Merchant Shipping (Safety And Load Line Conventions) Act 1932

(1)

Every new or existing ship shall be subjected to the surveys specified below:—

(a)

A survey before the ship is put in service.

(b)

A periodical survey once every twelve months.

(c)

Additional surveys, as occasion arises.

(2)

The surveys referred to above shall be carried out as follows:—

(a)

The survey before the ship is put in serviceshall include a complete inspection of the hull, machinery and equipments, including the outside of the ship’s bottom and the inside and outside of the boilers. This survey shall be such as to ensure that the arrangements, material, and scantlings of the hull, boilers, and their appurtenances, main and auxiliary machinery, life-saving appliances, and other equipments, fully comply with the requirements of the present Convention and of the detailed regulations promulgated as a result thereof by the Government of the country to which the ship belongs for ships of the service for which it is intended. The survey shall also be such as to ensure that the workmanship of all parts of the ship and its equipments is in all respects satisfactory.

(b)

The periodical surveyshall include an inspection of the whole of the hull, boilers, machinery, and equipments, including the outside of the ship’s bottom. The survey shall be such as to ensure that the ship, as regards the hull, boilers, and their appurtenances, main and auxiliary machinery, life-saving appliances, and other equipments, is in satisfactory condition and fit for the service for which it is intended, and that it complies with the requirements of the present Convention, and of the detailed regulations promulgated as a result thereof by the Government of the country to which the ship belongs.

(c)

A survey either general or partial,according to the circumstances, shall be made every time an accident occurs or a defect is discovered which affects the safety of the ship or the efficiency or completeness of its life-saving appliances or other equipments, or whenever any important repairs or renewals are made. The survey shall be such as to ensure that the necessary repairs or renewals have been effectively made, that the material and workmanship of such repairs or renewals are in all respects satisfactory, and that the ship complies in all respects with the provisions of the present Convention and of the detailed regulations promulgated as a result thereof by the Government of the country to which the ship belongs.

(3)

The detailed regulations referred to in sub-paragraph (2) shall prescribe the requirements to be observed as to the initial and subsequent hydraulic tests to which the main and auxiliary boilers, connections, steampipes, high-pressure receivers, and fuel tanks for oil motors are to be submitted, including the test pressure to be applied, and the intervals between two consecutive tests.

Main and auxiliary boilers, connections, tanks and receivers, also steampiping of more than 3 inches (76 millimetres) internal diameter shall be satisfactorily tested by hydraulic pressure when new. Steam pipes of more than 3 inches (76 millimetres) internal diameter shall be tested by hydraulic pressure periodically.