Hong Kong Marine Department has notified Merchant Marine Shipping Information Note No. 5/2001 relating to the "Guidelines on Ergonomic Criteria for Bridge Equipment and Layout" prepared to support provisions of the regulation 15 of Chapter V of 2000 Amendments to the SOLAS Convention.

Owners and Shipbuilders are requested to ensure the design of the bridge equipment and layout in accordance with the Guidelines on Hong Kong Flag Ships built on and after 1 July 2002.

According to the notification from the Government, following procedures are re-produced as per below for your reference:

(1) The Guidelines on Ergonomic Criteria for Bridge Equipment and Layout is based on the IMO MSC/Circ. 982 approved on 20 December 2000.
(2) Shipowner or Shipbuilder should submit a checklist to the Material and Equipment Department of Society.
The checklist is to be filled the applied standards/specifications, compliance or reason if any non-compliance to requirements of the Guidelines on the item by item.
(3) The Society, after ascertainment of the compliance of the design, returns the checklist along with ClassNK opinions to the applicant.

A copy of the Information Note No. 5/2001 is attached hereto for your reference. It is sincerely recommended that an appropriate action should be taken in accordance with the notification.

For any questions about the above, please contact:

NIPPON KAIJI KYOKAI (ClassNK)
Material & Equipment Department, Administration Center, Head Office
Address: 4-7, Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8567, Japan
Tel.: +81-3-5226-2020
Fax: +81-3-5226-2019
E-mail: eqd@classnk.or.jp


Attachment: Hong Kong Merchant Shipping Information Note No. 5/2001