INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
ON
Preamble.
His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia, in the name of the German Empire ; H.M. the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, &c., aixl Apostolic King of Hungary ; H.M. the King of the Belgians ; H.M. the King of Deumai'k ; H.M. the King of Spain ; the President of the United States of America ; the President of the French Republic ; H.M. the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India; H.M. the King of Italy ; H.M. the King of Norway ; H.M. the Queen of the Netherlands ; H.M. the Emperor of all the Russias ; H.M. the King of Sweden ;
Having recognised the desirability of determining by common agreement certain uniform rules with respect to the safety of life at sea, have decided to conclude a Convention to that end, and have appointed as their plenipotentiaries, that is to say : —
H.M. the Empeuor of Germany, King of Prussia, in the name of the German Empire : —
His Excellency Dr. A^t)n Koerner, Wirklicher Geheiraer Rat, Director of the
Commercial Section of the Imperial Foreign Office ; Dr. Seeliger, Geheimer Legationsrat und vortragender Rat, at the Imperial Foreign
Office; M. Schiitt, Geheimer Regierungsrat und vortragender Rat, at the Imperial Ministry
of the Intei'ior ; Dr. Riess, Geheimer Regierungsrat, Member of the Imperial Insurance Office ; Professor Pagel, Director of the Germanischer Lloyd Classification Society ; M. Schrader, Geheimer Ober Postrat und vortragender Rat, at the Imperial Post
Office ; Rear- Admiral Behm (retired), Director of the Deutsche Seewarte.
H.M. the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, &c., and Apostolic King of Hungary : —
Baron Georges de Franckensteiii, Councillor of Legation, Commercial Director
of the Austro- Hungarian Embassy at London ; M. Paul Schreckenthal, Doctor of Law, Secretary in the Austrian Ministry of
Commei'ce ; M. Ladislaus Dunay, Sektionsrat at the Royal Hungarian Maritime Administration
at Fiume.
* This ti-anslation has been prepared at the Board of Trade for convenience of reference. It is, however, to be clearly understood that the French text is the only one which possesses any official authority.
(279r— 14.) Wt. 40812— G 45. 2500. 2/14. D & S. G. 4. A
H. M. the King of the Belgians : —
M. E. A. Pierrard, Director General of Marine at the Ministry of the Marine,
Posts and Telegraphs ; M. Ch. Le Jeune, President of the International Maritime Committee ; M. L. Franck, Advocate, Member of the Chamber of Repi'esentatives, Vice-President
of the International Maritime Committee.
H.M. the King of Denmark : —
M. A. H. M. Rasmussen, Director of Instruction of State Eno-ineers ; M. Emil Krogh, Head of Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Navigation ; M. Host, Director of the United Steam Ship Company, Ltd. ;
M. V. Topsoe-Jensen, Assistant Head of Department and Secretary at the Ministry of Justice.
H.M. the King of Spain : —
Captain Don Rafael Bausii, Chief of the Spanish Naval Commission in J>ondon.
The President of the United States of America : —
Mr. J. W. Alexander, Member of the House of Representatives ;
Mr. T. E. Burton, Member of the Senate ;
Mr. J. Hamilton Lewis, Member of the Senate ;
Mr. E. T. Chamberlain, Commissioner of Navigation ;
Captain-Commandant E. P. Bertholf, of the Revenue Cutter Service ;
Rear-Admiral Washington L. Capps, of the Naval Constructors ;
Captain George F. Cooper, Naval Hydrographer ;
Mr. Homer L. Ferguson, Managing Director of the Newport News Ship Building
and Dry Dock Company ; Mr. Alfred Gilbert Smith, Vice-President of the New York and Cuba Mail
Steamship Company ; Captain W. H. G. Bullard, Superintendent of the Naval Wireless Telegraphy
Service ; Mr, George Uhler, Inspector General of Steamships.
The President of the French Republic : —
M. Guernier, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Lille, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Vice-President of the Marine Committee of the (]!hamber of Deputies, Vice-President of the Council of Maritime Navigation.
H.M. the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India : —
Lord Mersey, late President of the Admiralty Division of the High Court, and
President of the Court of Enquiry on the loss of the steamship " Titanic " ; Mr. E. G. Moggridge, Assistant Secretai'y of the Board of Trade for the Marine
Department ; Sir Archibald Denny, Bart., Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Bulkheads
and Watertight Compartments ; Sir Norman Hill, Chairman of the Merchant Shipping Advisory Committee ; Sir John Biles, late Chairman of the Departmental Committee on lîoats and
Davits ; Captain Acton Blake, Deputy Master of Trinity House ; Captain A. H. F. Young, Professional Officer to the Marine Department of ihv
lîoard of Trade ; Mr. C. Hipwood, of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade ; Mr. W. D. Archer, Principal Ship Surveyor to the Board of Trade.
For Australia : —
Captain R. Muirhead Collins, Official Secretary of the Australian Commonwealth in London.
For Canada : —
Mr. Alexander Johnston, Deputy Minister of Marine and Fisheries.
For New Zealand : —
Mr. Thomas Mackenzie, High Commissioner of the Government of New Zealand in London.
H. M. TiiE Ktng of Italy : —
M. Carlo Bruno, Director-General of the Mercantile Marine at rlie Ministry of
Marine ; Major-General Vittorio Ripa di ^leana, of the Naval Constructors ; M. Gustavo ïosti, Doctor of Law, Consul-General.
H. M. THE King of Norway : —
M. Harald Pedersen, Director of the Mercantile Marine Office ;
Dr. Johannes Bruhn, Director of the " Norske Veritas " Classiticatiou Society ;
M. Jens Evang, Secretary in the Foreign Office.
H. M. THE Queen of the Netherlands : —
M. J. V. Wierdsma, Chairman of the Committee of Directors of the Holland/
America Company ; M. H. S. J. Maas, Consul-General for the Netherlands in London ; ;\L A. D. MuUer, Inspector-General of Navigation ; M. J. Wilmink,- Director of the Royal Hollandsche Lloyd ; M. J. W. G. Coops, Head of Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry,
and Commerce.
