Western Australian Repealed Regulations

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This legislation has been repealed.

FREMANTLE PORT AUTHORITY REGULATIONS 1971 - REG 193

193 .         Vessels with inflammable liquid

                The following provisions shall be observed in respect to any vessel upon which inflammable liquid in quantity exceeding two thousand litres (2 000 litres) is conveyed, loaded or unloaded: — 

        (1)         GENERAL PROVISIONS:

            (a)         Previous Regulations to be Complied With  — the provisions of regulation 191 (General Requirements for all vessels) and of regulation 192 (Vessels with Oil in Bulk) of these regulations shall be complied with.

            (b)         Notice of Intention to Convey, Load or Unload Inflammable Liquid  — The Master, Owner or Agent of the vessel shall give at least twenty-four hours’ notice on the form provided to the Harbour Master of the intention to convey, load or unload inflammable liquid, and of the quantity of inflammable liquid to be conveyed, loaded or unloaded.

            (c)         Red Flag and Red Light  — While within the Port, there shall be displayed on the vessel, by day, a red flag not less than 900 millimetres square, and by night, a red light of approved design at the mast-head or other conspicuous place, but not less than six metres above the deck, so that the flag or light is clear of all obstructions and clearly visible in all directions, provided that, if the vessel is a barge which cannot normally comply with this provision, the master or owner of the barge, shall display by day in a conspicuous position above the deck a red flag of metal, not less than 450 millimetres square, and by night an all round red light of approved design.

            (d)         Copy of Regulations to be Displayed  — A copy of these regulations shall be obtained and placed in a prominent part of the vessel where they can be readily seen by officers and crew.

            (e)         Permit Required to Enter Vessel  — No person other than those actually engaged in the work of loading or unloading inflammable liquid shall be allowed on the vessel without the permission of the master of such vessel.

            (f)         Smoking Prohibited  — No person shall smoke in or on the vessel during the loading or unloading of inflammable liquid.

            (g)         Locomotives not Permitted within Fifteen Metres  — No locomotive on which steam is generated by combustion in open fires shall enter or be permitted to enter on railway tracks within fifteen metres of any vessel carrying inflammable liquid.

            (h)         Steel Hawsers to be placed over side of vessel  — Immediately a vessel carrying inflammable liquid has been berthed a steel wire hawser sufficiently strong to enable the vessel to be hauled away from the wharf thereby shall be placed over both fore and aft ends of such vessel, and such hawsers shall so remain during the whole of the time the vessel remains alongside the wharf.

                  (i)         Prompt Discharge  — Except with the permission of the Harbour Master no vessel shall be berthed alongside any wharf unless that vessel is ready to discharge and to continue to discharge and arrangements have been made by the consignee to immediately receive the inflammable liquid.

            (j)         Officer to be in Charge  — A responsible officer of the vessel shall be on duty day and night to give effect to these regulations.

            (k)         Inspections at other than Ordinary Hours  — All inspections necessitated by the requirements of these regulations during other than the ordinary working hours of the Port, whether carried out aboard the vessel or ashore, shall be payable by the master or agent of the vessel.

            (l)         Inflammable liquid not to be Loaded or Unloaded between Sunset and Sunrise without Permit  — No inflammable liquid shall be loaded or unloaded on or from the vessel at any time between sunset and sunrise unless a permit in writing has been obtained in each instance from the Harbour Master to allow the inflammable liquid to be loaded or unloaded on or from such vessel and the conditions of such permission are duly observed.

            (m)         Supply of Fire Extinguishers, etc.  — Approved fire extinguishers and other approved material shall be provided and so distributed about the vessel as to be available for throwing on any inflammable liquid which may be spilled or ignited.

            (n)         Chipping, Scraping, Hammering Prohibited  — Iron or steel hammers or other instruments capable of causing a spark shall not be used for the purpose of opening or closing hatches or tank lids of a vessel, and except with the written approval of the Harbour Master, chipping, scraping or hammering of iron or steel on a vessel is prohibited when any hold which contains, or has recently contained, inflammable liquid is open, or while there is any inflammable liquid on deck.

            (o)         Towing Vessels  — No vessel (other than a self-propelled vessel) carrying inflammable liquid shall be navigated except in tow of or attended by an efficient tug propelled by steam, electricity or other mechanical power, and not more than two such vessels shall be towed together at one time, either abreast or in train. No vessel (other than a self propelled vessel) carrying inflammable liquid shall be towed alongside a tug unless with the permission in writing of and upon such conditions as shall have been imposed by the Harbour Master.

            (p)         Tanks  — A tank used for conveyance of inflammable liquid on a vessel shall, as far as practicable and applicable, comply with the following: — 

                  (i)         The tank shall be solidly constructed and shall not exceed a capacity approved by the Harbour Master.

