31 OCTOBER NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

passengers, and 7m in length for ships carrying not more than 36 passengers.

(e) At least one of the means of escape required by sub-clauses 1(a) and 1(b) of this clause shall consist of a readily accessible enclosed stairway, which shall provide continuous fire shelter from the level of its origin to the appropriate lifeboat and liferaft embarkation decks or the highest level served by the stairway, whichever level is the highest. However where dispensation has been granted under the provisions of sub-clause 1(a) of this clause the sole means of escape shall provide safe escape to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor. The width, number and continuity of the stairways shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor.

(f) Protection of access from the stairway enclosures to the lifeboat and liferaft embarkation areas shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor.

(g) Stairways serving only a space and a balcony in that space shall not be considered as forming one of the required means of escape.

(2) In special category spaces the number and disposition of the means of escape both below and above the bulkhead deck shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor and in general the safety of access to the embarkation deck shall be at least equivalent to that provided for under sub-clauses 1(a), 1(b), 1(e), and 1(f) of this clause.

One of the escape routes from the machinery spaces where the crew is normally employed shall avoid direct access to any special category space.

Two means of escape shall be provided from each machinery space. In particular, the following provisions shall be complied with:

(a) Where the space is below the bulkhead deck the two means of escape shall consist of either:

(i) two sets of steel ladders as widely separated as possible, leading to doors in the upper part of the space similarly separated and from which access is provided to the appropriate lifeboat and liferaft embarkation decks. One of these ladders shall provide continuous fire shelter from the lower part of the space to a safe position outside the space; or

(ii) one steel ladder leading to a door in the upper part of the space from which access is provided to the embarkation deck and additionally, in the lower part of the space and in a position well separated from the ladder referred to, a steel door capable of being operated from each side and which provides access to a safe escape route from the lower part of the space to the embarkation deck.

(b) Where the space is above the bulkhead deck, the two means of escape shall be as widely separated as possible and the doors leading from such means of escape shall be in a position from which access is provided to the appropriate lifeboat and liferaft embarkation decks. Where such means of escape require the use of ladders, these shall be of steel.

In a ship of less than 1000 gross tonnage, the Chief Surveyor may allow one of the means of escape to be dispensed with, due regard being paid to the width and disposition of the upper part of the space; and in a ship of 1000 gross tonnage and above, the Chief Surveyor may allow one means of escape to be dispensed with from any such space so long as either a door or a steel ladder provides a safe escape route to the embarkation deck, due regard being paid to the nature and location of the space and whether persons are normally employed in that space.

(4) In no case shall lifts be considered as forming one of the required means of escape.

(5) In every ship of Classes I, II, III and VI to which this Code applies, suitable signs shall be displayed in passageways and stairways indicating the direction of escape routes to passenger muster stations. Such signs shall be continuously illuminated and shall be adequate in number and distribution. They shall be capable of being illuminated by the ship’s emergency lighting system.

(6) All signs indicating escape routes, means of escape, location of muster stations and instructions for passengers in event of an emergency shall be in a form approved by the Chief Surveyor.

111. Means of Escape—Cargo Ships—

(1) Stairways and ladders shall be so arranged as to provide, from all accommodation spaces and from spaces in which the crew is normally employed, other than machinery spaces, ready means of escape to the open deck and thence to the lifeboats and liferafts. In particular the following general provisions shall be complied with:

(a) At all levels of accommodation there shall be provided at least two widely separated means of escape from each restricted space or group of spaces.

(b)(i) Below the lowest open deck the main means of escape shall be a stairway and the second escape may be a trunk or a stairway.

(ii) Above the lowest open deck the means of escape shall be stairways or doors to an open deck or a combination thereof.

(c) Exceptionally the Chief Surveyor may dispense with one of the means of escape, due regard being paid to the nature and location of spaces and to the numbers of persons who normally might be quartered or employed there.

(d) No dead-end corridors having a length of more than 7m shall be accepted. A dead-end corridor is a corridor or part of a corridor from which there is only one escape route.

(e) The width and continuity of the means of escape shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor.

(f) If a radiotelegraph station has no direct access to the open deck, two means of access to or egress from such station shall be provided, one of which may be a porthole or window of sufficient size or other means to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor, to provide an emergency escape.

(2) In all ro-ro cargo spaces where the crew is normally employed the number and locations of escape routes to the open deck shall be to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor but shall in no case be less than two and shall be widely separated.

(3) Except as provided in sub-clause (4) of this clause, two means of escape shall be provided from each machinery space of category A. In particular, one of the following provisions shall be complied with:

(a) two sets of steel ladders as widely separated as possible leading to doors in the upper part of the space similarly separated and from which access is provided to the open deck. In general, one of these ladders shall provide continuous fire shelter from the lower part of the space to a safe position outside the space. However, the Chief Surveyor may not require the shelter if, due to the special arrangement or dimensions of the machinery space, a safe escape route from the lower part of this space is provided. This shelter shall be of steel, insulated, where necessary, to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor and be provided with a self-closing steel door at the lower end; or

(b) one steel ladder leading to a door in the upper part of the space from which access is provided to the open deck and additionally, in the lower part of the space and in a position well separated from the ladder referred to, a steel door capable of being operated from each side and which provides access to a safe escape route from the lower part of the space to the open deck.

(4) In a ship of less than 1,000 gross tonnage, the Chief Surveyor may dispense with one of the means of escape required under sub-clause (3) of this clause due regard being