33 C.F.R. Subpart C—Lifesaving Equipment
Title 33 - Navigation and Navigable Waters
This subpart provides requirements for lifesaving equipment on deepwater ports. (a) Each deepwater port on which at least one person occupies an accommodation space for more than 30 consecutive days, in any successive 12-month period, must comply with the requirements for lifesaving equipment in this subpart. (b) Each deepwater port, not under paragraph (a) of this section, must comply with the requirements for lifesaving equipment for unmanned deepwater ports in this subpart. When lifesaving equipment is replaced or when the deepwater port undergoes a repair, alteration, or modification that involves replacing or adding to the lifesaving equipment complement, the new lifesaving equipment must meet the requirements of this subpart. (a) Each survival craft on a manned deepwater port must be one of the following: (1) A lifeboat meeting the requirements of 149.306 to this subpart; or (2) A liferaft meeting the requirements of 149.308 to this subpart. (b) Each rescue boat on a manned deepwater port must be a rescue boat meeting the requirements of §149.314 to this part. (a) Except as specified under §149.305 to this subpart, each manned deepwater port must have at least the type and number of survival craft and the number of rescue boats indicated for the deepwater port in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(5) of this section. (1) For a deepwater port with 30 or fewer persons onboard: (i) One or more lifeboats with a total capacity of 100 percent of the personnel onboard; (ii) One or more liferafts with a total capacity of 100 percent of the personnel onboard; and (iii) One rescue boat, except that the rescue boat is not required for deepwater ports with 8 or fewer persons onboard. (2) For a deepwater port with 31 or more persons onboard: (i) At least two lifeboats with a total capacity of 100 percent of the personnel onboard; (ii) One or more liferafts with a total capacity so that, if the survival craft at any one location are rendered unusable, there will be craft remaining with 100 percent capacity; and (iii) One rescue boat. (3) Lifeboats may be substituted for liferafts. (4) Capacity refers to the total number of persons on the deepwater port at any one time, not including temporary personnel. Temporary personnel include: contract workers, official visitors, and any other persons who are not permanent employees. See §149.305 in this subpart for additional survival craft requirements when temporary personnel are onboard. (5) The required lifeboats may be used as rescue boats if the lifeboats also meet the requirements for rescue boats in §149.314 to this subpart. (b) Deepwater ports consisting of novel structures or a combination of fixed and/or floating structures may require additional survival craft as deemed necessary by Commandant (G-M). In these cases, the type and number of survival craft must be specified in the operations manual. (a) When temporary personnel are onboard a manned deepwater port and the complement exceeds the capacity of the survival craft required under 149.304 to this subpart, the port must have additional liferafts to ensure that the total capacity of the survival craft is not less than 200 percent of the personnel on board at any time. (b) The liferafts required in paragraph (a) of this section need not meet the launching requirements of paragraph (b) to §149.308 of this subpart, but must comply with the stowage requirements of 46 CFR 108.530(c). (a) Lifeboats must be: (1) Totally enclosed and Coast Guard-approved fire-protected lifeboats; and (2) If the hull or canopy is of aluminum, it must be protected in its stowage position by a water-spray system meeting 46 CFR 34.25. (b) Each lifeboat must have at least the provisions and survival equipment required by 46 CFR 108.575(b). (c) Except for boathooks, the equipment under paragraph (b) of this section must be securely stowed in the lifeboat. (d) Each lifeboat must have a list of the equipment it is required to carry under paragraph (c) of this section. The list must be posted in the lifeboat. (e) The manufacturer's instructions for maintenance and repair of the lifeboat, required under paragraph (a) to §150.502 of this chapter, must be in the lifeboat or on a deepwater port. All free-fall lifeboats must be approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.135. (a) All liferafts must be an inflatable liferaft—approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.151, or a rigid liferaft—approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.118. (b) Except as under paragraph (b) to 149.305 of this subpart, each inflatable or rigid liferaft, boarded from a deck that is more than 14 feet 9 inches above the water, must be davit launched or served by a marine evacuation system complying with 149.309 to this subpart. All marine evacuation systems must be Coast Guard-approved, and comply with the launching arrangement requirements for MODU in 46 CFR 108.545. Muster and embarkation arrangements for survival craft must comply with 46 CFR 108.540. (a) Each lifeboat launched