INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA. 229 



Article 51. 



LIFE JACKETS AND LIFE BUOYS. 



(1) A life jacket of an approved type, or other appliance of equal buoyancy and ca- 

 pable of being fitted on the body, shall be carried for every person on board, and, in 

 addition, a sufficient nmnber of life jackets, or other equivalent appliances, suitable for 

 children. 



(2) Article XLV of the annexed Regulations fixes in accordance with the length of 

 the vessel the number of life buoys of an approved type to be carried, and also the con- 

 ditions with which life jackets and life buoys must comply, and in accordance with which 

 they must be stowed. 



Article 52. 



EXISTING VESSELS. 



The Government of each of the High Contracting Parties undertakes to apply to ex- 

 isting vessels, as soon as possible and not later than the 1st July, 1915, all the provisions 

 of the preceding Articles of the present Chapter, namely, Articles 40 to 51 inclusive, re- 

 quiring, in the first place, accommodation for all the persons on board in boats and rafts; 

 provided that, in cases where the strict application of these principles would not be prac- 

 ticable or reasonable, the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties has the 

 right to allow the exemptions specified in Article XLVI of the Regulations annexed hereto. 



Article 53. 



MEANS OF INGRESS AND EGRESS— EMERGENCY LIGHTING. 



(1) Proper arrangements shall be made for ingress to and egress from the diflferent 

 compartments, decks, etc. 



(2) Provision shall be made for an electric or other system of lighting, sufficient 

 for all requirements of safety, in the dififerent parts of both new and existing vessels, 

 and particularly upon the decks on which the lifeboats are stowed. On new vessels there 

 must be a self-contained source capable of supplying, when necessary, this safety lighting 

 system, and placed in the upper parts of the vessel, as high as practically possible. 



(3) The exit from every compartment must always be lighted by an emergency lamp, 

 which shall be kept locked, and which shall be independent of the ordinary lighting of the 

 ship. These emergency lamps may be supplied from the independent installation referred 

 to in the preceding paragraph, if an independent circuit is employed for this purpose and 

 if this installation works concurrently with the ordinary lighting of the vessel. 



Article 54. 



CERTIFICATED LIFEBOAT MEN — MANNING OF THE BOATS. 



There must be, for each boat or raft required, a minimum number of certificated life- 

 boat men. The minimum total number of certificated lifeboat men is determined by the 

 provisions of Article XLVII of the annexed Regulations. 



The allocation of the certificated lifeboat men to each boat and raft remains within the 

 discretion of the master, according to the circumstances. 



