2 Definitions

 In this Code:

“"A" class” divisions are those divisions formed by bulkheads and decks which comply with the criteria described in SOLAS Chapter II-2 Regulation 3;

“Accommodation space” means any space, enclosed on all sides by solid divisions, provided for the use of persons on-board;

“Administration” means the Government of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly;

“Annual examination” means a general or partial examination of the vessel, its machinery, fittings and equipment, as far as can readily be seen, to ascertain that it had been satisfactorily maintained as required by the Code and that the arrangements, fittings and equipment provided are as documented in the Compliance Examination and Declaration report form SWB2. The hull, shell fittings, external steering and propulsion components of the vessel should be examined out of the water at intervals not exceeding 3 years. The Certifying Authority may stipulate a lesser interval in consideration of hull construction material or the age or the type and service of the vessel;

“Approved” means approved by or acceptable to the MCA under Merchant Shipping legislation, unless otherwise specified in the Code;

“as amended” refers to any other document that replaces, revokes or amends the document that the term “as amended” follows;

“Authorised person” means a person who by reason of relevant professional qualifications, practical experience or expertise is authorised by the Certifying Authority chosen by the owner/managing agent from those listed in the Code to carry out examinations required under section 27 of the Code;

“"B" class” divisions are those divisions formed by bulkheads, decks, ceilings or linings which comply with the criteria described in SOLAS Chapter II-2 Regulation 3;

“Bare boat charter” means a charter for which the charterer provides the Master and the crew;

“Boats fitted with a buoyant collar” means a rigid inflatable vessel, or a vessel of similar hull form, where the inflatable tubes are replaced by solid, or hollow, buoyant sections;

“Cargo” for the purpose of the Code means all items which are transported by the vessel except fuel for the vessel, ballast (either solid or liquid), consumables to be used on board, permanent outfit and equipment of the vessel, stores and spare gear for the vessel, crew and their personal baggage, passengers and their personal baggage, industrial personnel and their equipment and personal baggage;

“Category C waters” means waters designated category C waters in the Merchant Shipping (Categorisation of Waters) Regulations 1992, (SI 1992 No. 2356), as amended, and Merchant Shipping Notice MSN 1837(M) – Categorisation of Waters;

“Category D waters” means waters designated category D waters in the Merchant Shipping (Categorisation of Waters) Regulations 1992, (SI 1992 No. 2356), as amended, and Merchant Shipping Notice 1837(M) – Categorisation of Waters;

“Certificate” means the certificate appropriate to a vessel to which the Code is applied which the Merchant Shipping (Small Workboats and Pilot Boats) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No. 1609), as amended, -require to have been issued. See section 1.1;

“Certifying Authority^footnote” means either the MCA or one of the organisations authorised by the MCA to:

• a) appoint persons for the purpose of examining vessels and issuing and signing Declarations of Examinations; and

• b) issue Certificates.

The organisations so authorised by the MCA are identified in a Marine Information Note^footnote;

“Charter” means an agreement between the owner/managing agent and another party which allows that other party to operate the vessel, and the “Charterer” is that other party;

“Code” means this Code unless another Code is specified;

“Compartment” means all living and working spaces within the watertight or fire-resisting boundaries on any one level which have inter-communicating access;

“Competent harbour authority” has the same meaning as it has in the Pilotage Act 1987;

"Competent Authority" in respect of manning qualifications (Appendix 3) means either the MCA or an organisation that issues Certificates of Competence which has applied for and been granted recognition by the MCA as having the appropriate technical and administrative expertise;

“Competent Person” in respect of fire extinguisher servicing (section 15) has the same meaning as it does in BS 5306 : Part 3^footnote ; 2003 which is a person with the necessary training, experience, with access to the relevant tools, equipment and information, manuals and knowledge of any special procedures recommended by the manufacturer of the portable fire extinguisher, to carry out the relevant maintenance procedures;

“Competent person” with respect to LOLER and PUWER Regulations is intended to mean a person possessing the knowledge or experience necessary for the performance of the duties under the LOLER and PUWER Regulations;

