1.1 An explicit element of the Code of Safety
for High-Speed Craft, 2000 (2000 HSC Code –
“the Code”) is that unrestricted operation is not suitable
for high-speed craft and that operating limitations are necessary.
In this regard, attention is drawn to paragraphs 1.2, 1.3.4 and 1.4.61
of the Code.
1.2 These Guidelines for uniform operating limitations
of high-speed craft have been prepared to assist in the uniform implementation
of the Code as amended in 2007, in particular paragraph 1.9.7 and annex 12, and to provide information on
the rationale underpinning such operating limitations.
1.3 It should be noted that the factors listed
in annex 12 of the Code are prefaced
by the words “as a minimum” and may, where appropriate,
be supplemented by other factors where the flag and/or port State
Administrations are of the view that those additional factors are
applicable to the satisfactory operations of the craft under the Permit
to Operate.
1.4 Matters determining the operating limitations
set out in the craft’s Permit to Operate, as outlined in these
Guidelines, may relate to one or more of the following three sectors:
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.1 those affecting the safety of the craft as
a whole;
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.2 those specifically affecting the safety of
the passengers and crew as individuals; and
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.3 those affecting the safety of persons outside
the craft.
1.5 The operating limitations established under
these Guidelines should relate to the craft’s normal operations.
For example, if an automatic ride control system is normally used
in conditions approaching the worst operating conditions,
then that system should be assumed operational for the establishment
of the operating limitations but should also be included in the FMEA
analysis specified in the Code.
1.6 Any operating limitations resulting from consideration
of all the relevant factors outlined in the following sections of
these Guidelines should define the permitted operational envelope
for the craft. Those limitations should be described in clear but
succinct terms on the Permit to Operate and the Craft Operating Manual
and clearly communicated to the craft’s operating personnel.