The Rescue Boat Code - GOV.UK

1 The Rescue boat Code The Code of Practice for Open Rescue Boats of Less than 15 Metres in Length Vessel Standards Branch Maritime and Coastguard Agency Bay 2/30 Spring Place 105 Commercial Road Southampton SO15 1EG Tel : +44 (0) 23 8032 9139 Fax : +44 (0) 23 8032 9104 e-mail: General Inquiries: MCA Website Address: File Ref: MS183/001/023 Published: March 2013 Crown Copyright 2013 Safer Lives, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this Code. THE Rescue boat CODE THE CODE OF PRACTICE FOR OPEN Rescue BOATS OF LESS THAN 15 METRES IN LENGTH TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.

2 Foreword 2. Definitions 3. Application and Interpretation Application Applicability of other codes of practice, standards and legislation Certification and Audit Compliance Areas of Operation Management Training Standard Operating Procedures and Incident Action Plans Emergency Procedures Maintenance Requirements Record of Services 4. Construction and Structural Strength Introduction Operational and Design Limits General Requirements boat Construction and Structural Strength Construction and Structural Strength: Rigid Hull Boats and boats fitted with a buoyant collar Construction and Structural Strength: Inflatable boats and Rigid Inflatable Boats Recesses Fixings 5.

3 Weathertight Integrity Openings Skin Fittings Ventilation 6. Water Freeing Arrangements 7. Machinery Propulsion: General Requirements Engine Stop Cords Inboard Engines Outboard Engines Emergency Propulsion Engine Cooling Systems Exhaust Systems Fuel 8. Electrical Arrangements General Requirements Batteries Cables Electrical Protection Switches Earthing and Lightning Protection Electrical Spaces Lighting 9. Steering and Propeller Systems Propeller Bather Guards Waterjets Steering 10. Bilge Pumping 11. Stability Intact Stability Intact Stability: All boats Intact Stability: Rigid Hull boats Intact Stability: Inflatable Boats, RIBs and Boats with a Buoyant Collar Intact Stability: Survivor Recovery All boat types Maximum Personnel capacities Crew and Survivor Weight Definitions Swamping and Drainage Swamping Drainage Damage Stability General Requirements Damage Stability: Rigid Hull Boats Damage Stability: Inflatable Boats Damage Stability.

4 RIBs and Boats with a Buoyant Collar Buoyancy Tube Sub-division for Inflatable Boats, RIBs and Boats with a Hollow Buoyant Collar Sub- division of RIBs and Boats with a Buoyant Collar Damage Stability: Survivor Recovery Dynamic Stability boat Righting Systems Stability When Using Onboard Lifting Devices. Stability Trials Capacity Plate 12. Freeboard All boats Rigid Hull boats Inflatable and Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) 13. Life Saving Appliances including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) General Requirements Lifejackets Operationally Specific PPE Use of Retro-Reflective Materials on Life Saving Appliances Pyrotechnics Training Manual Instruction Manual (on board maintenance) Additional Equipment Requirements 14.

5 Fire Safety 15. Fire Appliances 16. Radio Communications Equipment 17 Launch and Recovery Equipment 18. Navigational Equipment and Navigation Lights 19. boat Storage 20. Anchors and Towing 21. Equipment Stowage 22. Protection of Personnel by Design 23. Medical Care 24. Owner s Manual 25. Maintenance 26. Manning 27 Procedures, Certification, Examination, Maintenance and Reporting of Accidents Introduction Requirements and Procedures for Rescue Boats to be Examined and Certificated Compliance Examination and Issue of a Certificate under the Code Renewal Examination Intermediate Examination Annual Examination Additional Requirements for Inflatable and Rigid Inflatable Boats Appeal Against the Findings of an Examination Maintaining and Operating the Rescue boat Accident Reporting Other Conditions Applying to Certificates Validity and Cancellation of Certificates Rescue Boats other than UK Rescue Boats Operating in UK Waters 28.

6 Safety Procedures Applicability of other Codes of Practice General Requirements Launch of Rescue boat on Service Pre-launch Requirements Transit to Launch Site Launching Rescue boat Under Way Communications boat Handling Navigation Search Rescue Towing Operation in surf Helicopter Operations Cliff / Cave Rescue Carriage of Passengers Fuel Management Afloat Battery Management Afloat Maintenance Afloat Pyrotechnics Ballasting Anchoring and Veering Operation of Equipment Emergencies onboard the Rescue boat Capsize Engine Failure Man Overboard Fire Crew Disablement Collision and Damage Operating in Shallow Water and Grounding Operation During Pollution Incidents Alarms boat Recovery Restoring the boat to a Ready State 29.

7 Pollution Prevention 30. Testing APPENDIX 1: Inflatable boat Stability Trials APPENDIX 2: Training Requirements APPENDIX 3: Risk Assessment Guidelines APPENDIX 4: Guidance on Safety Management System and Documentation APPENDIX 5: Compliance Check List APPENDIX 6: Bibliography and References APPENDIX 7: Compliance Examination and Declaration Report For a Less Than 15 metres Rescue boat (RB2 Form) APPENDIX 8: Code of Practice for Open Rescue Boats Less Than 15 metres in Length, Rescue boat Organisation Declaration APPENDIX 9: Rescue boat Certificate of Compliance APPENDIX 10: General Exemption The Code of Practice for Open Rescue Boats of Less than 15 metres in Length, Rev.

8 05/13 1of 155 1 FOREWORD The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) and a number of Rescue boat Organisations providing Rescue facilities around the United Kingdom recognised that the role of the Rescue boat Organisation was not specifically covered by any formally recognised national standard, given that the MCA s existing Codes for safety of small vessels were not applicable as these Rescue boats did not operate on a commercial basis, and their exposure to risk was limited by both the short distances over which they operated, and the limited time over which they were in operation. The original draft of this Code was completed in 2005 under the lead of the RNLI and a working group comprising representatives of: British Marine Federation (BMF) Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Royal Lifesaving Society UK (RLSS UK) Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Surf Life Saving Great Britain (SLSGB) The boat manufacturing industry Independent Rescue boat Organisations.

9 The working group identified the benefits in developing the Code as: Improved Rescue boat safety; Harmonisation of operations and standards across the Rescue boat field; MCA validation of Rescue boat operations; and Clarification of legal standing of Rescue boat operations. In 2011 the MCA re-drafted the Code, taking into account updates to technical standards, and clarifying the requirements and responsibilities for initial and renewal examinations and MCA audits. There has been minimal change to the technical requirements for Rescue boats other than those that are consequential to other regulatory changes. The opportunity has been taken to remove operational guidance which does not relate to the Rescue boat itself, as well as restructure the Code so that it follows the chapter headings of other MCA small vessel codes.

10 The principal change has been to implement the government commitment to reduce costs for the voluntary sector; reflecting the philosophy that the Big Society should take a more proactive role in managing provision of services to the public; and recognizing that those best able to manage the safety of a boat are those who run it on a regular basis. As a result, the requirement for independent examinations of the Rescue boat has been removed, and replaced by self certification by a Responsible Person of the Rescue boat Organisation, on the advice of a Competent Person. The Code of Practice for Open Rescue Boats of Less than 15 metres in Length Rev.