### Merchant Shipping (Minimum Passenger Space) Regulations 《商船(最少乘客空間)規例》

3. Application
(1) These regulations shall apply to—
(a) all passenger ships engaged in the eastern trade area or the river trade area which carry, or are certificated to carry, berthed or unberthed passengers; and
(b) all ships registered in Hong Kong which—
(i) carry, or are certificated to carry, more than twelve passengers; and
(ii) are engaged in any trade.
(2) In the case of any ship—
(a) to which these regulations apply pursuant to paragraph (1); and
(b) which does not comply with the provisions of these regulations at the date of commencement of these regulations,
the Director shall determine the alterations that he requires to be made to the ship so that it may comply, so far as possible, with the provisions of these regulations.
(3) Any alteration of a ship required to be made pursuant to paragraph (2) shall consist only of such improvements as are, in the opinion of the Director, reasonable and practicable in respect of that ship.

4. Plans
(1) The owner of every ship to which these regulations apply, or the person to whose order such a ship is being constructed, shall furnish to the Director for his approval a plan of the ship before the first issue of a passenger certificate and not later than the day on which the construction of the arrangements specified in paragraph (2) is commenced.
(2) Any plan required to be furnished to the Director pursuant to paragraph (1) shall—
(a) be drawn on a scale of not less than 1 in 100;
(b) show the arrangement of the facilities, compartments and spaces to be allocated to berthed and unberthed passengers, with the approximate clear areas and the number of passengers to be contained in each such space; and
(c) show clearly—
(i) the purpose for which each compartment or space is to be used and where each bunk is to be fitted;
(ii) the means of ingress and egress of passengers to and from each compartment and deck, showing the width of the stairways, ladderways and doorways giving access to the weather deck space for use as exercise space for the passengers;
(iii) the proposed arrangements for ventilation and natural, artificial and emergency lighting;
(iv) the proposed sanitary accommodation and, in particular, the spaces so appropriated for each category of berthed passengers, male and female, unberthed passengers, male and female, and the crew;
(v) the proposed galley and cooking arrangements to be provided for unberthed passengers, including the arrangements for supplying fresh water to passengers; and
(vi) the proposed hospital accommodation.
(3) The owner of every ship to which these regulations apply shall, before any alteration to the passenger accommodation there of is carried out, furnish to the Director for his approval a plan of the proposed alteration.
(4) Any plan furnished to the Director pursuant to paragraph (3) shall comply with the requirements prescribed in paragraph (2).

### Merchant Shipping (Minimum Passenger Space) Regulations 《商船(最少乘客空間)規例》

5. Spaces for passengers
(1) In every ship to which these regulations apply the compartments and spaces allocated for the accommodation of passengers shall, subject to paragraph (2), be situated in—
(a) the uppermost between deck; or
(b) the between deck next below the uppermost between deck; or
(c) detached superstructures or properly permanently constructed steel deckhouses above the uppermost between deck.
(2) Unberthed passengers shall not be carried upon the deck next below one deck of which only the floor is at any time below the summer load line marked on the ship in accordance with the provisions of the Load Line Rules for the time being in operation in Hong Kong.
(3) For the purposes of this regulation—
(a) a shelter between deck, if exempted under the tonnage rules in operation in the country in which the ship is registered, shall be deemed to be the uppermost between deck; and
(b) a partial shelter deck at the end of a detached superstructure shall be deemed to be a space in a detached superstructure for the purpose of the carriage of unberthed passengers, whether in bunks or not, if all of the side openings therein can be closed by permanent means of closing appliance so as to render such space reasonably weathertight and to the satisfaction of the Director.
(4) A hospital in a ship shall not be used as accommodation for any person other than—
(a) a passenger who is sick; or
(b) a member of the crew who is sick,
and a dispensary in a ship shall not be used as a sleeping place for any person.
(5) No stores or goods of any description other than such medical stores and medicines as are required to be carried on board a ship pursuant to the Merchant Shipping Medical Scales shall be stowed in any hospital or dispensary.
(6) No passenger shall be carried in any compartment or space allocated for the accommodation of any member of the crew of a ship, whether or not such compartment or space is deductible from the gross tonnage of the ship.

### Merchant Shipping (Minimum Passenger Space) Regulations 《商船(最少乘客空間)規例》

6. Bulkheads
(1) In every ship to which these regulations apply every bulkhead enclosing or within any part of the spaces allocated for the accommodation of passengers, other than exercise space, shall be constructed in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Passenger Ship Construction) Rules from time to time in operation in Hong Kong.
(2) Every bulkhead exposed to the weather shall be watertight and gastight and each opening in every such bulkhead shall be capable of being closed so that the bulkheads are weathertight.
(3) All inside panelling and ceiling shall be constructed in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Passenger Ship Construction) Rules from time to time in operation in Hong Kong.
(4) No bulkhead or inside panelling shall be constructed of tongued and grooved boarding or other similar material or in any manner likely to harbour vermin therein.
(5) Any bulkhead which separates any space allocated for the accommodation of passengers, other than as exercise space, from any space used as—
(a) a permanent coal bunker;
(b) an oil fuel bunker;
(c) a machinery space;
(d) a lamp room or paint room;
(e) a dry provision store room or any store room other than a linen locker, medicine locker or lifejacket locker;
(f) a chain locker; or
(g) a cofferdam,
shall be constructed of steel and shall be gastight and, where required, suitably insulated and, where necessary, watertight, to protect the passenger space.
(6) Subject to paragraph (7), any bulkhead that separates any space allocated for the accommodation of passengers, other than as exercise space, from—
(a) an isolation hospital;
(b) sanitary accommodation;
(c) a laundry or drying room;
(d) galley; or
(e) cold storeroom,
shall be constructed of steel and shall be gastight and, where required, suitably insulated, and shall be watertight to such height as is necessary to prevent the passage of water from such adjoining space into the passenger space; and, in particular, any bulkhead separating sanitary accommodation from any space allocated for the accommodation of passengers shall, except in doorways, be watertight to a height of at least 9 inches above the floor of the sanitary accommodation.
(7) The provisions of paragraph (6) shall not apply to any bulkhead that separates—
(a) sanitary accommodation from other sanitary accommodation;
(b) a laundry room from a drying room or from another laundry or drying room;
(c) a galley from another galley or a pantry;
(d) a cold store room from another cold store room; or
(e) sanitary accommodation appropriated for the use of a berthed passenger from the cabin of a berthed passenger from which it may be entered directly.