‘For ships constructed on or after 1 July 2014, a minimum of two two-way portable radiotelephone apparatus for each fire party for fire-fighters communication shall be carried on board. Those two-way portable radiotelephone apparatus shall be of an explosion-proof type or intrinsically safe. Ships constructed before 1 July 2014 shall comply with the requirements of this paragraph not late r than the first survey after 1 July 2018.’

The dangerous environment can be created and caused by an unintentional ignition of flammable gases, mists and vapours or dust. Effective communication should be reassured between a team of fire-fighters entering the space, and the crew member located outside the space. Therefore, the portable radiotelephone apparatus used under these conditions needs to be specially designed and tested.

ATEX certification is marked by ‘EX’ symbol which signifies that products underwent required tests and they meet the essential health and safety requirements. Certificate of conformity should be kept on-board, providing the compliance of the two-way portable radiotelephone apparatus usage in potentially explosive atmospheres compliance.

As best practice, these fire-fighters portable radiotelephones should be stored in easily accessible location of the fire fighter’s outfit and be ready for use at all times. Fire-fighters portable radiotelephones should have coloured housing different from other deck or engine radiotelephones which are used for normal operations.

Source: MSC 338(91)

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