Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels and repealing Council Directive 82/714/EEC (2006/87/EC) (repealed)

Article 7.04 Specific requirements concerning control, indicating and monitoring equipment of main engines and steering system

1. It shall be possible to control and monitor the main engines and steering systems from the steering position. Main engines fitted with a clutch which can be actuated from the steering position, or driving a controllable pitch propeller which can be controlled from the steering position, need only to be capable of being started up and shut down from the engine room.

2. The control for each main engine shall take the form of a single lever which prescribes an arc within a vertical plane that is approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vessel. Movement of that lever towards the bow of the vessel shall cause forward motion, whereas movement of the lever towards the stern shall cause the vessel to go astern. Clutch engagement and reversal of the direction of motion shall take place about the neutral position of that lever. The lever shall catch in the neutral position.

3. The direction of the propulsion thrust imparted to the vessel and the rotational speed of the propeller or main engines shall be displayed inside wheelhouses that have been designed for radar navigation by one person.

4. The indicating and monitoring devices required by Article 6.07(2), Article 8.03( 2), and Article 8.05 (13), shall be located at the steering position.

5. Vessels with wheelhouses designed for radar navigation by one person shall be steered by means of a lever. It shall be possible to move that lever easily by hand. The position of the lever in relation to the longitudinal axis of the vessel shall correspond precisely to the position of the rudder blades. It shall be possible to release hold of the lever in any given position without that of the rudder blades changing. The neutral position of the lever shall be clearly perceptible.

6. Where the vessel is fitted with bow rudders or special rudders, particularly for going astern, these shall be actuated in wheelhouses designed for radar navigation by one person by special levers which, mutatis mutandis, meet the requirements set out in paragraph 5.

That requirement shall also apply where, in convoys, the steering system fitted to craft other than those powering the convoy is used.

7. Where rate-of-turn regulators are used, it shall be possible for the rate-of-turn control to be released in any given position without altering the speed selected.

The control shall turn through a wide enough arc to guarantee adequately precise positioning. The neutral position shall be clearly perceptible from the other positions. The scale illumination shall be steplessly variable.

8. The remote-control equipment for the entire steering system shall be installed in a permanent manner and be arranged in such a way that the course selected is clearly visible. If the remote control equipment can be disengaged, it shall be equipped with an indicating device displaying the respective operational conditions ‘in service’ or ‘out of service’. The disposition and manipulation of the controls shall be functional.

For systems that are subsidiary to the steering system, such as active bow thrusters, remote-control equipment not permanently installed shall be acceptable provided that such a subsidiary installation can be activated by means of an override at any time within the wheelhouse.

9. In the case of rudder-propeller, water-jet, cycloidal-propeller and bow-thruster systems, equivalent devices shall be acceptable as control, indicating and monitoring devices.

The requirements set out in paragraphs 1 to 8 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, in view of the specific characteristics and arrangements selected for the abovementioned active steering and propulsion units. The position of the indicating device shall clearly show for each installation the direction of the thrust acting on the vessel or the direction of the jet .