(a) General. Clear instructions must be provided on the vessel that detail the actions each person on board should follow in the event of an emergency.

(b) Muster list. Copies of the muster list must be posted in conspicuous places throughout the vessel including on the navigating bridge, in the engine room, and in crew accommodation spaces. The muster list must be posted before the vessel begins its voyage. After the muster list has been prepared, if any change takes place that necessitates an alteration in the muster list, the master must either revise the existing muster list or prepare a new one. Each muster lists must at least specify—

(1) The instructions for operating the general emergency alarm system and public address system;

(2) The emergency signals;

(3) The actions to be taken by the persons on board when each signal is sounded;

(4) How the order to abandon the vessel will be given.

(5) The officers that are assigned to make sure that lifesaving and firefighting appliances are maintained in good condition and ready for immediate use;

(6) The duties assigned to the different members of the crew. Duties to be specified include—

(i) Closing the watertight doors, fire doors, valves, scuppers, sidescuttles, skylights, portholes, and other similar openings in the vessel's hull;

(ii) Equipping the survival craft and other lifesaving appliances;

(iii) Preparing and launching the survival craft;

(iv) Preparing other lifesaving appliances;

(v) Mustering the passengers and other persons on board;

(vi) Using communication equipment;

(vii) Manning the emergency squad assigned to deal with fires and other emergencies; and

(viii) Using firefighting equipment and installations.

(7) The duties assigned to members of the crew in relation to passengers and other persons on board in case of an emergency. Assigned duties to be specified include—

(i) Warning the passengers and other persons on board;

(ii) Seeing that passengers and other persons on board are suitably dressed and have donned their lifejackets or immersion suits correctly;

(iii) Assembling passengers and other persons on board at muster stations;

(iv) Keeping order in the passageways and on the stairways and generally controlling the movements of the passengers and other persons on board; and

(v) Making sure that a supply of blankets is taken to the survival craft; and

(8) The substitutes for key persons if they are disabled, taking into account that different emergencies require different actions.

(c) Emergency instructions. Illustrations and instructions in English, and any other appropriate language as determined by the OCMI, must be posted in each passenger cabin and in spaces occupied by persons other than crew, and must be conspicuously displayed at each muster station. The illustrations and instructions must include information on—

(1) The fire and emergency signal;

(2) Their muster station;

(3) The essential actions they must take in an emergency;

(4) The location of lifejackets, including child-size lifejackets; and

(5) The method of donning lifejackets.

[CGD 84-069, 61 FR 25313, May 20, 1996, as amended at 63 FR 52818, Oct. 1, 1998]