15 Testing, thorough examination, inspection and certification

15.1 General

15.1.1 Every item of materials handling equipment, and every sling or lifting device forming an integral part of a load, must be of good design and construction, of adequate strength for the purpose to which it is used and, if appropriate, properly installed.

15.1.2 Except as otherwise provided by this Part, materials handling equipment must not be used for loading or unloading unless:

(a) it has been tested, thoroughly examined, certificated and inspected, in accordance with this Part;

(b) the current record of examination and inspection in the appropriate register of material handling equipment indicates that the equipment is fit for use; and

(c) it appears in all respects to be fit for such use.

15.1.3 If materials handling equipment tested and examined in accordance with this Part is considered satisfactory by the responsible person, he or she is to issue the appropriate certificate specified in Appendix 23.

15.1.4 If materials handling equipment inspected in accordance with this Part is considered satisfactory by the competent person, he or she is to record the inspection in the appropriate register of materials handling equipment.

15.2 Items other than wire and fibre ropes, nets and slings

15.2.1 Materials handling equipment for use in loading or unloading a ship must be tested and thoroughly examined by a responsible person in accordance with Appendix 5 of this Part:

(a) before being put into use for the first time; and

(b) following renewal or repair of any stress bearing part, except when the renewal is pursuant to a routine maintenance schedule.

15.2.2 In addition to the requirements of 15.2.1, and subject to 15.2.6, 15.2.7, 15.2.8 and 15.2.9, materials handling equipment for use in loading or unloading a ship must subsequently:

(a) be tested and thoroughly examined in accordance with Appendix 5 of this Part by a responsible person at intervals not exceeding five years; and

(b) be thoroughly examined at intervals not exceeding twelve months by:

(i) in the case of equipment under survey with a classification societya responsible person; and

(ii) in any other casea competent person.

Note: Items of equipment permanently attached to lifting gear, including lower cargo blocks, ponder balls and cargo hooks dedicated to use with a specific crane or derrick, and forming part of the assembly are not considered loose gear and need not be separately tested at the five yearly testing of the crane, derrick or cargo lift to which they are attached.

15.2.3 In addition to the initial and quinquennial test and thorough examination, and annual thorough examination, an inspection of materials handling equipment must be made by a competent person at intervals not exceeding 6 months.

15.2.4 In relation to ship equipment, a test and thorough examination required by 15.2.2(a) may be postponed, for a period of not more than six months, if the postponement will enable the test and examination to be carried out concurrently with a scheduled survey of the ship, provided that a responsible person certifies in writing that, in his or her opinion, the equipment may be safely operated during the period of postponement.

15.2.5 If the design of specialised materials handling equipment or heavy lift equipment is such that, in the opinion of a responsible person, the equipment cannot reasonably be tested or retested in the manner specified in Appendix 5, or the equipment would require unnecessary dismantling, the periodic test and thorough examinations required by 15.2.2 may be dispensed with, provided that:

(a) the manufacturer's equipment specification, schedule of examination and maintenance manual are available to the responsible person;

(b) examination and maintenance procedures have been carried out in compliance with the manual and recorded in the appropriate register of materials handling equipment by a competent person; and

(c) the equipment is fit for use.

15.2.6 Provisions 15.2.1 and 15.2.2 do not apply to an intermediate bulk container or a returnable cargo unit having permanently attached fittings for handling, provided that:

(a) its design and construction conforms to a container or unit that has been type tested in accordance with the appropriate provisions of Appendix 5, or an equivalent national or international standard;

(b) the container or unit is permanently marked with evidence of compliance with that standard or is otherwise certificated and the certificate of type test indicating fitness for use, is available to the person in charge; and

(c) the container or unit has been properly maintained by a competent person and is fit for use.

Note: IBCs and returnable cargo units used for the transport of dangerous goods are required to comply with a more stringent test procedure than those intended for non-dangerous goods and may require secondary protection such as carriage in a freight container. IBCs for dangerous goods must be marked in accordance with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.

