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1. The Administration of Marshall Islands vide Marine Safety Advisory No. 03-20 (copy attached) has informed regarding Port State Control (PSC) deficiencies being issued by Paris Memorandum of Understanding member States over fire-fighting outfits with the following indications:

• Not suitable for fire entry;
• Not a fire entry suit; or
• Outfits with buttons and or latches penetrating the suit and conducting heat to the wearer.                        

2. The subject fire-fighting outfits are mostly International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) or Fire Safety Code approved but according to the deficiency text, “May not provide the wearer sufficient thermal protection from the radiated heat if entering an enclosed space.”

3. Code 17 deficiencies are issued when the targeted outfits are used during enclosed space fire-fighting drills, when the wearer is not aware of its limitations, or when the limitations are not indicated in the SOLAS training manual.

4. In view of above, Marshall Islands Maritime Administration has advised that when the targeted fire-fighting outfits are the only ones available on board, the fire teams should be aware of the outfit limitations. Further, the outfit limitations should be included in the ship specific training manual.

5. Ship owners/ operators and masters are advised to be guided by above.

Enclosure:  

• Marshall Islands – Marine Safety Advisory No. 03-20

Disclaimer:

This Technical Circular and the material contained in it is provided only for the purpose of supplying current information to the reader and not as an advice to be relied upon by any person. While we have taken utmost care to be as factual as possible, readers/ users are advised to verify the exact text and content of the Regulation from the original source/ issuing Authority.

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