H.M. THE Emperor of all the Russias : —
M. N. de Etter, Councillor of the Russian Embassy in Loudon.
H.M. the King of Sweden : —
Vice- Admiral Olsen, late President General of the Naval Services ;
M. N. G. Nilsson, Inspector of Life-Saving Appliances at the Ministry of Commerce.
Who, having been duly authorised to that effect, have drawn up by common consent the folio win"' Convention : —
Chapter I. — Safety of Life at Sea.
The High Contracting Parties undertake to give effect to the provisions of this Convention, iov the purpose of securing safety of life at sea, to promulgate all regulations and to take all steps which may be necessary to give the Convention full and complete effect.
The provisions of this Convention are completed by Regulations which have the same force and take effect at the same time as the Convention. Every reference to the Convention implies at the same time a refei-ence to the Regulations annexed thereto.
Chapter II. — Ships to which this Convention applies.
Article 2.
Except where otherwise provided by this Convention, the merchant ships of any of the States of the High Contracting Parties, which are mechanically propelled, which carry more than 12 passengers and which proceed from a port of one of the said States to a port situated outside that State, or conversely, are subject to the provisions of this Convention. Ports situated in the Colonies, Possessions or Protectorates of the High C(jntracting Parties are considered to be ports outside the States of the High Contracting Parties.
Persons who are on board by reason oî force majeure or in consequence of the obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked or other persons are not deemed to be passengers.
Article 3.
There are excepted from this Convention, save in the cases where the Convention otherwise provides, ships making voyages specified in a schedule to be communicated by each High Contracting Party to the British Government at the time of ratifying' the Convention.
No schedule may include voyages in the course of which the ships go more than 200 sea miles from the nearest coast.
Eacli High Contractiiiii' I'arty has the rig-ht subsequently tu modify its schedule of voyages in conformity witli this Article on condition that it notifies the British Government of such modification.
Each High Contracting Party has the right to claim from another Contracting Party the benefit of the {)rivileges of the Con\'ention for all of its ships which are engaged in any one of the voyages mentioned in its own schedule. For this purpose the Party claiming such benefit shall impose on the said ships the obligations ])rescribed by the Convention in so far as, having regard to the nature (jf the voyage, these obligations would not be unnecessary or unreasonable.
Article 4.
No shi]), not subject to the provisions of the Convention at the time of its departure, can be subjected to the Convention in the course of its voyage, if stress of weather or any other cause of force majeure compels it to take refuge in a port of one of the States of the High Contracting Parties.
Chapter III. — Safety of Navigation.
Article 5.
When the exjjression ' every ship ' is used in this Chapter and in the corresponding part of the annexed Regulations, it includes all merchant ships, whether they are the ships defined in Article 2 or not, which belong to any of the Contracting States.
Article 6.
The High Contracting Parties undertake to take all steps to ensure the destruction of derelicts in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean east of a line drawn from Cape Sable to a point situated in latitude 34° north and longitude 70° west. Further, they will establish in the North Atlantic with the least possible delay a service for the study and observation of ice conditions and a service of ice patrol. For this purpose : —
Two vessels shall be charged with these three services.
During the whole of the ice season, they shall be employed in ice patrol.
During the rest of the year the two vessels shall be employed in the study and observation of ice conditions and in the destruction of derelicts ; nevertheless the study and observation of ice conditions shall be effectively maintained, in particular from the beginning of February to the opening of the ice season.
While the two vessels are employed in ice patrol the High Contracting Parties, to the extent of their ability and so far as the exigencies of the Naval Service will permit, will send warships or other vessels to destroy any dangerous derelicts, if this destruction is considered necessary at that time.
The Government of the United States is invited to undertake the management of the three services of derelict destruction, study and observation of ice conditions, and ice patrol. The High Contracting Parties which are specially interested in these services, and whose names are given below, undertake to contribute to the expense of establishing and working the said services in the following projiortions : —
Per cent.
Austria- Hungary ... ... ... ... ... 2
Belgium ... ... ... ... ... ... 4
v^ulluii Ki ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• «^
Denmaj'k ... ... ... ... ... ... 2
J^ ranct^ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... xo
Germany ... ... ... ... ... ... 15
Great Britain ... ... ... ... ... ... 30
A. Luil y ••• ••• ••« ••• ••• ••• ••• ji
Netherlands ... ... ... ... ... ... 4
Norway ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3
XliLIoArcl. •■• ••• ••* ••• •••- ••• ■•• i^
Sweden ... ... ... ... ... ... 2
United States of America ... ... ... ... 15
Each of the Higli Contracting Parties has the right to discontinue its contribution to the expense of working these services after the 1st Sejatember, 1916. Nevertheless,
the Hi i>'h (/ontracting Purty which avails* itself ol' this right will continue responsible for the expenses of working up to the 1st September following the date of denunciation of the Convention on this particular ])oint. To take advantage of the said right, it must give notice to the other Contracting Parties at least six months before thy said 1st September ; so that, to be free from its obligatitms on the 1st Septemljer, 1916, it must give notice on the 1st March, lUlG. at the latest, and similarly for each subsequent year.
In case the United States Government should not accept the proposal made to them, or in case one of the High Contracting Parties, for any reason, should not assume responsibility for the pecuniary contribution defined above, the High Contracting Parties shall settle the (question in accordance with their nuitual interests.
The Government of the High Contracting Party which undertakes the management of the service of derelict destruction is invited to devise means of granting, at the expense of this service, to merchant ships, which have contributed in an effective manner to the destruction of ocean derelicts, rewards to be fixed by the Government in •accordance with the services rendered.
