The Explosives in Harbour Areas Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995

PART IV SAFETY AND SECURITY OF EXPLOSIVES

General duties of persons handling explosives

16.  Every person who has to any extent control of, or who is engaged in, the handling of explosives shall ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, nothing in the manner in which those explosives are handled is such as might create a risk to the health or safety of any person.

Additional duties of employers, self-employed persons and berth operators

17.—(1) The employer of a person engaged in the handling of explosives shall—

(a) ensure that the employee is provided with such information, instruction, training and supervision as are necessary to ensure his health and safety and to enable him to perform any operation in which he is involved with due regard to the health and safety of others;

(b) provide that employee, where necessary, with adequate safety equipment and protective clothing; and

(c) keep a record of the training received by that employee in accordance with this paragraph while that employee is in his employment and on request by that employee give a copy of that record to him.

(2) A self-employed person engaged in the handling of explosives shall ensure that—

(a) he has such information, instruction, training and supervision as are necessary to ensure his health and safety and to enable him to perform any operation in which he is involved with due regard to the health and safety of others;

(b) he has, where necessary, adequate safety equipment and protective clothing.

(3) The operator of a berth where any explosives are loaded or unloaded . . shall ensure that—

(a) the handling of explosives on the berth is adequately supervised, and

(b) persons present on the berth are provided with such information and instruction as are necessary to ensure their health and safety and to enable them to perform any operation in which they are involved with due regard to the health and safety of others.

Precautions to be taken against explosion or fire

18.—(1) Every person engaged in the handling of explosives and both the owner and the operator of any berth on which explosives are kept or handled, shall observe all the precautions necessary for preventing, and for minimising the effect of an explosion or fire.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1)—

(a) the owner of the berth shall ensure that adequate means for fighting fires are available;

(b) the berth operator shall ensure that sufficient adequately trained personnel are available to operate the fire-fighting equipment;

(c) the operator and the owner of the berth shall ensure that ready access for the emergency services is available at all times to any vessel at a berth which is carrying, loading or unloading any such explosives.

(3) A person shall not smoke, use naked lights or any other source of ignition or carry any source of ignition within any area in which such activities have been prohibited by the harbour authority or the berth operator.

(4) In this regulation, “owner of the berth” means any person having overall control and management of the berth and includes a lessee.

Deteriorated explosives

19.  Where in any harbour or harbour area explosives have deteriorated or have undergone any change which might significantly increase the risks attendant upon their carriage and handling within the harbour or harbour area, the person having custody of those explosives shall—

(a) notify the Secretary of State and the harbour master and, where the explosives are at a berth, the berth operator of the deterioration or change;

(b) agree with the harbour master any additional precautions to be taken before moving or handling them; and

(c) take those precautions.

Electro-explosive devices

20.  A person shall not bring an electro-explosive device into a harbour or harbour area unless it is so constructed and packed as to be safe for carriage.

Security of explosives

21.—(1) The operator of a berth at which explosives are carried or handled shall appoint a berth explosives security officer who shall ensure in respect of the berth that adequate precautions are taken to secure explosives against loss, theft or wrongful use and a harbour authority in whose harbour or harbour area explosives are carried or handled shall appoint a harbour explosives security officer who shall do likewise in respect of those parts of the harbour or harbour area for which there is no berth explosives security officer.

(2) Any person handling or having custody of explosives in a harbour or harbour area shall take adequate precautions to secure those explosives against loss, theft or wrongful use, and shall comply with any instructions given to him for that purpose by an explosives security officer and shall co-operate with the explosives security officer in the execution of his duties.

(3) Any person having custody of explosives in a harbour or harbour area who transfers the custody of those explosives to some other person shall obtain a written receipt from that other person recording the transfer.

(4) Where explosives are dropped overboard (otherwise than intentional-ly as part of the activities of persons at work) or lost, the person who had previously had custody of those explosives shall forthwith report the occurrence to the harbour master, the Chief Constable and either to the berth explosives security officer, if the incident took place at a berth, or to the harbour explosives security officer and shall take such steps as are reasonably practicable to recover those explosives.

Vessels and vehicles loaded with explosives to be taken out of harbours and harbour areas

22.  When loading of a vessel or a vehicle with explosives has been completed, the master of a vessel or the operator of that vehicle, as the case may be. shall ensure that the vessel or vehicle is taken out of the harbour or harbour area as soon as is reasonably practicable unless the harbour master and, where the vessel or vehicle is at a berth, the berth operator otherwise agree.

Harbour craft carrying explosives not to carry passengers

23.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the master of a harbour craft shall ensure that while the harbour craft is carrying explosives it does not carry any passengers.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply—

(a) where the only explosives carried are—

(i) explosives in Division 1.4, Compatibility Group S, or

(ii) ships' pyrotechnic signals which are being carried to another vessel and which contain a total of less than 1 kilogram of explosives; or

(b) where the only passengers carried are carried in connection with the harbour works for which the explosives are carried or who are to handle the explosives being carried.

Records to be kept

24.—(1) The harbour authority shall keep a record of all explosives handled within the harbour or harbour area, other than shop goods fireworks, in any year and that record shall distinguish between exports, imports and explosives in transit and be preserved for 5 years after making.

(2) The berth operator shall co-operate with the harbour authority in the preparation of such record.

(3) In a case to which regulation 6(c) relates, the licensee shall keep a record of all explosives, other than shop goods fireworks, loaded or unloaded there in any year and that record shall distinguish between exports, imports and explosives in transit and be preserved for 5 years after making.