                  (ii)         The tank shall be firmly attached to strongly constructed supports.

                  (iii)         The tank shall be efficiently screened from any engine on the vessel by a fire-resisting shield placed at least 150 millimetres from the tank and carried up above the tank and down below it, and the exhaust of the engine shall be wholly in front of this shield if the engine is in front of such tank, or wholly behind this shield if the engine is behind such tank.

                  (iv)         All vent pipes and vacuum relief valves shall be effectively protected by wire gauze as defined.

                  (v)         Effective earthing shall be provided to prevent accumulation of static electricity.

                  (vi)         The bottom end of each fill pipe shall be carried down to near the bottom of the tank to form a liquid seal.

                  (vii)         All fill pipes and dip pipes and other openings of a tank shall be fitted with screw caps, bolted covers, or other means of closing gastight at all times when such fill pipes or dip pipes are not in use for filling or dipping.

                  (viii)         Vent pipes on all tanks shall be properly protected at the outlets by wire gauze as defined and these outlets shall not be less than 3.5 metres above deck and made weatherproof.

                  (ix)         No tank shall be filled with inflammable liquid more than 95 per cent of its capacity and a mark indicating the level at which 95 per cent, of its capacity will be so occupied shall be permanently fixed in the tank.

            (q)         Watchmen:

                  (i)         The Port Authority will supply watchmen, whose duty it shall be to assist in the enforcement of these regulations, and they shall be empowered to enforce the strict observance of these regulations and all other applicable regulations of the Port, and all other instructions received from the Harbour Master to ensure general safety and immunity from danger of accident.

                  (ii)         Watchmen shall guard the vessel and the wharf at which she may be moored during the whole time any inflammable liquid shall remain on or at such vessel.

        [(iii)         deleted]

                  (iv)         The provisions of this clause shall in no way lessen the responsibilities of the Master, Owner or Agents as provided for in paragraph (a) of regulation 191 of these regulations.

        2.         SPECIAL PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO VESSELS WITH INFLAMMABLE LIQUID OTHERWISE THAN IN BULK — 

            (a)         Display of Notices  — Notices, warning the crew and all persons on board or coming on board the vessel, that smoking or any practice likely to cause fire is prohibited shall be displayed in conspicuous positions on the vessel and on the gangways of such vessel.

            (b)         Ventilation of Holds Before Unloading  — All holds containing inflammable liquid in drums, tins or other packages, shall be thoroughly ventilated before and during the time such inflammable liquid is being unloaded.

            (c)         Ventilation of Holds After Unloading  — All holds from which inflammable liquids in drums, tins, or other packages have been unloaded shall be thoroughly ventilated. The bilges shall be carefully cleaned by removing any liquids by hand pumps, suitable wooden bailers, and by swabbing, and afterwards suitably ventilated. Fire or unauthorised light shall not be permitted at or near such hold until a certificate of test shall have been obtained.

            (d)         Stowage  — All inflammable liquid loaded on the vessel shall be properly and securely stowed to the satisfaction of the Harbour Master.

            (e)         Ventilation of Stowage Spaces  — Proper and efficient ventilation for the place of stowage shall be provided, and when required outlet ventilators passing through the deck and terminating just below the deck, and inlet ventilators extending to the bottom of the holds from above the upper deck shall be fixed and all outer and inlet ventilators shall be covered with wire gauze as defined.

            (f)         Battening Down Holds  — Holds after inflammable liquid has been stowed in them shall be securely battened down.

            (g)         Marking of Packages  — All inflammable liquid in packages shall be properly marked or branded to indicate the nature of the inflammable liquid, and all inflammable liquid “Class A” shall be marked “Highly Inflammable”.

            (h)         Hatch Coverings  — Sufficient hatch coverings, and other coverings as may be required by the Harbour Master shall be provided.

                  (i)         Holds to be Closed  — All holds which contain or have recently contained, inflammable liquid, when inflammable liquid or other article is not being loaded into or unloaded from such holds, or such holds are not being cleansed and ventilated, shall be closed gastight as far as practicable.

            (j)         Loading or Unloading General Cargo at Night  — A permit in writing shall be obtained from the Harbour Master to load or unload general cargo after sunset into or from a vessel carrying inflammable liquid, and the following precautions shall be taken: — 

                  (i)         Every hold containing inflammable liquid shall be securely battened down.

                  (ii)         no cargo shall be loaded into or unloaded from any holds unless such hold is separated by watertight and gastight bulkheads, decks, battened down hatchways, or other means from all places on such vessel where vapour from inflammable liquid is likely to be.