The High Contracting Parties which contribute to the cost of the three abovementioned services shall have the right by common consent to make from time to time such alterations in the provisions of this Ai'ticle and of Article 6 as appear desirable.
Article 8.
The master of every ship which meets with dangerous ice or a dangerous derelict is l>ound to communicate the information by all the means of communication at his disposal to the ships in the vicinity, and also to the competent authorities at the first point of the coast with which lie can communicate.
Every Administration which receives intelligence of dangerous ice or a dangerous derelict shall take all steps which it thinks necessar}' for bringing the information to the knowledse of those concerned and for communicating it to the other Administrations.
The transmission of messages respecting ice and derelicts is free of cost to the ships concerned.
It is desirable that the said information should be sent in a uniform manner. For this purpose, a code, the use of which is optional, appears in Article I of the Regulations annexed hereto.
Article 9.
The master of every ship fitted with a radio-telegraph installation, on becoming aware of the existence of an innninent and serious danger to navigation, shall report it immediately in the manner prescribed by Article II of the Regulations imnexed hereto.
Whep ice is reported on, or near, his course, the master of every ship is bound to proceed at night at a moderate speed, or to alter his course so as to go well clear of the " danger zone.
Article 11.
The ships defined by Article 2 shall have on board a Morse signalling lamp of sufficient range.
The use of Morse signals is regulated by the Code appearing in Article III, as well as by Article IV of the Regulations annexed hereto.
Article 12.
The use of the international distress signals for any other purpose than that of signals of distress is pfohibited on every ship.
The use of jjrivate signals which are liable to be confused with the intei'national distress signals is prohibited on every ship.
Article 13.
The selection of the routes across the North Atlantic in both directions is left to the responsibility of the steamship conapanies. Nevertheless the High Contracting Parties undertake to impose on these companies the obligation to give public notice of the regular routes which they propose their vessels should follow, and of any changes which they make in them.
The Hij^ii Contracting Parties undertake, furtlier, to use their influence to induce the (jwners of all vessels crossin<>- the Atlantic to follow as far as possible the routes adopted by the principal companies.
Article 14.
The High Ct)ntracting Parties undertake to use all diligence to obUiin from the Governments which are not parties to this Convention their agi-eement to the revision of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea as indicated below : — (^1) The Regulations shall be completed or revised in regard to the following points : —
(1) The second white light.
(2) The stern light.
(o) A day signal for motor vessels.
.^ (4) A sound signal for a vessel towed.
(Ô) The prohibition of signals similar to distress signals.
(B) Articles 2, 10, 14, 15, 31 of the said Regulations shall be auuinded in accordance with the following provisions : —
Article 2. The second white mast-head light to be compulsory. Article 10. A permanent fixed stern light to be compulsory. Article 14. A special day signal to be compulsory for motor vessels. Article 15. A special sound signal to be established for use by a vessel
in tow, or if the tow is composed of sevei'al vessels by the last
vessel of the tow\ Article 31. Article 31 to be modified in the following manner : —
Add to the lists of both day and night signals the international
radio-telegraph distress signal.
Article 15.
The Governments of the High Contracting Parties undertake to maintain, or, if it is necessary, to adopt, measures for the purjwse of ensuring that, from the point of view of safety of life at sea, the ships defined in Article 2 shall be sufficiently and efficiently manned.
Chapter IV. — Construction.
Article 16.
New ships and existing ships.
For the application of the Articles contained in this Chapter and in the corresponding part of the Regulations annexed hereto, the ships defined in Article 2 are divided into " new ships " and " existing ships."
New ships are those the keel of which is laid after the 1st July, 1915. The following ;\.rticles of this Chapter, namely. Articles 17 to 30, are applicable to them in full.
Other ships are considered as existing ships. Existing arrangements on each of these ships shall be considered by the Administration of the State to which the ship belongs, with a view to improvements providing increased safety where practicable and reasonable.
Article 17.
Subdivision of Ships. '
Ships shall be as efficiently subdivided as is possible having regard to the nature of the service for which they are intended. The minmium requirements respecting subdivision and arrangements affecting subdivision are given in the following Articles and in the Regulations annexed to this Convention.
The degree of safety provided for by these minimum requirements varies in a regular and continuous manner with the length of the vessel and with a certain " criterion of service." The requirements of the annexed Regulations are such that the highest degree of safety corresponds with the ships of greatest length primarily engaged in the carriage of passengers.
Articles V to IX of the annexed Regulations indicate the method to be followed in order to determine the permissible length of compartmente on the basis of the floodable length ; prescribe a limit to the length of compartments ; and fix the conditions governing certain special cases.
When the watertight sub-division of a ship is such as to provide for a degree of safety greater than that provided by the rules prescribed by this Convention, the Administration of the State to which the ship belongs shall, if so requested by the owner, record this fact on the Safety Certificate of the ship to the extent and in the manner provided in Article X of the annexed Regulations.
Article 18.
Peak and Machinery Space Bulkheads.
Ships shall be fitted with forward and after peak bulkheads and bulkheads at the extremities of the machinery space in accordance with the provisions of Article XI. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 19.
Fireproof Bidkheads.
With a view to retarding the spread of fire, ships shall be fitted with fireproof bulkheads in accordance with the provisions of Article XII. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 20.
Exits from Waterti(/ht Compartments.
The conditions under which means of escape from the various watertight compartments shall be provided are indicated in Article XIII. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 21.
Construction and Tests of Watertight Bidkheads.
In order to ensure their strength and watertightness, watertight bulkheads shall be constructed and tested, in accordance with the provisions of Article XIV. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 22.
Openinqs in Watertight Bidkheads.
T^he number of openings in watertight bulkheads shall be reduced to the minimum compatible with the design and proper working of the ship ; satisfactory means shall be provided for closing these openings. Articles XV. and XVII. of the annexed Regulations indicate the conditions governing the number of openings, the character and use of the means of closing with which these openiiags shall be provided, and the tests to which watertight doors shall be subjected.
