S.I. No. 192/1984:

MERCHANT SHIPPING (RADIO INSTALLATIONS) (AMENDMENT) RULES, 1984.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (RADIO INSTALLATIONS) (AMENDMENT) RULES, 1984.

I, JAMES MITCHELL, Minister for Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 15 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952 (No. 29 of 1952) (as amended by sections 11 and 12 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1966 (No. 20 of 1966)), and the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1983 (No. 40 of 1983), hereby make the following Rules:--

1. These Rules may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Radio Installations) (Amendment) Rules, 1984, and shall come into operation on the 19th day of October, 1984.

2. The Merchant Shipping (Radio Installations) Rules, 1983 ( S.I. No. 308 of 1983 ), are hereby amended as follows:

(a) by the insertion of the following proviso after Rules 13 (3) and 21 (4) thereof--

"Provided that the holder of a certificate specified in sub-paragraph (a) issued on or after the date of coming into operation of these Rules shall not be so qualified unless he is the holder of a valid certificate issued by the Minister or an approved person stating that the holder has satisfied the additional knowledge and training requirements set out in the Fourth Schedule to these Rules or a document recognised by the Minister as the equivalent of such a document and issued by an authority empowered in that behalf by the laws of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or by the laws of any Commonwealth Country.".

(b) by the insertion thereto of the following Schedule after the Third Schedule--

"FOURTH SCHEDULE

Rules 13 (3) and 21 (4)

ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR RADIOTELEPHONE OPERATORS AND RADIO OFFICERS

(a) The provision of radio services in emergencies including:--

(i) abandon ship;

(ii) fire aboard ship;

(iii) partial or full breakdown of the radio station.

(b) The operation of lifeboats, liferafts, buoyant apparatus and their equipment, with special reference to portable and fixed lifeboat radio apparatus and emergency position-indicating radio beacons.

(c) Survival at sea.

(d) First aid.

(e) Fire prevention and fire-fighting with particular reference to the radio installation.

(f) Preventive measures for the safety of ship and personnel in connection with hazards related to radio equipment including electrical, radiation, chemical and mechanical hazards.

(g) The use of the Organisation's Merchant Ship Search and Rescue Manual (MERSAR) published in January, 1981 (including any document amending the Manual which is considered by the Minister to be relevant from time to time and is specified in a Marine Notice) with particular reference to radiocommunications.

(h) Ship position-reporting systems and procedures.

(i) The use of the International Code of Signals and the Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary.

(j) Radio medical systems and procedures.".

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 19th day of July, 1984.

JAMES MITCHELL,

Minister for Communications.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Rules give effect in part to Regulations IV/1 and IV/3 of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (1978).

The Rules amend the Merchant Shipping (Radio Installations) Rules, 1983 ( S.I. No. 308 of 1983 ). They require the holder of a certificate of competency as a radio telephone operator or radio officer on board an Irish registered ship, issued on or after the date of coming into operation of the Rules to hold a certificate stating that the holder has satisfied the additional knowledge and training requirements set out in the new Fourth Schedule.

The publication referred to in paragraph (g) of the Schedule is obtainable from the International Maritime Organisation, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1.