The Merchant Shipping (Passenger Ship Construction: Ships of Classes I, II and II(A)) Regulations 1998

Location and construction of electric cable

58.—(1) All electric cables external to equipment shall be flame retardant and shall be installed so that their flame retarding or equivalent properties are not impaired. Installation of cables which do not comply with the foregoing for particular purposes, such as radio frequency cables, may be permitted if it can be shown that compliance would be impracticable.

(2) Cables shall be installed and supported in such a manner as to avoid chafing and other damage. All metal sheaths and metal armour of cables shall be electrically continuous and shall be earthed except that such earthing may be omitted for particular purposes.

(3) Cables serving emergency services shall not so far as is practicable be routed through galleys, laundries, machinery spaces of Category A and their casings or other high risk areas except insofar as it is necessary to provide emergency services in such areas. Cables connecting fire pumps to the emergency switchboard shall be of a fire resistant type where they pass through high fire risk areas.

(4) Cabling for emergency alarms and public address systems fitted in ro-ro passenger ships on or after 1st July 1998 shall be approved by a Certifying Authority.

(5) Cables serving emergency services shall where practicable be installed in such a manner as to preclude them being rendered unserviceable by the effect of a fire in an adjacent space and subsequent heating of the dividing bulkhead.

(6) The electrical, mechanical, flame retarding and, where applicable, fire resisting properties of the terminations and joints in any conductor shall be at least equivalent to those of the conductor.