7.11 Muster List and Emergency Instructions:

(1) Clear instructions on the procedures to be followed in the event of an emergency shall be provided for every person on board and these instructions shall be drawn up in the language or languages required by the ship’s flag State and in the English language.

(2) Muster lists and emergency instructions complying with the requirements of this section shall be exhibited in conspicuous places throughout the ship including the navigation bridge, engine-room and crew accommodation spaces.

(3) Illustrations and instructions in appropriate languages shall be available in passenger cabins and be conspicuously displayed at muster stations and other passenger spaces to inform passengers of-

• (a) their muster station;

• (b) the essential actions they must take in an emergency; and

• (c) the method of donning lifejackets.

(4) The muster list shall specify-

• (a) details of the general emergency alarm and public address system prescribed by sections 7.9(5) and (6);

• (b) the action to be taken by crew and passengers when this alarm is sounded; and

• (c) how the order to abandon ship will be given.

(5) There shall be in place procedures in place for locating and rescuing passengers trapped in their staterooms

(6) The muster list shall show the duties assigned to the different members of the crew including-

• (a) closing of the watertight doors, fire doors, valves, scuppers, sidescuttles, skylights, portholes and other similar openings in the ship;

• (b) equipping of the survival craft and other life-saving appliances;

• (c) preparation and launching of survival craft;

• (d) general preparation of other life-saving appliances;

• (e) muster of passengers;

• (f) use of communication equipment;

• (g) manning of fire parties assigned to deal with fires; and

• (h) special duties assigned in respect to the use of fire-fighting equipment and installations.

(7) The muster list shall also specify-

• (a) which officers are assigned to ensure that life-saving and fire appliances are maintained in good condition and are ready for immediate use;

• (b) substitutes for key persons who may become disabled, taking into account that different emergencies may call for different actions; and

• (c) the duties assigned to members of the crew in relation to passengers in case of emergency, which duties shall include-

  • (i) warning the passengers;

  • (ii) seeing that they are suitably clad and have donned their lifejackets correctly;

  • (iii) assembling passengers at muster stations;

  • (iv) keeping order in the passageways and on the stairways and generally controlling the movements of the passengers; and

  • (v) ensuring that a supply of blankets is taken to the survival craft.

(8) The muster list shall be prepared before the ship proceeds to sea and if any changes in the crew subsequently take place which necessitate an alteration in the muster list, the master shall either revise the list or prepare a new list.

(9) The format of the muster list used on passenger ships shall be approved by the Administration.