“Compliance examination” means an examination of the vessel, its machinery, fittings and equipment, by an authorised person, to ascertain that the vessel’s structure, machinery, fittings and equipment comply with the requirements of the Code. Part of the examination should be conducted when the vessel is out of the water. Part of the examination should be conducted when the vessel is in the water;

For simple vessels (e.g. RHIBs) of a design, with no through hull fittings below the water line the Certifying Authority may exercise discretion in carrying out the compliance examination entirely out of the water;

“Control position” means a conning position which is continuously manned whilst the vessel is under way;

“Cooker” means a galley stove designed for cooking that makes use of burners, an oven, a broiler or any combination of these items;

“Coxwain” has the same meaning as Master within the code;

“Crew” means a person employed or engaged in any capacity on-board a vessel on the business of the vessel;

“Critical Downflooding” is deemed to occur when openings having an aggregate area, in square metres, greater than:

• vessel’s displacement in tonnes

  1500

are immersed. Moreover, it is the angle at which the lower edge of the actual opening which results in critical flooding becomes immersed. All openings regularly used for crew access and for ventilation should be considered when determining the downflooding angle. Air pipes to tanks can, however, be disregarded. Where an appropriate ISO standard is used, the definition should be taken from those standards as applicable;

“Daylight ” means one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset. In tropical waters this is to be from sunrise to sunset;

“Decked vessel” means a vessel with a continuous watertight weather deck which extends from stem to stern and has positive freeboard throughout, in any condition of loading of the vessel. Where an appropriate ISO standard is used, the definition should be taken from those standards as applicable;

“Design Category” means a description of the wind and sea conditions for which a vessel is considered suitable under the EC Directive 94/25/EC of 16^th June 1994, as amended by 2003/44/EC, on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft, and used for the application of relevant ISO and CEN standards. See table below;

“DfT” means the UK Government’s Department for Transport;

“Diesel” means Marine Gas Oil and refers to gas oil, diesel fuel and heating oil, light which are categorised under UN 1202;

“Efficient” in relation to a fitting, piece of equipment or material means that all reasonable and practicable measures have been taken to ensure that it is suitable for the purpose for which it is intended. See 1.17;

“Existing vessel” means a vessel which is not a new vessel;

"Favourable weather" with respect to a small vessel means conditions existing throughout a voyage or excursion in which the effects either individually or in combination of swell, height of waves, strength of wind and visibility cause no hazard to the safety of the vessel, including handling ability.

In making a judgement on favourable weather, the Master should have due regard to official weather forecasts for the service area of the vessel or to weather information for the area which may be available from the Coastguard or similar coastal safety organisation;

“Float-free” launching is that method of launching a liferaft or EPIRB whereby the raft or EPIRB is automatically released from a sinking ship and is ready for use.

• In the context of a vessel in commercial use, “automatically released” means release from the liferaft / EPIRB stowage location and release of the painter line through use of a weak link or similar.

• In the context of a vessel in commercial use, “ready for use” means: in the case of a liferaft the raft is inflated and ready for embarkation.

“Freeboard” means the distance measured vertically downwards from the lowest point of the upper edge of the weather deck to the waterline in still water or, for an open vessel, the distance measured vertically downwards from the lowest point of the gunwale to the waterline;

“FTP Code” means the International Code for Application of Fire Test Procedures (Resolution MSC.61(67)) including fire test procedures referred to in and relevant to the FTP Code, published by the International Maritime Organization;

“GNSS” means global navigation satellite systems, including GLONAS, GPS and Galileo systems;

“Heater” and “Heating appliance” means an appliance designed to heat air or water or a solid medium by means of combusting liquid fuel;

“Height of Side” with respect to an open boat means the distance between the waterline and the lowest point of the gunwale. The clear height should be measured to the top of the gunwale or capping or to the top of the wash strake if one is fitted above the capping;

“High Holding Power (HHP) Anchor” means an anchor that can be shown to have holding powers of at least twice those of a standard stockless anchor of the same mass;

“High Speed” means an operating speed of 20 knots or more;

“IMDG Code” means the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, as amended, published by the International Maritime Organization;

“Immersion Suit” means a protective suit which reduces the body heat-loss of a person wearing it in cold water and complies with the requirements of the Marine Equipment Directive (MED);

“IMO” means the International Maritime Organization;.