by falls, must have a launching and recovery system that complies with 46 CFR 108.555. (b) Each free-fall lifeboat must have a launching and recovery system that complies with 46 CFR 108.557. (a) Each inflatable liferaft, not intended for davit launching, must be capable of rapid deployment. (b) Each davit-launchable liferaft must have the following launching equipment at each launching station: (1) A launching device approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.163; and (2) A mechanical disengaging apparatus approved under the approval series 46 CFR 160.170. (c) The launching equipment must be operative, both from the liferaft and from the deepwater port. (d) Winch controls must be located so that the operator can observe the liferaft launching. (e) The launching equipment must be arranged so that a loaded liferaft does not have to be lifted before it is lowered. (f) Not more than two liferafts may be launched from the same set of launching equipment. The operator must arrange survival craft so that they meet the requirements of 46 CFR 108.525 (a) and 108.530 and: (a) Are readily accessible in an emergency; (b) Are accessible for inspection, maintenance, and testing; (c) Are in locations clear of overboard discharge piping (or openings) and obstructions below; and (d) Have the aggregate capacity to accommodate the total number of persons authorized to be berthed and are located so as to provide ready access to the personnel berthing area. (a) Rescue boats must be approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.156. A lifeboat is acceptable as a rescue boat if it also meets the requirements for a rescue boat under approval series 46 CFR 160.156. (b) The stowage of rescue boats must comply with 46 CFR 108.565. (a) Each rescue boat must be capable of being launched in a current of up to 5 knots. A painter may be used to meet this requirement. (b) Each rescue boat embarkation and launching arrangement must permit the rescue boat to be boarded and launched in the shortest possible time. (c) If the rescue boat is one of the deepwater port's survival craft, the rescue boat must comply with the muster and embarkation arrangement requirements of 149.310. (d) The rescue boat must comply with the embarkation arrangement requirements of 46 CFR 108.555. (e) If the launching arrangement uses a single fall, the rescue boat may have an automatic disengaging apparatus, approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.170, instead of a lifeboat release mechanism. (f) The rescue boat must be capable of being recovered rapidly when loaded with its full complement of persons and equipment. If a lifeboat is being used as a rescue boat, rapid recovery must be possible when loaded with its lifeboat equipment and a rescue boat's complement of at least six persons. (g) Each rescue boat-launching appliance must be fitted with a powered winch motor. (h) Each rescue boat-launching appliance must be capable of hoisting the rescue boat, when loaded with a rescue boat's full complement of persons and equipment, at a rate of not less than 59 feet per minute. (i) The operator may use an onboard crane to launch a rescue boat if the crane's launching system meets the requirements of this section. (a) Each lifejacket must be approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.002, 160.005, 160.055, 160.077, or 160.176. (b) Each lifejacket must have a lifejacket light—approved under approval series 46 CFR 161.012. Each light must be securely attached to the front shoulder area of the lifejacket. (c) Each lifejacket must have a whistle permanently attached to the lifejacket by a cord. (d) Each lifejacket must be marked with Type I retro-reflective material—approved under approval series 46 CFR 164.018. (a) The operator must ensure that lifejackets are stowed, in readily accessible places, in, or adjacent to, accommodation spaces. (b) Lifejacket stowage containers, and the spaces housing the containers, must not be capable of being locked. (c) The operator must mark each lifejacket container, or lifejacket stowage location, with the words “LIFEJACKETS” in block letters and the quantity, identity, and size of the lifejackets stowed inside the containers or stowed at the location. The operator must provide a lifejacket that complies with 149.316 to this subpart, for each person on a manned deepwater port. For each person on duty in a location where the lifejacket required by 149.317 of this subpart is not readily accessible, an additional lifejacket must be stowed so as to be readily accessible to that location. (a) Ring lifebuoys must be approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.050 or 160.150 (for SOLAS-approved equipment). (b) Each ring lifebuoy must have a floating, electric water light—approved under approval series 46 CFR 161.010. The operator must ensure that the light to the ring lifebuoy is attached by a lanyard of 12-thread manila, or a synthetic rope of equivalent strength, not less than 3 feet nor more than 6 feet in length. The light must be mounted on a bracket near the ring lifebuoy so that, when the ring lifebuoy is cast loose, the