Article 23.
Openings in Ship\s Side.
Side-scuttles and other openings in the side of the ship and the inboard openings of discharges through the shell shall be provided with means of closing them, and shall be arranged in such manner as to prevent so far as possible the accidental admission of water into the ship. Articles XVI. and XVII. of the annexed Regulations indicate the conditions under which openings may be made in the ship's side, the appliances which shall be provided for closing these openings, and the requirements as to operating the closing appliances.
Article 24.
Construction and Tests of Watertight Decks, ^'c.
In order to ensure their strength and watertightness, watertight decks, trunks and ventilators shall be constructed and tested in accordance with the provisions of Article X\'ITI. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 25.
Periodical Operation and Inspection of Watertight Doors, <^'C.
The conditions under which inspections of watertight doors, &c., and drills for their operation, shall be made periodically during a voyage are indicated in Article XIX. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 26.
Entries in the Official Log Book.
A record of the closing and opening of watertight doors, &c., and of all inspections and drills, shall be entered in the official log book as i-equired by Article XX. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 27.
Double [Bottoms.
The conditions under which a double bottom shall be fitted in shi]>s of different lengths, and in pai'ticular the minimum extent of the double bottom longitudinally and transversely, are indicated in Article XXI. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 28.
Going astern and auxiliary steering apparatus.
Ships shall comply, as regards their power of going astern and the fitting of auxiliary steeinng apjiaratus, with the provisions of Articles XXII. and XXTII. of the annexed Regulations.
Article 29.
Initial and Subsequent Surveys of Shijjs.
The general principles which shall govern the survey of the ships defined in Article 2, whether new ships or existing ships, as regards hull, main and auxiliary boilers and machinery, and equipments, are stated in Articles XXIV. to XXVI. of the annexed Regulations. The Government of each of the High Contractuig Parties undertakes :
(1) to draw up detailed regulations in accordance with these general principles,
or to bring its existing regulations into agreement with these principales ;
(2) to communicate these regulations to each of the other contracting States ; and
(3) to secure that these regulations shall be enforced.
The detailed regulations referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be in all respects such as to secure that, from the point of view of safety of life, the ship is fit for the service for which it is intended.
Article 30.
Questions for further Study and Agreement. — Exchange of Information.
The High Contracting Parties undertake to cause the study of the criterion of service referred to in Article 17 to l)e pressed forward, and to communicate to each other the results of that study.
The British Government is invited to undertake the duty of circulating this information, and, as soon as a definite result is attainable, of endeavouring to secure, through the dijjlomatic channel, the acceptance by the contracting States of the criterion. Ujion its acceptance by each of the contracting States, as from a date and subject to conditions to be agreed upon, such criterion shall have effect as if it were prescribed in the Convention.
The above procedure shall also be applied to the following items : —
(1.) The fitting of longitudinal watertight bulkheads, double skins and watertight decks and flats, and the question whether there may be allowed any increase in the length of transverse watertight compartments in way of which such longitudinal sub-division is fitted, and, if so, to what extent : (2.) Tlie method of sub-division for obtaining the highest practicable degree of safety to be applied to ships of shorter lengths than those covered by Article VIII. of the annexed Regttlations ; and
(o.) The results of exjioriments in reo[,ird to the proper margin of resistance above
tlie pressure which watertight bulklieads are required to be capable of
supporting, as referi'ed to in Article XIV. of the annexed Regulations.
The contracting States undertake to exchange information as freely as possible
in regai'd to the application of the rules of this Convention in matters relating to
safety of construction. They shall communicate to each other the methods or rules
which they ado])t, information concerning any new fittings or appliances which they
sanction, the decisions which they make in regard to points of principle not covered
by the foregoing articles and the corresponding portion of the annexed Regulations,
and the final results of their further studies in matters not definitely determined.
Chapter V. — .RADioTELEGRApnv.
Article SI.
All merchant ships belonging to any of the Contracting States, whether they are propelled by machinery or by sails, and whether they carry passengers or not, shall. when engaged on the voyages specified in Article 2, be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation, if they have on board fifty or more persons in all.
Advantage may not be taken of the provisions of Articles 2 and o of this Convention to exempt a shi^) from the requirements of this Chapter.
Article 32
Ships on which the number of persons on board is exceptionally and temporarily increased up to or beyond fifty as the I'esult of force majeure, or because the master is under the necessity of increasing the number of his crew to fill the places of those who are ill, t)r is obliged to carry shipwrecked tn* other ])ersons, are exempted from the above obligation.
Moreover, the Governments of each of the Contracting States, if they consider that the route and the conditions of the voyage are such as to render a radiotelegraph installation unreasonable or unnecessary, may exempt from the above requirement the following ships : —
(1) Ships which in the course of their voyage do not go more than 150 sea miles
from the nearest coast.
(2) Ships on which the number of persons on board is exceptionally or temporarily
increased up to or beyond fifty by the carriage of cai'go hands for a part ot the voyage, provided that the said ships ai-e not going from one continent to another, and that, during that part of their voyage, they remain within the limits of latitude 30° N. and 30° S.
(3) Sailing vessels of primitive build, such as dhoivs, junks, &c., if it is practically
impossible to instal a radiotelegraph apparatus.
Article 33.
Ships which, in accordance with Article 31 above, are required to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation ai'e divided, for the purpose of radiotelegraph service, into three classes, in accordance with the classification established for ship stations in Article XIII. {l>) of the Regulations annexed to the Radiotelegraph Convention, signed in London on the 5th July, 1912, viz. :—
First Class. — Ships having a continuous service. There shall be placed in the First Class ships which are intended to carry twenty-five or more passengers : —
( 1 ) if they have an average speed in service of fifteen knots or more ; (2) if they have average speed in service of more than thirteen knots, but only subject to the twofold condition that they have on board two hundred persons or more (passengers and crew), and that, in the course of their voyage, they go a distance of more than five hundred sea miles between any two consecutive ports. Nevertheless these ships may be placed in the Second Class on condition that they have a continuous watch. Second Class. — Ships having a service of limited duration. There shall be placed in the Second Class all ships which are intended to carry twenty-five or more passengers, if they are not, for other reasons, placed m the First Class.