“Industrial Personnel” means all persons other than the crew or passengers or children of under one year of age, on board for transport or accommodation:

• .1 are transported or accommodated on board for the purpose of offshore industrial activities^footnote;
• .2 are able bodied and meet appropriate medical standards^footnote;
• .3 have received basic safety training, according to relevant industry standards^footnote;
• .4 have an understanding of the layout of the ship and the handling of the ship's safety equipment before departure from port (e.g. through a safety briefing); and
• .5 are equipped with appropriate personal safety equipment suitable for the risks to safety such personnel are likely to experience on the forthcoming voyage (e.g. immersion suits).

“Inflatable Boat” means a vessel which attains its form through inflatable tubes only, which are not attached to a solid hull;

“Land” means the sea shore above the line of mean high water mark;

“Length” means the overall length from the foreside of the foremost fixed permanent structure to the aft side of the aftermost fixed permanent structure of the vessel. With regard to inflatable, rigid inflatable boats, or boats fitted with a buoyant collar, length should be taken from the foremost part of tube or collar, to the aft most part of the tube or collar.

“Light Duty Workboat” - means a vessel that is certificated under the Small Commercial Vessel codes or complying with another acceptable standard described in 25.10, which can also be issued with a “Light Duty Workboat” certificate under the conditions stated in section 25.10;

“Liquid fuel” means fuel that is liquid at atmospheric pressure and used for heating or for a cooker;

“Load Line Assigning Authority” means an Authorised Organisation listed in MSN 1672 (M+F) Amendment 3 Ship Inspection and Survey Organisations and European Directive 2009/15/EC, as amended.

"Load line length" in relation to a ship means the greater of the following distances -

• (a) 96% of the total length on a waterline at 85% of the least moulded depth measured from the top of the keel, or

• (b) the length from the fore-side of the stem to the axis of the rudder stock on that waterline.

Where the stem contour is concave above the waterline at 85% of the least moulded depth, both the forward terminal of the total length and the fore-side of the stem respectively shall be taken at the vertical projection to that waterline of the aftermost point of the stem contour (above that waterline). In ships designed with a rake of keel the waterline on which this length is measured shall be parallel to the designed waterline;

"Load-bearing division" is a deck or bulkhead including stiffeners, pillars, stanchions and other structural members which, if eliminated, would adversely affect the designated structural strength of the ship.

“Long international voyage” means any voyage where a vessel is more than 200 miles from a safe haven, or the length of the voyage from departure to arrival more than 600 miles;

“Machinery space” means any space which contains propelling machinery, boilers, oil fuel units, steam, internal combustion engines, generators and liquid fuelled heating appliances. Spaces containing machinery of a unique or novel design may be subject to special consideration;

“Marine Information Note” (MIN) means a Note described as such and issued by the MCA, and reference to a specific Merchant Shipping Notice includes reference to any Marine Information Note amending or replacing that Note which is considered by the Secretary of State to be relevant from time to time;

“Marine Guidance Note” (MGN) means a Note described as such and issued by the MCA, and reference to a specific Marine Guidance Note includes reference to any Marine Guidance Note amending or replacing that Note which is considered by the Secretary of State to be relevant from time to time;

“Maritime and Coastguard Agency” means the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), an executive agency of the Department for Transport, and any superseding and preceding organisation;

“MARPOL” means The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, as amended, published by the International Maritime Organization;

“Master” has the same meaning as “master” provided by section 313 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (Ch. 21)^footnote;

“Maximum permissible weight” means the maximum total permissible weight of persons and their effects, cargo, and activity related equipment, i.e. diving equipment;

“MED” means European Council Directive 96/98/EC of 20 December 1996 on Marine Equipment, as amended, or 2014/90/EU after 18 September 2016;