            (k)         Stowing Inflammable Liquid in Wooden Vessels  — Stowing inflammable liquid below deck in a wooden vessel is prohibited but a limited quantity may be carried as deck cargo on the weather deck of such vessel provided the inflammable liquid is stowed at a safe distance from the galley, crew’s quarters and openings leading into machinery or boiler spaces.

        (3)         SPECIAL PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO TANK SHIPS — 

            (a)         The master of a tank ship carrying inflammable liquid shall not permit the vessel to enter the Inner Harbour until specially authorised in writing by the Harbour Master and not then until the master of the vessel is in possession of a copy of these regulations, nor shall such master, except with the written permission of the Harbour Master, permit wire ropes to be used in the mooring of the vessel.

            (b)         Access to Tank Ships:

        (1)         Prior to the berthing of a tank ship that portion of the wharf to be occupied by the vessel shall be closed to all traffic and shall remain closed during the whole period the vessel occupies that berth, and no person shall enter or remain within the enclosure or climb about the wharf structure beneath or in the vicinity of such enclosure during such period, unless he is in possession of a permit issued under the authority of the manager, or has been vouched for within the limits of the special permit issued for that purpose under the same authority in order to facilitate access for artisans or other workers connected with the handling of the vessel’s cargo. Persons entering the enclosure shall deposit with the watchman at the point of entry thereto all matches or other means of making a fire or light. Unauthorised persons entering or remaining within such enclosure or upon any tank ship berthed thereat, or any person taking into such enclosure or aboard such vessel matches or other means of making a fire or light shall be guilty of an offence. The loading or unloading of inflammable liquid into or out of a tank ship shall not commence until the necessary barricades to complete the enclosure have been erected, and manned to the satisfaction of the Harbour Master.

                  (ii)         During the period the tank ship is berthed at the wharf the master shall not permit admission to the vessel by any other means than the recognised gangway connecting the vessel with the wharf, nor shall the person in charge of any other vessel permit such vessel to approach within thirty metres of such berth or the tank ship itself, the prohibited area for this purpose being usually marked by red buoys, which each exhibit a fixed red light at night, and a red flag by day at about two metres above water level.

            (c)         Matches, Smoking, etc, Prohibited  — Before entering the Inner Harbour all matches shall be collected from members of the crew and other persons on the vessel, and no person shall smoke or bring matches or other means of making a fire or light on the vessel while such vessel is within the Inner Harbour.

            (d)         Engineer to be in Charge  — In addition to having a responsible officer on duty as required by these regulations, a crew to assist such officer and a competent member of the engine room staff shall be on duty at all times when inflammable liquid is on board to be available in case of emergency to operate the fire pumps or other fire extinguishing appliances.

            (e)         Fires and Lights on Tank Ships:

                  (i)         From the time when the tanks or holds of tank ships carrying inflammable liquid are first unsealed or opened for the purpose of loading or unloading inflammable liquid until such tanks or holds have been closed and sealed down, no fires or lights other than of approved ship’s boilers, approved electric lamps or approved safety lamps shall be lit or used either on board the vessel or on shore within thirty metres of any place at which inflammable liquid is being loaded or unloaded.

                  (ii)         The master shall not allow any furnace, galley or other fires to be re-lighted until he is permitted to do so in writing by the Harbour Master.

                  (iii)         The master shall not allow any furnace, (other than that required to produce steam for pumping), galley or other fires to be alight on board his tank ship while running water for ballast or other purposes into any tank, receptacle, or enclosure on board which has contained inflammable liquid. No ballasting shall be permitted unless all tanks are sealed down as required by the Harbour Master. The rate of ballasting any tank ship shall be so reduced as required by the Harbour Master, and any directions given by him for other safety measures to be taken in such ballasting shall be strictly observed. No ballasting shall be allowed by the master until he is so permitted in writing by the Harbour Master, who shall lay down such further conditions under which this work shall be carried out as he may in the circumstances deem necessary.

                  (iv)         The master of a motor-driven tank ship shall cause all internal combustion engines on board his ship to be shut down to the satisfaction of the Harbour Master before any connection is made to the shore pipe line, or any preparation made to pump inflammable liquid, and such engines shall be kept shut down by the master until he is permitted in writing by the Harbour Master to put them or any of them in operation.

            (f)         Safety Gauzes on Openings to Tanks  — Except during inspection or when samples or ullage measurements are being taken, wire gauze as defined shall be fitted over all openings of tanks that contain or have recently contained, inflammable liquid in bulk; provided always that the lids, screw caps or other coverings are not removed from tanks or other receptacles containing, or having recently contained, inflammable liquid, in respect of which pumping operations are not in progress.

