Locks and grilles,
Means of escape.
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(3) The clear opening of any entrance or exit doorway shall be not less than 30 inches in width,
(4) Every door of any entrance or exit doorway shall be fitted with self-closing devices.
(5) The Director may exempt any ship from the requirements of this regulation if he is satisfied that the safety of the passengers is not less protected by any other proposed arrangement.
17. (1) No lock or grille shall be fitted on the outside of any door providing means of egress from any space or compartment allocated for the accommodation of unberthed passengers to any weather deck.
(2) In order to prevent the pilferage of cargo stored in any space or compartment not allocated for the carriage of passengers. a strong lock, operable only from the inside, may be fitted to the inside doors providing ingress to and egress from such spaces or compartments.
(3) In any ship in which, in order to assist in the suppression of piracy, grilles are fitted to prevent any unauthorized access to any control position on the ship, the doors in such grilles may be locked when the ship is at sea, al the discretion of the master:
Provided that----
(a) the keys to such doors shall be kept, while the ship is at sea, in a place accessible and known to all officers of the ship: and
(b) one officer or other responsible person shall be deputed to open the said doors in the event of any emergency that might cause loss of life to any person other than an act of piracy or attempted piracy.
18. (1) Every ship to which these regulations apply, other than those ships engaged exclusively in the river trade area, shall be provided below the bulkhead deck with at least two means of escape from each compartment bounded by watertight bulkheads or similarly restricted space or group of spaces and at least one such means of escape shall be independent of watertight doors.
(2) There shall be provided above the bulkhead deck not less than two means of escape from each space bounded by main vertical bulkheads or similarly restricted space or group of spaces; and one such means of escape shall give access to the lifeboat or liferafı embarkation deck or decks or to a stairway leading to such decks.
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(3) At least one of the means of escape so provided shall be enclosed so as to afford, as far as practicable, continuous fire shelter from the level of its origin to the lifeboat or liferaft embarkation deck or decks.
(4) Every ship engaged exclusively in the river trade area shall be provided with two means of escape and soch means of escape shall lead to an open deck of sufficient area, having regard to the number of persons which the ship may carry.
19. (1) Subject to the provisions of regulations 13, 14, 15, 16. 17 and 18, every ship to which these regulations apply engaged in the eastern trade area other than a ship engaged exclusively in the river trade area shall be fitted with means of access to and egress from every space or compartment allocated for the accommodation of passengers in accordance with the following minimum require-
ments---
(a) the aggregate width of stairways from each unberthed passenger space shall be not less than 2 inches for every 5 persons accommodated therein; and
(6) where any stairway affords access to the weather deck
allocated for the use of unberthed passengers accom modated in two spaces, one above the other, the aggre- gate width of stairways from the upper space shall be not less than 2 inches for every 5 persons accommodated in both spaces.
(2) Where any stairway affording access to any weather deck compartment is led into a poop, bridge, forecastle or other similar erection, the aggregate width of the openings in the bulkheads forming the ends of such superstructures shall be not less than the width required for the stairway, with addition thereta of not less than 2 inches for every 5 persons accommodated in the superstructure who are intended to use such openings.
20. (1) Subject to the provisions of regulations 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, every ship to which these regulations apply engaged exclusively in the river trade area shall be fitted with means of access to and egress from every space or compartment allocated for the accommodation of passengers in accordance with the following minimum requiremeals—
(a) the aggregate width of every stairway from a between
deck
passenger space to the space above or to the weather deck shall be not less than 2 inches for every S persons accommodated therein; and
Means of
access and egress in ships engaged in the castern irade area,
Means of access and
epress in ships engaged in the river trade Arca.