PASSENGER vessels for hire in Weymouth will be required to carry life rafts for the first time as safety regulations are set to be updated.
The Harbour Management Board will discuss the amendment to commercial passenger vessel and waterman licences at its next meeting on January 8.
A report prepared for the meeting states that it is the first time since February 1995 that the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council scheme has been updated and that it currently ‘falls below the industry standard’. If the amendments are approved life rafts will not be mandatory until April 2015 in order to make the transition easier.
The report states: “Until that time those vessels without a life raft must continue to carry sufficient buoyancy aids to support all occupants of the vessel in the event of sinking.”
It also proposes that holders of commercial vessel licences will be required to insure against liability to passengers to the sum of £10million.
The vessels would also have to be clearly marked to show how many people it is licensed to carry.
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