MERCHANT SHIPPING (SAFETY) (AUTOMATIC PILOT AND TESTING OF STEERING GEAR) REGULATIONS

MERCHANT SHIPPING (SAFETY) (AUTOMATIC PILOT AND TESTING OF STEERING GEAR) REGULATIONS

MERCHANT SHIPPING (SAFETY) (AUTOMATIC PILOT AND TESTING OF
STEERING GEAR) REGULATIONS

(Cap. 369, section 107)

[19 May 19891

L.N. 138 of 1989 -

1. Citation

These regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Safety)

(Automatic Pilot and Testing of Steering Gear) Regulations.

2. Interpretation

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

'appropriate authority', in relation to special rules, means any person empowered
by law to make those special rules;

,,automatic pilot' means a device for automatically operating the steering gear to
steer the ship but does not include any wind-operated self-steering equipment
connected to the tiller or rudder of a sailing craft;

'Hong Kong ship' has the same meaning as in section 107(4) of the Ordinance;

'officer of the watch' means the person in charge of the navigational watch;

'proper officer' means a consular officer appointed by Her Majesty's Government in
the United Kingdom and, in relation to a port in a country outside the United
Kingdom which is not a foreign country, also any officer exercising in that port
functions similar to those of the Superintendent;

'qualified helmsman', in relation to a ship, means a person trained or sufficiently
experienced to steer that type of ship;

'restricted visibility' means any condition in which visibility is restricted by fog,
mist, falling snow, heavy rainstorms, sandstorms or other similar cause;

',steering gear control system' means the equipment by which orders are
transmitted from the navigating bridge to the steering gear power units,



and comprises transmitters, receivers, hydraulic control pumps and their associated
motors, motor controllers, pipes and cables; ',steering gear power unit' means

(a)in the case of electric steering gear, an electric motor and its
associated electrical equipment;

(b)in the case of electro-hydraulic steering gear, an electric motor, its
associated electrical equipment and connected pump; and





(c)in the case of other hydraulic steering gear, a driving engine and
connected pump;

'Superintendent' means the Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office and, in
the case of any place outside Hong Kong which is a British possession,
includes any shipping master or other officer discharging duties similar to
those of such Superintendent; 'surveyor of ships' means a person appointed
under section 5 of the Ordinance

to be a Government surveyor or under section 724 of the Merchant Shipping
Act 1894 (1894 c. 60 U.K.) to be a surveyor of ships.

3. Application

Subject to section 3 of the Ordinance, these regulations apply to and in
relation to

(a) Hong Kong ships; and

(b)other ships while they are within the waters of Hong Kong, except in
respect of the requirements of regulation 6(8):

Provided that nothing in these regulations relating to the use of an automatic
pilot shall override special rules made by an appropriate authority for roadsteads,
harbours, rivers, lakes or inland waterways connected with the high seas and
navigable by sea-going ships.

4. Use of the automatic pilot

(1) The master shall ensure that an automatic pilot, where fitted, shall not be
used in areas of high traffic density, in conditions of restricted visibility or in any
other hazardous navigational situation unless it is possible to establish manual
control of the ship's steering within 30 seconds.

(2) Before entering any area of high traffic density, and whenever visibility is
likely to become restricted or some other hazardous navigational situation is likely
to arise, the master shall arrange, where practicable, for the officer of the watch to
have available without delay the services of a qualified helmsman who shall be
ready at all times to take over the manual steering.

(3) The changeover from automatic to manual steering and vice versa shall be
made by, or under the supervision of, the officer of the watch, or, if there is no such
officer, the master.

(4) The master shall ensure that the manual steering gear is tested-

(a) after continuous use of the automatic pilot for 24 hours; and

(b)before entering any areas where navigation demands special caution.

5. Operation of steering gear

In areas where navigation demands special caution, the master shall ensure
that the ship shall have more than one steering gear power unit in operation when
such units are available and capable of simultaneous operation.





6. Steering gear-testing and drills

(1) The master shall, within 12 hours before departure of the ship, cause the
steering gear to be checked and tested so as to ensure that it is working
satisfactorily:

Provided that in the case of ships regularly making more than one voyage a
week to or from the same port a check and test of the steering gear need only be
made once in that week unless a part of the steering gear or its control system has
been dismantled or changed since the last test.

(2) The test procedure shall include, where applicable, the operation of the
following

(a) the main steering gear;

(b) the auxiliary steering gear;

(c) the remote steering gear control systems;

(d) the steering positions located on the navigating bridge;

(e) the emergency power supply;
the rudder angle indicators in relation to the actual position of
the rudder;

(g) the remote steering gear control system power failure alarms;

(h) the steering gear power unit failure alarms; and

(i)the automatic isolating arrangements and other automatic equipment
required for steering gear.

(3) The checks and tests shall, where applicable, include

(a)the full movement of the rudder or other like mechanism according to
the required capabilities of the steering gear;

(b)a visual inspection of the steering gear and its connecting linkage;
and

(c)the operation of the means of communication between the navigating
bridge and the steering gear compartment.

(4) The owner shall provide simple operating instructions, with a block diagram
showing the changeover procedures, for the remote steering gear control systems
and steering gear power units, and the master shall ensure that they are
permanently displayed on the navigating bridge and in the steering gear
compartment.

(5) The master shall ensure that a person does not supervise the operation or
maintenance of the steering gear unless that person is familiar with the operation of
the steering systems fitted on the ship, and, where applicable, with the procedures
for changing from one system to the other.

(6) In addition to the routine checks and tests referred to in subregulations (1),
(2) and (3), the master shall ensure that emergency steering gear drills which practise
emergency steering gear procedures take place at least once every 3 months, such
drills to include, where applicable, use of direct control from within the steering gear
compartment, the communications procedure with the navigating bridge and the
operation of alternative power supplies.





(7) The date, time and place that the routine checks and tests referred to
in subregulations (1), (2) and (3) are carried out and the date and details of
emergency steering gear drills referred to in subregulation (6) shall be recorded
by the master in the official logbook.
(8) In ships not required to keep an official logbook, a record of each
check, test and drill referred to in subregulation (7) shall be made by the master
and be retained on board for a period of 6 months and be available for
inspection on demand by the Superintendent, a proper officer or a surveyor of
ships.

7. Penalties

(1) A master who contravenes any provision of regulation 4, 5 or 6(1),
(4), (5) or (6) or an owner who fails to comply with regulation 6(4) commits an
offence and is liable to a fine of $10,000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
(2) Any person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to carry out the
checks required by regulation 4(4), 6(1), (2) or (3) after being directed to do so,
commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $5,000 and to imprisonment for
3 months.
(3) A master who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with
regulation 6(7) or (8) commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $1,000.

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