S.L. 499.1 Art. 119Loading and unloading of service explosives.

(1) Where service explosives are being conveyed by or loaded into or unloaded from a ship, an authorised service representative shall give technical advice to the Authority and to the master of the ship to secure the safety of the operations, and the Authority shall, after consulting such authorized representative, determine what precautions shall be taken for the safety of the port.

(2) An authorized service representative shall be present before such loading or unloading begins, and such loading or unloading shall not begin until he has made such inspection as he may think necessary of the ship or small craft and of the explosives, or, where explosives shall not be unloaded out of any ship until a vehicle or ship into which they are to be loaded is ready to receive them, and shall not be unloaded out of any vehicle until a ship into which they are to be loaded is ready to receive them.

(4) Before the loading or unloading of the explosives into or out of any ship or vehicle is commenced and throughout the time that it continues, the authorised service representative and the master of any ship affected by that operation shall respectively after consulting, if they consider it necessary or expedient, the Authority, ensure that all due precautions are taken to reduce, to such extent as is possible, the risk of fire or explosion arising in the course of the loading or unloading and the consequences of such fire or explosion should either event take place.

(5) No small craft or vehicle shall be used for the purpose of assisting in the loading or unloading of any service explosives into or out of any other ship or small craft or vehicle unless it is a small craft or vehicle which has been approved for such a use by the authorised service representative.

(6) No sling or other appliance shall be used for the purpose of assisting in the loading or unloading of any service explosives unless it has been approved for such a use by the authorised service representative, and no sling or other appliance shall be used for such purpose in a manner which the authorised representative may consider unsafe; and where the authorised service representative deems it necessary, special slings or other appliances to assist in the loading or unloading shall be provided and shall be used in such manner as he shall direct.

(7) Where any explosives are being loaded into or unloaded from a ship carrying a mixed cargo of service explosives and commercial explosives, the authorised service representative shall be available throughout such loading or unloading to give such advice as he may be asked for or as he may deem it proper to give.