Ships placed in the Second Class must, durinj^ navigation, maintain a continnous watch for at least seven hours a day, and a watch of ten minutes at the beginning of every other hour,
Tliird Class. — Ships which have no fixed periods of service.
All ships which are placed neither in the First nor in the Second Class shall be placed in the Third Class.
The owner of a ship placed in the Second or in the Third Class has the right to require that, if" the ship complies with all the recjuirements for a superior class, a statement to the effect that it belongs to that superior class shall be inserted in the Safety Certificate.
Article 34.
Ships which are required by Article 31 above to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation shall be required, by the Governments of the countries to which they belong, to maintain a continuous watch during navigatit)n as soon as the said Governments consider that it will be of service for the purpose of safety of life at sea.
Meanwhile, the High Contracting Pai'ties undertake to require, from the date of the ratification of the present Convention subject to the delays specified below, a continuous watch on the following ships : —
(1) Ships whose average speed in service exceeds 13 knots, which have on board
200 persons or more, and which, in the course of their voyage, go a distance of more than 500 sea miles between two consecutive ports, when these ships are placed in the Second Class.
(2) Ships in the Second Class, for the whole of the time during which they are
more than 500 sea miles from the nearest coast.
(3) Other ships specified in Article 31, when they are engaged in the Trans-
Atlantic trade, or when they are engaged in other trades if their route takes them more than 1,000 sea miles from the nearest coast.
Ships connected with all kinds of fishing business including whaling, which are required to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation, shall not be required to maintain a continuous watch.
The continuous watch may be kept by one or more operators, holding certificates in accordance with Article X of the Regulations annexed to the International Radiotelegi'aph Convention, 1912, together, if necessary, with one or more certificated watchers. Nevertheless, if an efficient automatic calling apparatus is invented, the continuous watch may be maintained by this means by agreement between the Governments of the High Contracting Parties.
By " certificated watcher " is meant any person holding a certificate issued under the authority of the Administration concerned. To obtain this certificate, the applicant must prove that he is capable of receiving and understanding the radiotelegraph distress signal and the safety signal described in the Regulations annexed hereto.
The High Contracting Parties undertake to take steps to ensure that the certificated watchers observe the secrecy of correspondence.
Article 35.
The radiotelegraph installations required by Article 31 above shall be capable of transmitting clearly perceptible signals from ship to ship over a range of at least 100 sea miles by day under normal conditions and circumstances.
Every ship which is required, in conformity with the provisions of Article 31 above, to be fitted with a radiotelegraph installation, shall, whatever be the class in which it is placed, be provided in accordance with Article XI. of the Regulations annexed to the International Radiotelegraph Convention, 1912, with an emergency installation, every part of which is placed in a position of the greatest possible safety to be determined by the Government of the country to which the ship belongs.
In all cases the emergency installation must be placed, in its entirety, in the upper part of the ship, as high as practically possil)le.
The emergency installation includes, as provided by Article XL of the Regulations annexed to the International Radiotelegraj^h Convention, 1912, an independent source of energy capable of being put into operation rapidly and of working for at least six hours with a minimum range of eighty sea miles for ships in the First Class and fifty sea miles for ships in the two other Classes,
If the normal installation, which, in accordance with this Article, has a range ol' at least one hundred sea miles, satisfies all the conditions prescribed above, an emergency installation is not required.
The licence provided tor in Article IX. of the Regulations annexed to the International Radiotelegraph Conventi(,)n, 1912, may not be issued unless the installation complies both with the provisions of that Convention, and also with the provisions of this Convention.
Article 36.
The matters governed by the International Radiotelegraph Convention, 1912. and the Regulations annexed thereto, and in particular the radiotelegraph installations on ships, the transmission of messages, and the certificates of the operators, remain and will continue subject to the provisions :
(1) of that Convention and the Regulations annexed thereto, or of any other
instruments which may in the future be substituted therefor,
(2) of this Convention, in regard to all the points in which it supplements the
aforementioned documents.
Article 37.
Every master of a ship, who receives a call for assistance from a vessel in distress is bound to proceed to the assistance of the jjersons in distress.
Every master of a vessel in distress has the right to requisition from among the ships which answer his call for assistance the ship or ships which he considers best able to render him assistance, but he mast exercise this right only after consultation, so far as may be possible, with the masters of those ships. Such ships are then bound to comply immediately with the requisition by proceeding with all speed to the assistance of the persons in distress.
The masters of the ships which are required to render assistance are released from this obligation as soon as the master or masters requisitioned have made known that they will comply with the requisition, or as soon as the master of one of the ships which has reached the scene of the casualty has made known to them that their assistance is no longer necessary.
If the master of a ship is unable, or considers it unreasonable or unnecessary, in the special circumstances of the case, to go to the assistance of the vessel in distress, he must immediately inform the master of the vessel in distress accordingly. Moreover he must enter in his log-book the reasons justifying his action.
The above provisions do not prejudice the International Convention for the unification of certain rules with respect to Assistance and Salvage at Sea, signed at Brussels (.)n the 23rd September, 1910, and, in particular, the obligation to render assistance laid down in Article 1 1 of that Convention.
Article 38.
The High Contracting Parties undertake to take all steps necessary for giving effect to the provisions of this Chapter with the least possible delay. Nevertheless^ they may allow :
A delay not exceeding one year, from the date of the ratification of this Convention, for the provision and training of operators and for the installation of the apparatus on ships jjlaced in the First and Second Classes.
