintained and
operated in accordance with the requirements of these rules and that the vessel
is suitable for its intended service. (3)
No new inland vessel shall
be issued with the certificate of survey under the Act and the Inland Vessels
(Survey and Certification) Rules, 2022, unless such vessel complies with the
design and carriage requirements for life saving appliances that the inland
vessel shall carry, or those standards or requirements that are operational or
procedural in nature. (4)
For the purpose of these
rules, the Surveyor appointed under the Act shall satisfy himself that there is
evidence of procedures in place to demonstrate that the inland vessel shall be
operated in accordance with the requirements under these rules. Any particular piece
of life saving appliances, equipment or machinery that the inland vessels shall
be provided with or carried onboard shall be in accordance with a national or
international standard such as the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) or the
International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). For the purposes of
these rules, the inland vessels shall be classified as Class I - Passenger
vessels; Class II - Cargo
vessels and vessels other than those falling under Class I and Class III; and Class III - Non-self
propelled vessels falling within the ambit of the definition under sub-clause
(ii) of clause (y) of section 3 of the Act. (1)
An inland vessel of Class I
shall carry - (a)
sufficient number of
life-rafts or buoyant apparatus to accommodate at least 100% number of
passengers and crew on board and the number of life rafts or buoyant apparatus
may be as decided by the Designated Authority depending on area of operation
and rescue services available and in vessels of less than 24 metres in length,
buoyant apparatus may be replaced with equivalent number of life buoys; (b)
one life jacket each for
100% of passengers and crew on board; (c)
life jacket for infant, for
2.5% of total number of passengers certified to carry, where infant means
person below 15 kilograms; (d)
life jacket for child, for
10% of total number of passengers certified to carry and for the purpose of
this section, child means person other than infant and below 30 kilograms; (e)
at least four lifebuoys for
vessels up to 24 meters length, six life buoys for vessel 24-45 meters length
and 8 life buoys for vessels greater than 45 meters length and at least two of
the life buoys shall be with selfigniting light and buoyant line of 30 metres
in length; (f)
all class I vessels with
passenger capacity more than 100 passengers shall be provided with a line
throwing apparatus which includes not less than 3 projectiles with line each
capable of carrying the line to a nominal range of 230 meters in calm weather; (g)
every vessel of Class I
passenger capacity of 200 and above passengers and having length more than 45
metres shall have at least one rescue or workboat with minimum passenger
capacity of six persons, which shall be provided with necessary equipment for
launching on either side of the vessel and the rescue or workboats are to be
maintained in working condition by regular servicing and demonstrated during
annual surveys; (h)
all crew should possess
sufficient training in rescue and first aid; and (i)
all boats shall have search
lights and hand torches. (2)
An inland vessel of class II
shall carry - (a)
at least one life raft or
buoyant apparatus to accommodate all crew for vessel over 10 meters and in
vessels of less than 24 metres in length, buoyant apparatus may be replaced
with equivalent number of life buoys; (b)
one life jacket for each
person on board; and (c)
at least two life buoys for
vessels up to 24 meters length and four life buoys for above 24 meters of which
one shall be equipped with retro-reflective tapes and buoyant line of 30 metres
in length. (3)
A manned inland vessel of
class III shall carry - (a)
one life jacket for each
person on board; and (b)
at least two life buoys, one
of which shall be equipped with self- switching light and buoyant line of 30
metres in length. (1)
Every lifesaving appliances
provided as per provisions of these rules shall meet the technical requirements
contained in national or international standards and such equipment shall be
type approved by the Designated Authority. (2)
All life-saving appliances
shall be properly stowed as per the approved plan and maintained or serviced as
per the requirements of these rules. (3)
Life buoys, life rafts and
buoyant apparatus shall be placed on board in such a way, to be capable of
being float - free on submerging. (1)
Before any inland vessel
leaves port and at all times during the voyage, all life-saving appliances on
board shall be in working order and ready for immediate use. (2)
Instructions for on-board
maintenance of life-saving appliances shall be easily understood and
illustrated where possible. (3)
The general emergency alarm
