New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

MANAGEMENT OF WATERS AND WATERSIDE LANDS REGULATIONS--N.S.W. - REG 52

52 Repairs, cutting, welding etc on vessels

(1) Cutting or welding operations shall not be carried out on a vessel in any navigable waters if any oil or other inflammable material is on the surface of the water in proximity to the vessel.

(2) Where a vessel is carrying explosives in any navigable waters any cutting or welding operation shall not be carried out:

(a) on any deck on that vessel that is immediately above or beneath the magazine or compartment containing the explosives, or

(b) on any other place on that vessel except a place which is separated from the magazine or compartment containing the explosives by at least one compartment or two bulkheads.

(3) Boring, cutting, riveting, soldering or welding operations or any repair or alteration work which involves or may produce fire, flame or sparks, shall not except with the prior consent of an officer of the Board and in accordance with any conditions attached to the consent, be carried out in navigable waters on any vessel which carries or has recently carried any bulk goods the dust from which is capable of exploding:

(a) until all suspended dust has settled,

(b) until all surfaces from which dust may be dislodged in the course of the proposed work have been cleared of dust, and

(c) within a period of:

(i) in the case of such operations or work in or in the vicinity of any enclosed space in or in the vicinity of which the bulk goods are being or were carried-48 hours, and

(ii) in the case of such operations or work in any other place on the vessel-12 hours,

after the shipment, unshipment, or movement in any manner, as the case may be, of the bulk goods.

(4) Before any cutting or welding operations are commenced on any vessel in any navigable waters the following precautions shall be undertaken:

(a) the vessel’s fire hydrant and hose system shall be tested for efficiency, made ready for use and connected either to the vessel’s pumps or to an effective and continuous shore water supply of pressure sufficient to enable distribution over the whole of the vessel,

(b) the deck or floor of the vessel shall, so as to prevent the access of sparks to any wooden part of the vessel or to any pipe or opening to a space below the deck or floor, be fitted with sheet metal or asbestos guards fitted tight to the deck or fire-proof curtains so weighted as to ensure continuous contact with the deck or floor,

(c) any tank in which the operations are to be carried out shall be adequately ventilated, and the supply of any gas for operations within the tank shall be so arranged that the gas can be shut off outside the manhole entrance to the tank,

(d) any space where, or adjacent to or below which, the operations are to be carried out shall be cleansed and kept free from oil and oily waste,

(e) any wooden deck in the vicinity of which the operations are to be carried out shall be adequately protected with damp sand, and

(f) sufficient fire extinguishers and buckets of sand or water shall be placed in and near any space in, under, or above which the operations are to be carried out.

(5) During the course of any cutting or welding operations on a vessel in any navigable waters:

(a) any cutting of cleats or ring bolts on the weather decks of the vessel shall not be commenced until all cargo and other material is removed from such part of the deck immediately below the operations as is within a radius of 6 m from the point of operations,

(b) any welding of fittings on the decks or bulkheads of the vessel shall not be commenced until all cargo, lining or other material is cleared from the space behind, below, above or otherwise adjacent to the decks or bulkheads,

(c) a cut shall not be made through any deck on the vessel unless a person is, at all times, stationed beneath the deck with a metal receptacle containing a layer of sand in readiness to catch any molten slag, sparks or metal particles, and

(d) gas shall not be used for any operation in any tank of the vessel unless a person is, at all times, stationed at the manhole entrance to the tank in readiness to shut off the supply of gas if necessary.

(6) After the use of any cutting or welding equipment in a vessel in any navigable waters:

(a) any engine room in which the equipment was used shall, not less than thirty minutes after the use, and thereafter at hourly intervals during the next succeeding twenty-four hours, be closely inspected for any burning or smouldering waste or other material, and

(b) where the equipment was used in the vicinity of any inflammable cargo or fittings of the vessel, a person shall, for twenty-four hours after the use, be stationed in the vicinity of the cargo or fittings to watch for fire.

(7) If any requirement of this Regulation is not complied with in relation to any vessel:

(a) except in a case where possession of the vessel has been given by the owner or master to a person undertaking the repair, modification or alteration of such vessel, both the owner and the master of such vessel shall be guilty of an offence against these Regulations, and

(b) in a case where possession of the vessel has been given by the owner or master to a person undertaking the repair, modification or alteration of such vessel, the person in charge of the operation concerned shall be guilty of an offence against these Regulations.