A delay not exceeding two years, from the date of the ratification of this Convention, for the provision and training of the operators and watchers on the ships in the Third Class, for the installation of the apparatus on ships in the Third Class and for the establishment of a continuous watch on ships placed in the Second and Third Classes.
Chapter VI. — Life-saving Appliances and Fire Protection.
Article 39.
New ships and existing ships.
For the application of the Articles contained in this Chapter and of the corresi)onding part of the Regulations annexed hereto the ships defined in Article 2 are divided into neiv ships and existing ships.
New ships are those of which the keel is laid after the olst December, 1914.
Other ships are considered as existing ships.
Article 40.
Fundamental Principle.
At no moment of its voyage may a ship have on board a total number of perstjus greater than that for whom accommodation is provided in the lifeboats and the pontoon •life-rafts on board.
The number and arrangement of the boats, and (where they are allowed) of the pontoon rafts, on a ship de2)ends upon the total number of persons which the ship is intended to carry ; provided that there shall not be requiretl on any voyage a total capacity in boats, and (where they are allowed) pontoon-rafts, greater than that necessary to acconuuodate all the persons on board.
Article 41.
Stdiidanl Ijijies nf hoats — Panluoii rafts.
All the life boats allowed for a ship shall com2:)ly with the conditions hxed by this Convention and Articles XXVII to XXXII of the Regulations annexed hereto; the same Articles describe the stixndard types, which are divided into two classes.
The conditions required for the pontoon-rafts are given in Article XXXIII of the same Regulations.
Article 42.
Strength of boats.
Each boat must be of sufficient strength to enable it to be safely lowered into the water when loaded with its lull complement of persons and etjuipnient.
Article 43.
Alternative ti/pes af boats and rafts.
Any type of boat may be accepted as equivalent to a boat of one of the prescribed classes and any type of raft as equivalent to an appi'oved jjontoon-raft, if the Administrations concerned are satisfied by suitable trials that it is as effecti\e as the standard types of the class in question, or as the apj^roved type of pontoon-raft, as the case may be.
The Government of the High Contracting Party which accepts a new type of boat or raft will communicate to the Governments of the other Ct)ntracting Parties particulars of the trials made. It will also inform them of the class in which a new type of boat has been placed.
Article 44.
Embarkation if the passengers in the boats and rafts.
Suitable arrangements shall lie made for embarking the passengers in the boats. In ships which carry rafts there shall be a number of rope ladders alwavs available for use in embarking the persons on to the rafts.
Article 45.
Capacitif of boats and pontoon rafts.
The number of persons that a boat of one of the standard types or an apj^rovcd pontoon raft can accommodate is determined by the methods indicated in Articles XXXIV to XXXIX, inclusive, of the Regulations annexed hereto.
Equipment of boats and pontoon rafts.
Article Xl. of the annexed Regulations prescribes the equipment for boats and pontoon-rafts. All loose equipment must be securely attached to the boat or jjontoon-rait to which it belonas.
Article 47.
Stowage of boats — Number of davits.
The iirrang-euients to be made for the stowage of the boats and in particnlar the extent to which pontoon rafts may be accepted are sj^ecitied in Articles XLI, XLII, and XLIII of the annexed Regulations.
The minimum number of sets of davits is fixed in relation to the length of . the ship ; provided that a number of sets of davits greater than the number of boats necessary for the accommodation of all the persons on board may not be required.
Article 48.
Handling of the boats and rajts.
All the boats and rafts must be stowed in such a way that they can be launched in the shortest possible time and that) even under mifavourable conditions of list and trim from the point of view of the handling of the boats and rafts, it may be possible to embark in them as larfce a number of persons as possible.
The arrangements! must be such that it may be possible to hiunch on either side of the ship as large a number of boats and rafts as possilale.
Supplementary instructions are given in Article XLIV^ of the annexed Regulations.
Article 49.
Strength and operation of the davits.
The davits shall be of such strength that the boats can be lowered with their full complement of persons and equipment, the ship being assumed to have a list of 15 degrees.
The davits must be fitted with a gear of sufficient power to ensure that the boat can be turned out against the maximum list under which the lowering of the boats is possible on the vessel m question.
Article 50.
Other appliances equivalent to davits.
Any appliance may be accepted in lieu of davits or sets of davits if the Administration concerned is satisfied, after proper trials, that the appliance in question is as effective as davits for placing the boats in the water.
The Government of the High Contracting Party which accepts a new type of appliance shall communicate to the other Contracting Parties particulars of the appliance with details of the trials made.
Article 51.
Life-jackets and life-ln/oi/s.
(1) A life-jacket of an approved type, or other appliance of equal buoyancy and capable of being fitted on the body, whall be carried for every person on board, and, in addition, a sufficient number of life-jackets, or other equivalent appliances, suitable for children.
(2) Article XLV of the annexed Regulations fixes in accordance with the length of the ship the number of life-buoys of an approved type to be carried, and also the conditions with which life-jackets and life-buoys must comply, and in accordance with which they must be stowed.
Article 52.
Existing ships.
The Government of each of the High Contracting Parties undertakes to apply to existing ships, as soon as possible and not later than the 1st July, 191.5, all the provisions of the preceding articles of the present Cliapter, namely, Articles 40 to 51 inclusive, requmng, in the first place, accommt)datiou for all the persons on board in boats and
I'afts ; provided that, iu cases where tlie strict application of these principles wonlcl not be ])racticable or reasonable, the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties has the right to allow the exemptions specified in Article XLVI of the Regulations annexed hereto.
Means of ingress and egress. Emergency lighting.
(1) Proper arrangements shall be made for ingress to and egress from the different compartments, decks, &c.
(2) Provision shall be made for an electi'ic or other system of lighting, sufficient for all requirements of safety, in the different parts oi both new and existing ships, and particularly upon the decks on which the life-boats are stowed. On new ships there must be a self-contained source capable of supplying, when necessary, this safety lighting system, and placed in the upper parts of the ship, as high as practically possible.
