Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act 1932

REGULATION XXXVIII Number and Capacity of Boats, Life Rafts, die, and Davits.

(1) A ship shall be provided with sets of davits in accordance with its length as provided in Column A of the Table in Regulation XXXIX, provided that a-number of sets of davits greater than the number of boats necessary for the accommodation of all the persons on board shall not be required.

Each set of davits shall have a boat of Class I attached to it. If the lifeboats attached to davits do not provide sufficient accommodation for all the persons on board, additional lifeboats of one of the standard types shall be provided. One additional lifeboat shall, in the first place, be stowed under each of the boats attached to davits. After these have been fitted other boats shall be carried inboard, but an Administration may, if it is of opinion that life rafts will be more readily available and otherwise more satisfactory than these lifeboats in a case of emergency, allow life rafts to be carried provided that the total capacity of the boats on the ship will be at least up to the minimum capacity required by Column C of the Table in Regulation XXXIX

When in the opinion of the Administration it is neither practicable nor reasonable to place on a ship the number of sets of davits required by Column A of the Table in Regulation XXXIX, the Administration may authorise, under exceptional conditions, a smaller number of sets of davits, provided always that this number shall never be less than the minimum number fixed by Column B of the Table and that the total capacity of the boats on the ship will be at least up to the minimum capacity required by Column C.

2. A ship engaged on short international voyages shall be provided with sets of davits in accordance with its length as provided in Column A of the Table in Regulation XXXIX. Each set of davits shall have a boat of Class I attached to it. If the lifeboats attached to davits do not provide the minimum cubic capacity specified in Column D of the Table in Regulation XXXIX or provide accommodation for all persons on board, additional lifeboats of one of the standard types, approved life rafts or other approved buoyant apparatus shall be provided, and the accommodation thus provided shall be sufficient for all on board.

When in the opinion of the Administration it is neither practicable nor reasonable to place on a ship engaged in short international voyages, the number of sets of davits required by Column A of the Table in Regulation XXXIX, the Administration may authorise, under exceptional conditions, a smaller number of sets of davits, provided always that this number shall never be less than the minimum number fixed by Column B of the Table, and that the total capacity of the boats on the ship will be at least up to the minimum capacity required by Column D.