4.8 Evacuation time
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - International Codes - HSC 2000 Code - International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft, 2000 – Resolution MSC.97(73) - Chapter 4 - Accommodation and escape measures - 4.8 Evacuation time

4.8 Evacuation time

  4.8.1 The provisions for evacuation shall be designed such that the craft can be evacuated under controlled conditions in a time of one third of the structural fire protection time (SFP) provided in 7.4.1 for areas of major fire hazard areas after subtracting a period of 7 min for initial detection and extinguishing action.

where:
SFP = structural fire protection time (min)

In determining the evacuation time, all means of escape are to be considered serviceable and they need not be dimensioned to take into account any additional number of persons that might be diverted from other means of escape if one or more of those other means of escape are lost or rendered unserviceable.

  4.8.2 An evacuation procedure, including an evacuation analysis carried out taking into account the guidelines developed by the Organization,footnote shall be developed for the information of the Administration in connection with the approval of fire insulation plans and for assisting the owners and builders in planning the evacuation demonstration required in 4.8.3. The evacuation procedures shall include:

  • .1 the emergency announcement made by the master;

  • .2 contact with base port;

  • .3 the donning of lifejackets;

  • .4 manning of survival craft and emergency stations;

  • .5 the shutting down of machinery and oil fuel supply lines;

  • .6 the order to evacuate;

  • .7 the deployment of survival craft and marine escape systems and rescue boats;

  • .8 the bowsing in of survival craft;

  • .9 the supervision of passengers;

  • .10 the orderly evacuation of passengers under supervision;

  • .11 crew checking that all passengers have left the craft;

  • .12 the evacuation of crew;

  • .13 releasing the survival craft from the craft; and

  • .14 the marshalling of survival craft by the rescue boat, where provided.

  4.8.3 Achievement of the required evacuation time (as ascertained in accordance with 4.8.1) shall be verified by a practical demonstration conducted under controlled conditions in the presence of the Administration, and shall be fully documented and verified for passenger craft by the Administration.

  4.8.4 Evacuation demonstrations shall be carried out with due concern for the problems of mass movement or panic acceleration likely to arise in an emergency situation when rapid evacuation is necessary. The evacuation demonstrations shall be dry shod with the survival craft initially in their stowed positions and be conducted as follows:

  • .1 The evacuation time on a category A craft shall be the time elapsed from the moment the first abandon craft announcement is given, with any passengers distributed in a normal voyage configuration, until the last person has embarked in a survival craft, and shall include the time for passengers and crew to don lifejackets.

  • .2 The evacuation time on a category B craft and cargo craft shall be the time elapsed from the moment the order to abandon the craft is given until the last person has embarked in a survival craft. Passengers and crew may be wearing lifejackets and prepared for evacuation, and they may be distributed among assembly stations.

  • .3 For all craft the evacuation time shall include the time necessary to launch, inflate and secure the survival craft alongside ready for embarkation.

  4.8.5 The evacuation time shall be verified by an evacuation demonstration which shall be performed using the survival craft and exits on one side, for which the evacuation analysis indicates the greatest evacuation time, with the passengers and crew allocated to them.

  4.8.6 On craft where a half trial is impracticable, the Administration may consider a partial evacuation trial using a route which the evacuation analysis shows to be the most critical.

  4.8.7 The demonstration shall be carried out in controlled conditions in the following manner in compliance with the evacuation plan:

  • .1 The demonstration shall commence with the craft afloat in harbour, in reasonably calm conditions, with all machinery and equipment operating in the normal seagoing condition.

  • .2 All exits and doors inside the craft shall be in the same position as they are under normal seagoing condition.

  • .3 Safety belts, if required, shall be fastened.

  • .4 The evacuation routes for all passengers and crew shall be such that no person need enter the water during the evacuation.

  4.8.8 For passenger craft, a representative composition of persons with normal health, height and weight shall be used in the demonstration, and shall consist of different sexes and ages so far as it is practicable and reasonable.

  4.8.9 The persons, other than the crew selected for the demonstration, shall not have been specially drilled for such a demonstration.

  4.8.10 Where the Administration is satisfied that the evacuation time determined in accordance with 4.8.1 to 4.8.9 can thereby be accurately estimated, the Administration may accept an evacuation demonstration in which persons are not required to descend through MES or equivalent means of evacuation, provided the time required to embark into the survival craft can be determined using:

  • .1 data obtained from the type-approval tests of the equipment, increased by a factor based on the guidelines developed by the Organization;footnoteor

  • .2 time extrapolated from trials using a limited number of participants.

  4.8.11 An emergency evacuation demonstration shall be carried out for all new designs of high-speed craft and for other craft where evacuation arrangements differ substantially from those previously tested.

  4.8.12 The specific evacuation procedure followed during the craft's initial demonstration on which certification is based shall be included in the craft operating manual together with the other evacuation procedures contained in 4.8.2. During the demonstration, video recordings shall be made, both inside and outside the craft, which shall form an integral part of the training manual required by 18.2.

Parent topic: Chapter 4 - Accommodation and escape measures
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