Safe Working Practices Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1467)

• 27 (1) When a hatch beam, cover or plug is removed from a hatch it shall be placed clear of all working areas and securely stowed.

• (2) Any hatch beam, cover or plug that cannot be securely stowed between decks shall be taken to the upper deck, placed clear of all working areas and securely stowed.

28 Any person who is between decks shall stand clear of an overhead opening when a hatch beam, cover or plug is being removed or replaced at the hatch.

29 A tarpaulin or similar hatch covering shall not be spread over a hatch opening unless all hatch beams, covers and plugs for the hatch are securely fitted in place.

• 30 (1) No person shall enter a pump room, cofferdam, ballast tank, oil tank or similar compartment unless he is wearing a breathing apparatus.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply

  • (a) where a compartment referred to in subsection (1) has not contained a substance that vaporizes to produce a hazardous or dangerous gas and the compartment has been ventilated to the satisfaction of a qualified person, or

  • (b) where the compartment has contained a substance that vaporizes to produce a hazardous or dangerous gas and the compartment has been gas freed and has, subsequently, been tested

    • (i) by a marine chemist, or

    • (ii) where a marine chemist is not available, by a qualified person, trained in the use of gas testing equipment, who has at least three years experience of which a minimum of 150 working hours has been gained under proper supervision in the testing and inspection of tanks,

    and found safe for persons to enter and for the work to be performed therein.

• (3) A certificate or statement shall be completed for every compartment that has been ventilated or tested as required by subsection (2), and such certificate or statement shall

  • (a) be available for the information of any person entering the compartment;

  • (b) indicate

    • (i) the name of the ship in which the compartment is located,

    • (ii) any special precaution that is to be observed, and

    • (iii) any subsequent tests that are, in the opinion of the marine chemist or qualified person, required to maintain the safe condition of the compartment; and

  • (c) be signed by the person responsible for the ventilation or testing of the compartment.

• (4) Where a compartment has been ventilated or gas freed as required by subsection (2), effective ventilation shall be continued in order to maintain the safe condition for the period that persons are to be inside the compartment.

• 31 (1) No person shall enter or remain in a cofferdam, ballast tank, oil tank or any similar compartment unless there is another person in attendance at the compartment entrance.

• (2) Every person who is in attendance at an entrance to a compartment referred to in subsection (1) shall, except where an emergency occurs with respect to the person inside the compartment, remain in attendance until the person inside leaves the compartment.

32 Before a hold, tank or other compartment is sealed, the person in charge of the working area shall ascertain that no person is inside the compartment.

Fire Prevention and Protection

• 33 (1) In any working area where flammable gas, vapour or dust is present in the atmosphere, no person shall use

  • (a) any electrical equipment or fittings that are not gas-tight; or

  • (b) any equipment or materials that are spark-producing.

• (2) No person shall take spark-producing materials into a hold, tank or other compartment that contains flammable gas, vapour or dust.

34 Whenever hot work is to be performed in a working area

• (a) a qualified person shall be assigned to patrol the working area and adjoining areas and maintain therein a fire protection watch for the duration of the work and for a period of 30 minutes thereafter; and

• (b) sufficient fire extinguishers shall be provided in the working area and adjoining areas.

35 Oxygen shall not be used

• (a) for ventilation purposes;

• (b) as a pressure testing medium;

• (c) to blow out pipelines;

• (d) to operate pneumatic equipment;

• (e) to start internal combustion engines; or

• (f) to clean working areas, equipment or other articles.

36 Every galley range and the exhaust hood and duct thereof shall be kept free from accumulated grease and other waste deposits.

• 37 (1) Space heaters shall not be fitted on board a ship without the permission of the owner of the ship.

• (2) When space heaters are fitted on board a ship, they shall be safely located and securely fastened in place.

38 When a ship’s fire pumps are inoperative and the ship is in dry dock or moored alongside a wharf,

• (a) sufficient fire hydrants and hoses shall be available, adjacent to the ship, for use in extinguishing a fire on board the ship; or

• (b) a water supply, sufficient to fight a fire on board the ship, shall be connected to the ship’s fire main.

• 39 (1) Fire alarms, fire hydrants, sprinkler and smothering system control valves, fire extinguishers and other fire extinguishing equipment shall be accessible at all times.

• (2) Tools and fittings for use with fire hydrants and hoses or with sprinkler and smothering systems shall be located alongside the fire extinguishing equipment and secured by means of light chains or suitable fixtures.