15.2.7 Provisions 15.2.1 and 15.2.2 do not apply to a mechanical stowing appliance:

(a) being shore equipment; or

(b) being ship equipment for use solely in or on the ship, provided the appliance complies with Provision 3 of Appendix 13.

15.2.8 Provisions 15.2.1 and 15.2.2 do not apply to a specialised cargo handling system:

(a) being:

(i) shore equipment; or

(ii) ship equipment for use solely in or on the ship and there is on board details of the manner by which the safe working load has been established, a description of the method by which cargo should be handled and details of any limitations on the use of the equipment or any of its component parts; and

(b) if the system includes items of loose gear, they have been inspected by a competent person as required by Provision 15.2.3.

15.2.9 Provision 15.2.2(a) does not apply to loose gear and other cargo gear except where specific provision is made in 15.2.6, 15.2.7 or 15.2.8.

15.2.10 A person carrying out a thorough examination must make a detailed visual examination of all separable and non-separable components and, in the case of wire ropes, of the internal and external parts of the rope. The extent of the opening up necessary to determine the condition of the separable components such as blocks, shackles, swivels, derrick boom heel or socket, gooseneck, sheaves, bearings and braking arrangements, is to be such as is considered necessary by the person carrying out the examination. In the case of cranes and derricks, the thorough examination must include deck eyes, derrick head bands or fittings, temporary or permanent stays, mast bands or eyes, cleats, spans and ropes, jib, pillar, slewing ring and other gearing mechanisms. The thorough examination is to assess the condition of the assembly or article for any deformation, distortion, damage, wear, corrosion or any other defect impairing its operational reliability, which is to be supplemented, when deemed necessary by the person conducting the thorough examination, by other means to assess the condition and operational reliability of the integrated assembly or article including hammer testing, ultrasonic or magnetic particle testing or other appropriate non-destructive testing method.

15.3 Wire ropes

15.3.1 An inspection of wire ropes must be made by a competent person at intervals not exceeding:

(a) for a wire rope which does not pass over a sheave or a winding drum12 months;

(b) for a wire rope which passes over a sheave or winding drum6 months.

15.3.2 A wire rope may only be used if:

(a) a responsible person has issued a certificate in respect of the rope in accordance with Form MO-32/4 in Appendix 23;

(b) a competent person has inspected the rope, externally and, as far as practical, internally, in the period required by 15.3.1(a) or (b) immediately preceding the proposed use and found that the rope is not worn, corroded or otherwise defective to a degree that renders it unfit for the proposed use;

(c) the rope is free from knots and kinks;

(d) the rope complies with the structural requirements specified in Appendix 15; and

(e) evidence, based on prototype testing, that any terminal or end fitting on the rope complies with Appendix 5 is recorded in the appropriate register of materials handling equipment.

15.3.3 If a constituent wire in a rope is broken, the following requirements apply:

  (a) the rope must be inspected by a competent person within one month prior to its intended use, to determine if the rope is fit for use;
  (b) the competent person must record the result of the inspection in the appropriate materials handling register; and
  (c) the rope must not be used unless the competent person has determined that the rope continues to be fit for use.

15.3.4 A wire rope must not be used if the total number of broken wires visible in a length of the rope equal to ten times its diameter exceeds 5% of the number of wires constituting the rope.

15.4 Fibre ropes

Provisions 15.1.2(a) and (b) do not apply to fibre rope.

15.5 Nets and Slings

15.5.1 Provisions 15.1.2(a) and (b) do not apply to nets and slings manufactured in accordance with Appendix 15.

15.5.2 It is the responsibility of the shipper to ensure that, where slings are fitted to cargo ashore for the purpose of pre-slinging the cargo, the slings are in a fit state for use.

15.5.3 Expendable or disposable slings must not be reused and must be marked as such.