Detail
Article 19.06(10)(a) - Bulwarks and guard rails on parts of the deck intended for passengers
Article 19.06(10)(a) calls for the bulwarks and guard rails on parts of the deck intended for passengers to comply with European Standard EN 711 : 1995 [2016] construction type PF, PG or PZ. The abbreviations mean the following:
P = passenger vessel
F = area lining
G = stanchions
Z = intermediate rails
a) When does a railing safely prevent against slipping through?
b) What are the requirements for the glass used for bulwarks and railings of construction type PF?
a) For construction type PG, vertical stanchions at a max. distance of 0.12 m from each other are permitted, in order to prevent slipping through.
For construction type PZ, the max. distance between the horizontal rails is specified as 0.23 m, and is thus not childproof, as it would be possible for a child to slip through. In the images contained in the standard there is also a net for the lower part of the railing shown as an example of additional safeguarding to prevent a person from slipping through, although other possibilities are also mentioned in a footnote, such as additional horizontal rails, so that the spacing is no greater than 0.12 m, in which case a net is not required.
b) No information on this is to be found in the standard. Article 19.06(14) calls for glass doors, glass walls along corridors, companionways and other connecting surfaces and window frames must be made of single layer toughened glass (ESG) or laminated safety glass (VSG) or, if appropriate, of plastic. Area lining of bulwarks and railings may be seen as "glass walls along corridors, companionways and other connecting surfaces".
According to the information provided by the glazing expert, it is essential to use VSG for such guard rails, since ESG will shatter into a thousand pieces if hit and would not provide any protection against falling. The layer of plastic film between the layers of ESG glass in VSG prevents the glass from being totally shattered and can thus still support a load or act as a barrier to provide protection against falling.
There are also corridors, companionways and other connecting surfaces on the weather decks, which is why the requirements of Article 19.06(14) also apply there. If the requirements specified in Article 19.06(10)(a) are no longer met following an incident or accident, e.g. after glass breakage, the boatmaster must immediately take operational safety measures, for example by closing off the affected area of the deck.
RV/G (12) 16 rev. 1 = JWG (12) 14 rev. 1; RV/G (12)m 59 = JWG (12)m 61, D11; JWG (12)m 91, item 7.2
Joint working group JWG, handrail, passenger vessels, passenger areas