(3) The exit from every compartment must always be lighted by an emergency lamp, which shall be kept locked, and which shall be independent of the ordinary lighting of the ship. These emergency lamps may be supplied from the independent installation referred to in the jjreceding paragraph, if an independent circuit is employed for this purpose and if this installation works concurrently with the ordinai'y lighting of the ship.
Article 54.
Certificated Lifeboatmen — Manning of the Boats.
There must be, for each bt)at or raft required, a minimum number of certificated lifeboatmen. The minimum total number of certificated lifeboatmen is determined by the provisions of Article XLVII of the annexed Regulations.
The allocation of the certificated lifeboatmen to each boat and raft remahis within the discretion of the master, according to the circumstances.
By " certificated lifeboatman " is meant any member of the crew who holds a certificate of efl&ciency issued under the authority of the Administration concerned, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the afore -mentioned Article of the annexed Regulations.
Article XLVIII of the Regulations deals with the manning of the boats.
Article 55.
Fire Protection.
(1) The carriage, either as cargo or ballast, of goods which by reason of their nature, quantity, or mode of stowage, are, either singly or collectively, likely to endanger the lives of the passengers or the safety of the ship, is forbidden.
This provision does not apply to the ship's distress signals, nor to the carriage of naval or military stores for the public service of the State under authorised conditions.
(2) The Government of each High Contracting Party shall, from time to time by official notice, determine what goods are to be considered dangerous goods, and shall indicate the precautions which must be taken in the packing and stowage thereof.
(3) Article XLIX of the annexed Regulations indicates the arrangements to be made for the detection and extinction of fire.
Article 56.
Muster Roll and Drills.
Special duties for the event of an emergency shall be allotted to each member of the crew.
The muster list shall show all these special duties, and shall indicate, in particular, the station to which each man must go, and the duties that he has to perform.
Before the vessel sails, the muster list shall be drawn up and exhibited, and the proper authority shall be satisfied that the muster list has been prepared for the ship. It shall be posted in several parts of the ship, and in particular in the crew's quarters.
Articles L and LI of the annexed Regulations indicate the conditions under which musters of the crew and drills shall take place.
Chapter VII. — Safety Certificates.
Article 57.
A certificate, called a " Safety Certificate," shall be issued, after inspection and survey, to every ship which complies in an efficient manner with the requirements of the Convention.
The inspection and survey of ships, so far as regards the enforcement of the provisions of this Convention and the annexed Regulations, shall be carried out by officers of the State to which the ship belongs ; provided always that the Government of ea^h State may entrust the inspection and survey of ships of its own country either to surveyors nominated by it for this purpose or to organisations recognised by it. In every case the Government concerned fully guarantees the completeness and efficiency of the inspection and survey.
The Safety Certificate shall be issued either by the officers of the State to which the ship belongs, or by any other person duly authorised by that State. In either case the State to which the ship l:)elongs assumes full responsibility for the certificate.
Article 58.
The Safety Certificate shall be drawn up in the official language or languages of the State by which it is issued.
The form of the certificate shall be that of the model given in Article LII of the Regulations annexed hereto. The arrangement "of the printed part of this standard certificate shall be exactly reproduced, and the particulars inserted by hand shall be inserted in Roman characters and Arabic figures.
The High Contracting parties undertake to comnninicate one to another a sufficient number of specimens of their Safety Certificates for the information oi their officers. This exchange shall be made, so far as possible, before the 1st April, 1915.
Article 59.
The Safety Certificate shall not be issued for a period of more than twelve months.
If the ship is not in a port of the State to which it belongs at the time when the period of the validity of the Safety Certificate expires a duly authorised officer of this State may extend this period ; but such an extension shall be granted only for the purpose of allowing the ship to complete its return voyage to its own country, and then only in cases in which it appears proper and reasonable so to do.
The extension cannot have effect for more than five months, and the ship shall not thereby be entitled to leave its own country again without having obtained a new certificate. »
Article 60.
The Safety Certificate issued under the authority of a Contracting State shall be accepted by the Governments of the other Contracting States for all purposes covered by this Convention. It shall be regarded by the Governments of the other Contracting States as having the same force as the certificates issued by them to their own ships.
Article 61.
Every ship holding a Safety Certificate issued by the officers of the Contracting State to which it belongs, or by persons duly authorised hj that State, is subject in the ports of the other Contracting States to control by officers duly authorised by their Governments in so far as this control is directed towards verifying that there is on board a valid Safety Certificate, and, if necessary, that the conditions of the vessel's seaworthiness correspond substantially with the particulars of that certificate ; that is to say, so that the ship can proceed to sea without danger to the passengers and the crew.
Article 62.
The pi'ivileges of the Convention may not be claimed in favour of any ship unless it holds a proper valid Safety Certificate.
Article 63.
If, in the course of a particular voyage, the ship has on board a number of passengers less than the maximum number indicated in the Safety Certificate, and is, in consequence,
so
in accordance with the provisions of this Oonvontion free to carry a smaller number of life boats and other life-saving appliances than that stated in the afore-nientioued Certificate, a memorandum may be issued by the officers or other authorised persons referred to in Articles ."»" (jiaragraph ?>) and 59 above.
This memorandum shall state that in the circumstances there is no infringement of the provisions of the Convention, It shall be annexed to the Safety Certificate and shall be substituted for it in so far as the life-saving appliances are concerned. It shall be valid only for the jiarticular voyage in regard to which it is issued.
Chapter YTII.— General.
Article 64.
The Governments of the High Contracting Parties undertake to communicate mutually, in addition to the documents which, in this Convention, are the subject of special provisions to that effect, all information which they possess affecting safety of life on those of their ships which are subject to the rules of this Convention, provided always that such information is not of a confidential nature.
They will communicate to each other in particular : —
1. The text of Laws, Decrees and Kegulations which shall have been promulgated
on the various matters within the scope of the Convention.