            (g)         Pipes, Hoses, etc., to be Free From Leakage  —Pipes, hoses, pumps, and other appliances used for the transferring of inflammable liquid shall be maintained free from leakage and gastight to the satisfaction of the Harbour Master, and unless it is otherwise authorised on the completion of loading or unloading all gear shall be thoroughly freed from inflammable liquid and the hoses disconnected from the shore pipe lines.

            (h)         Loading or Unloading in Bulk  — The following precautions in the loading or unloading of inflammable liquid in bulk shall be taken: — 

                  (i)         Hoses, constructed to be resistant to inflammable liquid and maintained in good order, shall be used for connecting from ship to shore installation.

                  (ii)         A non-return valve shall be placed immediately behind the connection between hose and shore installation pipe and where required by the Harbour Master at the shore end of the wharf also. Pumping operations shall not be commenced before the correct position of all valves has been verified by the Harbour Master.

                  (iii)         When pumping ceases temporarily, valves on ship and shore pipe line shall be closed. All pipe lines under any wharf shall be thoroughly cleared of inflammable liquid by flushing with water and shall be kept full of water.

                  (iv)         On completion of loading or unloading the connection or connections to the shore pipe line shall not be broken until the pipe line for its whole length has been completely and satisfactorily cleared of all inflammable liquid. The satisfactory condition of the pipe line in this respect shall be verified by the Harbour Master.

                  (v)         All openings in the tanks shall be closed gastight immediately on suspension or completion of loading or unloading.

                  (vi)         The master of a tank ship shall see that a competent signalling staff is in attendance both at the tank installation and on board the ship and that telephonic communication between the same points is established.

                  (vii)         Pipelines and hoses shall not be coupled or uncoupled or otherwise interfered with until — 

                        (I)         permission so to do has been given by the Port Authority;

        (II)         a representative of the Port Authority is present;

        (III)         a satisfactory electrical connection has been made between the tank ship and the shore pipelines by means of a suitable continuous bonding cable, which connection shall remain intact until all hoses have been disconnected from the tank ship at the completion of discharging or loading. The shipboard connection always to be made first and disconnected last;

        (IV)         approved equipment and tools for the purpose are available;

                        (V)         a drain cock as well as a test cock has been fitted in the pipelines where required by the Harbour Master so as to enable controlled draining of hoses and pipes before they are disconnected and to ensure that only water is in the hoses and pipes prior to such disconnection;

        (VI)         all inflammable liquid therein is cleared by pumping water as provided in subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (h).

                All coupling and uncoupling or other work on hoses, pipes and fittings shall be carried out under approved supervision as required by the Port Authority representative.

                  (viii)         The rate of loading inflammable liquid shall be so reduced as required by the Harbour Master, and any directions given by him for other safety measures to be taken for such loading shall be strictly observed.

                  (ix)         Arrangements shall be made by the master of the tank ship to ensure that there shall be a sufficient staff of officers and men available at all times, day and night, to ensure the efficient carrying on of the work, or to remove the vessel if so required.

                  (i)         Loading or Unloading of Inflammable Liquid in Bulk At Night  — Subject to the approval in writing of the Harbour Master inflammable liquid in bulk may after sunset, be unloaded into shore tanks, and in special circumstances only, loaded into tank ships, provided that the following conditions and such other conditions as may be prescribed by the Harbour Master in special cases, are complied with — 

                  (i)         unless circumstances render it unavoidable pipelines and hoses shall not be coupled, uncoupled or otherwise interfered with except in daylight;

                  (ii)         sufficient electric floodlighting of approved type shall be provided to give ample light for all operations.

            (j)         Repairs or Alterations to Tanks  — Immediately it becomes known that repairs or alterations are necessary to tanks in which oil or inflammable liquid has been conveyed, application shall be made to the Harbour Master for permission to undertake such work. Repairs or alterations involving operations such as welding, cutting, boring, soldering or hammering, which may produce heat or be liable to cause ignition of inflammable vapours, shall not be commenced until the said permission in writing has been obtained, and then not until the measure prescribed in regulation 191 (i) and (j) shall have been taken.

            (k)         Prompt Departure of Inflammable Liquid Tank Ships after Completion of Loading or Discharging  — So soon as possible following completion of loading or discharging the inflammable liquid tank ship shall leave the Harbour.

            (l)         Bunkering of Inflammable Liquid Tank Ships  — Should it be necessary for an inflammable liquid tank ship to replenish bunker supplies, such operation shall only be allowed within the Inner Harbour upon permission in writing so to do being obtained from the Harbour Master.

        [Regulation 193 amended by Gazettes 21 June 1974 p.2085; 22 June 1990 p.3087.]



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