light will be pulled free of the bracket. (c) To each ring lifebuoy, there must be attached a buoyant line of 100 feet in length, with a breaking strength of at least 5 KiloNewtons force. The end of the line must not be secured to the deepwater port. (d) Each ring lifebuoy must be marked with Type II retro-reflective material—approved under approval series 46 CFR 164.018. There must be at least four approved ring lifebuoys on each manned deepwater port. (a) The operator must locate one ring lifebuoy on each side of the port and one near each external stairway leading to the water. One buoy may be used to satisfy both these requirements. (b) Each ring lifebuoy must be stowed on or in a rack that is readily accessible in an emergency. The ring lifebuoy must not be permanently secured in any way to the rack or the deepwater port. (a) Each manned deepwater port must have an industrial first aid kit approved by an appropriate organization (e.g., American Red Cross) for the maximum number of persons on the deepwater port. (b) The first aid kit must be maintained in a space designated as a medical treatment room or, if there is no medical treatment room, under the custody of the person in charge. (c) The operator must ensure that each first aid kit is accompanied by a copy of DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 84–2024: “The Ship's Medicine Chest and Medical Aid at Sea”—available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, or the “American Red Cross First Aid and Safety Handbook”—available from Little Brown and Company, 3 Center Plaza, Boston, MA 02018. Each manned deepwater port must have at least one Stokes litter, or other suitable litter, capable of being safely hoisted with an injured person. The litter must be readily accessible in an emergency. Each manned deepwater port must have a radio, telephone, or other means of emergency communication with the shore, vessels, and facilities in the vicinity in the event the primary communications system outlined in §149.140 fails. This communication equipment must have an emergency power source. Each manned deepwater port, located North of 32 degrees North latitude, must comply with the immersion suit requirements in 46 CFR part 108. All work vests and anti-exposure (deck) suits, on a manned deepwater port, must be of a buoyant type approved under: (a) Approval series 46 CFR 160.053 as a work vest; (b) Approval series 46 CFR 160.053 or 160.153 as an anti-exposure suit; or (c) Approval series 46 CFR 160.077 as a commercial hybrid personal flotation device. All work vests and deck suits must be stowed separately from lifejackets and in a location that is not easily confused with a storage area for lifejackets. All work vests and deck suits must be marked with Type II retro-reflective material—approved under approval series 46 CFR 164.018. (a) A work vest or deck suit meeting §149.326 of this subpart may be used instead of a lifejacket, when personnel are working near or over water. (b) Work vests or deck suits may not be substituted for any portion of the number of approved lifejackets required to be on the deepwater port or an attending vessel for use during drills and emergencies. (a) The operator must ensure use and stowage of all commercial hybrid personal flotation devices (PFDs) used as work vests under: (1) The procedures in the manual required for these devices in 46 CFR 160.077–29; and (2) All limitations, if any, marked on them. (b) All commercial hybrid PFDs on the deepwater port must be of the same or similar design and must have the same method of operation. (a) Each inflatable lifejacket must be approved under approval series 46 CFR 160.176. (b) All inflatable lifejackets on a deepwater port must: (1) Be used and stowed under the procedures in the manual required for these lifejackets under 46 CFR 160.176–21; (2) Be marked with all limitations, if any; and (3) Be of the same or similar design and must have the same method of operation. (a) Each lifeboat, rigid liferaft, and survival capsule must be marked on two opposite outboard sides with the name, number, or other inscription identifying the deepwater port on which placed and the number of persons permitted on the craft. Each paddle or oar for these crafts must be marked with an inscription identifying the deepwater port. The letters and numbers must be at least 100 millimeters (3.94 inches) high on a contrasting background. (b) Each inflatable liferaft must be marked to meet 46 CFR 160.151–33, and after each servicing, 46 CFR 160.151–57(m). (c) All lifejackets and ring lifebuoys must be conspicuously marked with the name, number, or other inscription identifying the deepwater port on which placed. The letters and numbers must be at least 1.5 inches high on a contrasting background. Lifejackets and ring lifebuoys that accompany mobile crews to unmanned deepwater ports may be marked with the operator's name and field designation.
Title 33: Navigation and Navigable Waters
PART 149—DEEPWATER PORTS: DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND EQUIPMENT
Subpart C—Lifesaving Equipment
§ 149.300 What does this subpart do?