“Member State of the European Economic Area” means a State which is a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992, as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17 May 1993 and subsequently by the 2004 EEA Enlargement Agreement, and subsequently by the 2007 EEA Enlargement Agreement;

“Merchant Shipping Act”, “Merchant Shipping Order”, “Merchant Shipping Regulations” and “Merchant Shipping Rules” referred to in the Code mean the reference specified and includes the document issued under the appropriate statutory power which either amends or replaces the reference specified;

“Merchant Shipping Notice” (MSN) means a Notice described as such and issued by the MCA, and reference to a specific Merchant Shipping Notice includes reference to any Merchant Shipping Notice amending or replacing that Notice which is considered by the Secretary of State to be relevant from time to time and is specified in a Merchant Shipping Notice;

“Mile” means a nautical mile of 1852 metres;

“Modification” means any material change to the vessel or its equipment that would affect the vessel’s compliance with statutory requirements, or that would require an amendment to its statutory certification, including the WB2;

“Motor vessel” means a power driven vessel which is not a sailing vessel;

“Multihull vessel” means any vessel which in any normally achievable operating trim or heel angle, has a rigid hull structure which penetrates the surface of the sea over more than one separate or discrete area;

"New vessel" means a vessel to which this Code applies, the keel of which was laid or the construction or lay-up was started on or after the first day on which this revised Code came into force or any vessel where there has not been a valid certificate for the previous five years;

“Nominated departure point(s)” means the designated point(s) of departure of the vessel, as specified on the vessels certificate. Where this point lies within Category C or Category D waters, it is to be taken as the seaward boundary of these waters.

“Officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means:

• (a) a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity; or

• (b) an individual in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of that body corporate, or of any other body corporate which is its controller, are accustomed to act;

“Open boat” for the application of the Code means a vessel which within its length is:

• .1 not fitted with a watertight weather deck; or

• .2 is fitted with a watertight weather deck over part of its length; or

• .3 is fitted with a watertight weather deck over the whole of its length but the freeboard to the deck does not meet the minimum requirement for freeboard (section 12);

“Owner/managing agent” means the registered owner, or the owner or managing agent of the registered owner or owner, or owner ipso facto, as the case may be, and “Owners/managing agents” should be construed accordingly;

"Passenger" means any person carried on a ship except:

• (a) a person employed or engaged in any capacity on the business of the vessel,

• (b) a person on board the vessel either in pursuance of the obligation laid upon the Master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons, or by reason of any circumstance that neither the Master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) could have prevented or forestalled,

• (c) a child of under one year of age

“Pilot boat” means a boat employed or intended to be employed in pilotage services, and “Dedicated pilot boat” means a pilot boat of whatever size which is primarily employed in pilotage services and other occasional services undertaken such as the carriage of personnel, mail, and / or small quantities of stores to or from vessels in the pilotage district;

“Plastic(s)” means both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials, with or without reinforcement, such as uPVC and fibre reinforced plastics(FRP). The definition includes synthetic rubber and materials of similar thermo/mechanical properties.

"Pleasure vessel" as defined in the Merchant Shipping (Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No. 2771), as amended, means:

• (a) any vessel which at the time it is being used is:

  • (i)(aa) in the case of a vessel wholly owned by an individual or individuals, used only for the sport or pleasure of the owner or the immediate family or friends of the owner; or

  • (bb) in the case of a vessel owned by a body corporate, used only for sport or pleasure and on which the persons on board are employees or officers of the body corporate, or their immediate family or friends; and

  • (ii) on a voyage or excursion which is one for which the owner does not receive money for or in connection with operating the vessel or carrying any person, other than as a contribution to the direct expenses of the operation of the vessel incurred during the voyage or excursion; or

• (b) any vessel wholly owned by or on behalf of a members’ club formed for the purpose of sport or pleasure which, at the time it is being used, is used only for the sport or pleasure of members of that club or their immediate family, and for the use of which any charges levied are paid into club funds and applied for the general use of the club; and

• (c) in the case of any vessel referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b) above no other payments are made by or on behalf of users of the vessel, other than by the owner.

