Explanatory note

amend and revoke various earlier amendment Regulations and revoke the Merchant Shipping (Loading and Stability Assessment of Ro-Ro Passenger Ships) Regulations 1989 (regulation 2);

insert the requirements of the previous Loading and Stability Assessment Regulations, which now apply to all types of passenger ships, as amendments to both the 1980 and 1984 Passenger Ship Construction Regulations respectively. These Regulations also introduce new SOLAS amendment Regulations which require a lightweight survey to be carried out on passenger ships every five years. This latter amendment replaces the requirement to incline ro-ro passengers ships only, every four years (regulations 3(3) and 4(4));

provide for limiting stability envelope curves to be calculated for all passenger ships instead of only for ro-ro passenger ships (regulations 3(8) and 4(12));

provide for new SOLAS Regulations which increase the residual stability criteria requirements for new passenger ships (regulations 4(5) and (13));

introduce new SOLAS amendment Regulations for openings in watertight bulkheads in passenger ships built after 1st February 1992 (“post 1992 ships”) (regulation 5); and

introduces requirements for the drainage of enclosed cargo spaces above the bulkhead deck again for post 1992 ships (regulation 5(15)).