Manned Deepwater Port Requirements
§ 149.301 What are the requirements for lifesaving equipment?
§ 149.302 What are the requirements when lifesaving equipment is repaired or replaced?
§ 149.303 What survival craft and rescue boats may be used on a manned deepwater port?
§ 149.304 What type and how many survival craft and rescue boats must a manned deepwater port have?
§ 149.305 What are the survival craft requirements for temporary personnel?
§ 149.306 What are the requirements for lifeboats?
§ 149.307 What are the requirements for free-fall lifeboats?
§ 149.308 What are the requirements for liferafts?
§ 149.309 What are the requirements for marine evacuation systems?
§ 149.310 What are the muster and embarkation requirements for survival craft?
§ 149.311 What are the launching and recovery requirements for lifeboats?
§ 149.312 What are the launching equipment requirements for inflatable liferafts?
§ 149.313 How must survival craft be arranged?
§ 149.314 What are the approval and stowage requirements for rescue boats?
§ 149.315 What embarkation, launching, and recovery arrangements must rescue boats meet?
§ 149.316 What are the requirements for lifejackets?
§ 149.317 How and where must lifejackets be stowed?
§ 149.318 Must every person on the port have a lifejacket?
§ 149.319 What additional lifejackets must I have?
§ 149.320 What are the requirements for ring lifebuoys?
§ 149.321 How many ring lifebuoys must be on each deepwater port?
§ 149.322 Where must ring lifebuoys be located and how must they be stowed?
§ 149.323 What are the requirements for first aid kits?
§ 149.324 What are the requirements for litters?
§ 149.325 What emergency communications equipment must be on a manned deepwater port?
§ 149.326 What are the immersion suit requirements?
§ 149.327 What are the approval requirements for work vests and anti-exposure suits?
§ 149.328 How must work vests and anti-exposure (deck) suits be stowed?
§ 149.329 How must work vests and deck suits be marked?
§ 149.330 When may a work vest or deck suit be substituted for a lifejacket?
§ 149.331 What are the requirements for hybrid personal flotation devices?
§ 149.332 What are the requirements for inflatable lifejackets?
§ 149.333 What are the marking requirements for lifesaving equipment?
Unmanned Deepwater Port Requirements
§ 149.334 Who must ensure compliance with the requirements for unmanned deepwater ports?
The owner or operator of an unmanned deepwater port must ensure that applicable requirements are complied with on their deepwater port.
§ 149.335 When are people prohibited from being on an unmanned deepwater port?
No person may be on an unmanned deepwater port unless all requirements of this part are met.
§ 149.336 What are the requirements for lifejackets?
(a) Except as under paragraph (b) of this section, each unmanned deepwater port must have at least one lifejacket complying with 149.316 to this subpart, for each person on the deepwater port. The lifejackets need to be available for use on the port only when persons are onboard.
(b) During helicopter visits, personnel who have aircraft type lifejackets may use them as an alternative to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section.
§ 149.337 What are the requirements for ring lifebuoys?
(a) Each unmanned deepwater port must have at least one ring lifebuoy complying with 149.320 to this subpart.
(b) If there is no space on the deepwater port for the ring lifebuoys, they must be on a manned vessel located alongside of the deepwater port while the persons are on the port.
§ 149.338 What are the requirements for immersion suits?
(a) Each unmanned deepwater port, located North of 32 degrees North latitude, must comply with the immersion suit requirements applicable to MODU under 46 CFR 108.580—approval series 46 CFR 160.171. Except as under paragraph (b) of this section, the immersion suits need be on the deepwater port only when persons are onboard.
(b) If an attending vessel is moored to the unmanned deepwater port, the suits may be stowed on the vessel, instead of on the deepwater port.
§ 149.339 What is the requirement for a previously approved lifesaving equipment on a deepwater port?
Lifesaving equipment (e.g., lifeboats, life rafts, PFDs) on a deepwater port on January 1, 2004, need not meet the requirements in this subpart until the equipment needs replacing, provided it is periodically tested and maintained in good operational condition.
§ 149.340 What are the requirements for lifesaving equipment that is not required by this subchapter?
Each item of lifesaving equipment on a deepwater port that is not required by this subchapter must be approved by the Commandant (G-M).
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