In this definition “immediate family” means-

• In relation to an individual, the spouse or civil partner of the individual, and a relative of the individual’s spouse or civil partner;

and “relative” means brother, sister, ancestor or lineal descendant;

“Protected Waters” means waters not categorised in Merchant Shipping (Categorisation of Waters) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No. 2356), as amended, and Merchant Shipping Notice MSN 1837(M), but the location of which are explicitly defined and accepted as protected by the Administration, having regard for the safety of the small vessels which operate in those waters;

"Recess" means an indentation or depression in a deck and which is surrounded by the deck and has no boundary common with the shell of the vessel. Where an appropriate ISO standard is used, the definition should be taken from those standards as applicable;

“Renewal examination” means a similar examination to the Compliance examination.

For simple vessels (e.g. RHIBs) of a design, with no through hull fittings below the water line, the Certifying Authority may exercise discretion in conducting the compliance and renewal examinations while the vessel is out of the water;

“Rigid inflatable boat” means a vessel with inflatable tubes, attached to a solid hull. The tubes are inflated during normal craft operation;

"Safe haven" means a harbour or shelter of any kind which affords safe entry and protection from the force of weather;

“Seafarer” means any person, including the Master, who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship on the business of the ship and whose normal place of work is on a ship;

“Similar stage of construction” means a stage at which:

• (a) construction identifiable with a specific vessel begins; and
• (b) assembly of that vessel, comprising at least 1% of the estimated mass of all structural material, has commenced;

“Skipper” has the same meaning as “Master” within the Code;

"Small vessel" means a vessel of less than 24 metres in load line length, or in the case of a vessel the keel of which was laid or which was at a similar stage of construction before 21^st July 1968, less than 150 tons and in this definition –

• (a) “Similar stage of construction” means a stage at which
  • (i) construction identifiable with a specific vessel begins; and

  • (ii) assembly of that vessel, comprising at least 1% of the estimated mass of all structural material, has commenced; and
• (b) “Tons” means gross tons, measured in accordance with the regulations for measuring tonnage in force on 20^th July 1968;

“SOLAS” means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, and it’s Protocol of 1988, as amended;

“Standards” means those recognised such as BS (British Standard), EN (European Standard accepted by the European Committee for Standardization, CEN), IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) identified in the Code should include any standards which amend or replace them;

“Steel or other equivalent material” means any non combustible material which, by itself or due to insulation provided, has structural and integrity properties equivalent to steel at the end of the applicable exposure to the standard fire test (e.g., aluminium alloy with appropriate insulation being such that the temperature of the core does not rise more than 200°C above the ambient temperature in 30 minutes or 60 minutes as determined by the fire endurance.)

"To sea" means, for the purpose of this Code, beyond Category D waters, or Category C waters if there are no Category D waters, as defined in Merchant Shipping Notice 1827 (M) – “Categorisation of Waters”;

"United Kingdom ship" has the same meaning as in section 85(2)^footnote of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (Ch.21). “United Kingdom vessel” has the same meaning;

“up to” means, for the purposes of this Code, up to but not including the maximum value, e.g. up to 20 miles means to just less than 20 miles;

“vessel” means any ship^footnote to which the Merchant Shipping (Small Workboats and Pilot Boats) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No. 1609), as amended applies;

“vessel in commercial use” includes any vessel, including any “pleasure vessel”, while it is in possession of a broker, ship repairer or other such person for the purposes of his business;

“Void space” is any space, having no practical function on board the vessel, not capable of readily collecting water under normal operating circumstances;

"Watertight" means capable of preventing the passage of water in either direction;

"Weather deck" means the main deck which is exposed to the elements;

"Weathertight" means capable of preventing the admission of a significant quantity of water into the vessel when subjected to a hose test;

"Workboat" in the Code means a small vessel in commercial use for purposes other than sport or pleasure, including a dedicated pilot boat.