system shall be tested weekly. (4)
Inflatable life-rafts shall
be serviced at intervals of not more than 12 months at an approved servicing
station: Provided that, in
cases where the service of a vessel and the location of approved service
station make it impossible to comply with this requirement, the Designated
Authority may allow this period to be extended but in no case shall the
extension of time period provided under this sub-rule shall be more than 6
months. (5)
A copy of the report of the
inspection shall be retained on board. (1)
Liferafts shall be serviced
annually in accordance with the requirements of the Designated Authority. (2)
Inflatable lifejackets shall
be serviced at least every 2 years, and where any inflatable lifejackets are
used on a regular basis, they shall be serviced annually. (3)
Rescue or workboats are to
be maintained in working condition by annual servicing and demonstrated during
annual surveys. Class II and Class
III (manned) vessels of more than 30 metres in length and all Class I vessels
shall be provided with a general emergency alarm system or a public address
system, which can be used for broadcasting a general emergency alarm and with
respect to class I vessels, the public address system shall also meet the
requirements of sub-rule (1) of rule 14. Life-saving
appliances shall be fitted with retro-reflective material and the dimensions
and location of the material shall be in accordance with national or
international standards. Vessels transiting
locks shall ensure a means of raising alarm in the case of an emergency and
shall carry equipment such as- (1)
safety harness and safety
rope; (2)
ladders and torches, as
appropriate; and (3)
any other equipment or
components as may be specified by the Competent Authority from time to time. (1)
Vessels are to be provided
with a public address system operable from at least one point that can be heard
by all persons onboard and all vessels carrying more than 100 passengers or
more than 30 metres in length shall have a public address system operable from
at least two well separated points. (2)
In vessels carrying not more
than 50 passengers in which the passengers have access to only one passenger
compartment or space, a portable loud hailer may be carried in lieu of the a public
address system as required under sub-rule (1). (3)
Entertainment systems shall
be turned off automatically when the public address system is used and option
for manual shut off shall be available on vessels with loud hailers. (4)
The system shall be used to
inform the passengers of the action they shall take in the event of an
emergency which may lead to the vessel being abandoned and such information,
shall be given either prior to or immediately on leaving the berth. The items
specified in sub rule (7) shall be part of the information provided. Explanation.- In the
case of vessels which operate regular ferry service of short duration where
compliance would result in very frequent broadcasting of the safety message,
other arrangements shall be considered by the Designated authority and such
arrangements may include drawing attention to the relevant safety notices and
the like. (5)
A public address system
shall be powered from the main source of electrical power and from an
alternative source of electrical power situated in a location remote from the
main source and the battery back-up or spare batteries shall be carried for
loudhailers. (6)
Passenger emergency
instructions notice shall be displayed in each passenger compartment and the
number to be displayed shall depend on the layout of the compartments and the
service in which the vessel is engaged. (7)
The requirement of notice as
stipulated in sub-rule (6), shall also be provided in waiting rooms and
terminals, where practicable and the information provided in the notice shall
include- (a)
the method to be used to
inform passengers that an emergency has occurred; (b)
the action that is required
to be taken; (c)
how to use the life-saving
equipment; (d)
how to don a lifejacket; and (e)
where lifejackets are
carried. (1)
All passenger vessels
carrying more than 50 passengers shall carry an agreed and up to date plan for
co-operation with relevant emergency services for the vessels area of
operation. (2)
For the purpose of this
rule, brief details of the passenger vessel, the company and the search and
rescue services shall be exchanged and maintained ready for use and shall
include direct contact details. (3)
Exercises shall be
undertaken periodically to test the plans effectiveness. (4)
Records of such exercises
and names of participants shall be maintained. All vessels of 24
metres length and over are to have a safety equipment plan displayed on board
showing the location of various life saving appliances and all the fire control
and fire fighting appliances fitted or carried on board to be used in an
emergency.Inland Vessels (Life Saving
Appliances) Rules, 2022