• 40 (1) Whenever a fire extinguisher is discharged or emptied, it shall be recharged as soon as possible and returned to its proper location.

• (2) When a fire extinguisher is removed from a ship for service or overhaul, an equivalent means of fire protection shall be provided for the area from which the extinguisher was taken.

• (3) This section does not apply in respect of a ship that is laid up when fire extinguishers have been emptied or removed and alternative arrangements have been made for fire protection.

41 No person shall overhaul or repair a smothering gas system unless the gas bottles thereof have been disconnected or otherwise rendered inoperative.

Hot Work Operations

• 42 (1) Hot work shall not be performed in a working area

  • (a) where inflammable gas, vapour or dust may be present in the atmosphere, unless the area has been freed of gas, tested by a marine chemist and found to be safe for that work to be performed therein;

  • (b) where an explosive or inflammable substance may be present in the working area, unless a qualified person has ensured that adequate protection exists to permit that work to be safely performed therein; and

  • (c) where the area is a tank that has previously contained petroleum or petroleum products, until the tank is found to be safe for the work to be performed therein by a qualified person who has had at least three years experience of which a minimum of 150 working hours has been gained under proper supervision in the testing and inspection of such tanks.

• (2) Where a marine chemist finds the atmosphere in a working area to be safe as described in paragraph (1)(a) or where a qualified person has ensured that adequate protection exists in a working area as described in paragraph (1)(b), he shall complete and sign a certificate or statement to that effect.

• (3) The certificate or statement referred to in subsection (2) shall

  • (a) be available for the information of any person entering the working area; and

  • (b) indicate

    • (i) the location of the working area,

    • (ii) any special precaution that is to be observed, and

    • (iii) any subsequent tests that are, in the opinion of the marine chemist or qualified person, required to maintain the safe condition.

43 When harmful fumes, gas or vapour are liable to be produced by hot work and to affect an enclosed working area,

• (a) the working area shall be well ventilated; or

• (b) any person in the working area shall wear a breathing apparatus.

44 Cables of electric welding equipment, and cylinders and pipes of gas welding or burning equipment, shall be placed clear of areas used for vehicles unless adequate protection for the cables, cylinders and pipes is provided.

45 Gas cylinders of welding and burning equipment shall be placed securely in an upright position when in use.

46 When equipment used for hot work is left unattended, the person in charge of the working area shall ensure that the equipment is in a safe condition.

Scaffolding, Scaffolds and Stages

47 Scaffolding, scaffolds and stages shall be constructed by qualified persons.

48 Scaffolding shall be placed on firm footings and where it is built on an uneven surface, substantial base plates shall be fitted to the scaffolding to maintain its stability.

• 49 (1) Subject to subsection (3), every scaffold shall

  • (a) be made with planks that

    • (i) are not less than 50 mm thick by 250 mm wide,

    • (ii) are supported not less than 150 mm and not more than 300 mm from each end by plank supports spaced not more than 3 m apart, and

    • (iii) are of the same thickness;

  • (b) have no significant openings between adjoining planks;

  • (c) have a width of not less than 500 mm;

  • (d) have a flat and horizontal working surface; and

  • (e) be fitted with guard rails at a height of 900 mm above the scaffold except on the side thereof where the work to be performed would be hindered by the guard rails.

• (2) A safe means of access, secured to prevent its accidental movement, shall be provided to and from the working level of every scaffold.

• (3) A scaffold may be constructed of materials other than wood if the strength and safety features of the scaffold when so constructed are not less than those of a wooden scaffold.

50 Subject to section 51, every stage shall be made with planks that are, in the opinion of a qualified person having regard to the distance between the plank supports, of sufficient strength to carry the load the stage is intended to support.

• 51 (1) Every stage shall

  • (a) be made with planks that are not less than 50 mm thick by 250 mm wide;

  • (b) be not more than 3.6 m in length where the stage is made of planks not more than 50 mm thick;

  • (c) have a flat and horizontal working surface;

  • (d) be fitted with guard lines, where the stage is to be used at a height greater than 3 m; and

  • (e) be fitted with effective means for holding the stage away from the working area.

• (2) Where a stage is more than one plank in width,

  • (a) the planks shall be of the same thickness;

  • (b) there shall be no significant openings between adjoining planks; and

  • (c) the planks shall be secured together on the underside with cleats not less than 25 mm thick and 150 mm wide that are securely nailed to the planks and spaced at intervals of not more than 1.2 m.

• (3) Stage supports shall be placed not less than 150 mm and not more than 300 mm from the plank ends.