2. The description of the characteristics of new appliances approved in administering
the rules of the Convention.
3. All official reports, or official summaries of reports, in so far as they show the
results of the provisions of this Convention. Until other arrangements may be made, the British Government is invited to serve aa intermediary for collecting all this information and for bringing it to the knowledge of the Governments of the Contracting Parties.
Article 65.
The High Contracting Parties undertake to take, or to propose to their respective legislatures, the measures necessary for the repression of infractions of the requirements imposed by this Convention.
The High Contracting Parties will communicate mutually, as soon as possible, the laws and regulations which are issued for this purpose.
Article 66.
The High Contracting Parties which intend the Convention to apply to the whole of their Colonies, Possessions and Protectorates, or to one or to some of these countries, shall declare this intention either at the time of signing these presents or subsequently. To this effect they shall be able either to make a general declaration embracing the whole of their Colonies, Possessions and Protectorates, or to enumerate b}' name the countries which they intend to come within the scope of the law of the Convention, or, alternatively, to enumerate by name those which they intend to be excepted.
This declaration, unless it be made at the time of signing this Convention, shall be made in writing to the Government of Great Britain, and communicated by the latter Government to all the Governments of the other States parties to the Convention.
The High Contracting Parties may also in the same way, provided that they comply with the provisions of Article 69 hereafter, denounce this Convention as regards their Colonies, Possessions or Protectorates, or one or some of those countries.
Article 67.
The States which are not Parties to this Convention shall be allowed to accede thereto at their request. Their accession shall be notified through the diplomatic channel to the Government of Great Britain, and by the latter to the Governments of the other States parties to the Convention.
This accession will carry the full acceptance of all the obligations imposed by this Convention and the full right to all the privileges specified therein. It will have full and complete effect two months after the date on which notification of the accession is sent by the Government of Great Britain to all the other Governments of the States which
are parties to the Convention, unless a later date had been proposed by the acceding State.
The Governments of the States which accede to the present Convention shall annex to their declaration of accession the schedule provided for by Article 3 of this Convention. This schedule shall be added to those already deposited by the other Governments. The British Government shall transmit a copy thereof to the other Governments.
Article 68.
The treaties, conventions and arrangements concluded prior to this Convention shall continue to have full and complete effect, as regards : —
(1) ships excepted from the Convention ;
(2) ships to which it applies, in respect of subjects for which the Convention
has not expressly provided.
It is understood that, the subject of this Convention being safety of life at sea, questions relating to the well-being and health of passengers, and in particular of emigrants, as well as other matters i-elative to their transport, continue subject to the legislation of the different States.
Article 69.
This Convention shall come into force on the 1st -Tuly, 191.5, and shall remain in force without any prescribed limit of time. Nevertheless, each High Contracting Party may denounce the Convention at any time after an interval of five years from the date on which the Convention comes into force in that State.
This denunciation shall be notified through the diplomatic channel to the Government of Great Britain and by the latter to the Governments of the other Contracting Parties. It shall take effect twelve months after the day on which the notification is received by the Government of Great l>ritain.
A denunciation shall only affect the State which makes it, the Convention remaining fully and completely operative as regards all the other States which have ratified it, or which have acceded thereto or which thereafter accede thereto.
Article 70.
This Convention with the Regnlations annexed thereto shall be di'awn up in a single copy which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of Great Britain. A true and certified copy shall be delivered by the latter to each of the 'Governments of the High Contracting Parties.
Article 71.
This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratificati(m, accompanied by the schedules specified in Article 3, shall be deposited at London not later than the olst December, 1914. The British Government shall give notice of the ratifications and shall furnish a copy of each schedule to the Governments of the other Contracting Parties.
Notwithstanding failure to ratify on the part of a High Contracting Party, the Convention shall continue to have full and complete effect as regards the Contracting Parties which ratify it.
Article 72.
To i-ender ratification easier for a Contracting State which, prior to the date of signature of this Convention, has laid down requirements in regard to any matter within the scope of this Convention, it is agreed that no ship which has complied with those requirements before the 1st July, 1915, may avail itself o{ the periods of grace allowed by the Convention in order to cease to comply with those requu-ements.
Article 73.
Where this Convention provides that a measure may be taken after agreement between all or some of the Contracting States, the Government of His Britannic Majesty is invited to approach the said States with a view to ascertaining whether they accept the proposals made by one of these States for effecting such a measure. The Government of His Britannic Majesty will make known to the Contracting States the result of the enquiries which it thus makes.
A State from which observations on the proposals in question do not reach His Britannic Majesty's Government within six months from the communication of these proposals will be presumed to acquiesce therein.
Article 74.
This Convention may be morlified at subsequent Conferences, of which the first shall be held, if necessary, in 1920. The place and time of these Conferences shall be fixed by common consent by the Governments of the High Contracting Parties.
The Governments may, through the diplomatic channel, introduce into this Convention, by common consent and at any time, improvements which may be judged useful or necessary.
In witness whereof the Plenipotentiaries have signed hereafter.
Done at London, 20th January, 1914.
VON KOEKiXEPt.
SEELIGER.
SCHÛTT.
RIESS.
PAGEL.
SCHRADER
REHM.
G. FRANCKENSTEIN.
SCHRECKENTHAL.
DUNAY.
e. a. pierrard.
ch. le jeune, louis franck.
emil krogh.
v. topsôe-jensen.
rafael bausa.
joshua w. alexander, j. hamilton lewis, eugene t. chamberl'ain.
ellsworth p. bertholf.
washington lee capps.
george f. cooper, homer l. ferguson, alfred gilbert smtttl .
wm: h. g. bullard.
geo. uhler.
GUERNIER.
MERSEY
ERNEST G. MOGGRIDGE.
A. DENNY
NORMAN HILL
J. H. BILES.
H. ACTON BLAKE
ALFRED H. F. YOUNG
