(a) Power Operated trucks. A power-operated truck (including a power-operated tractor, forklift, or other specialized truck used for cargo handling) may not be used on board a vessel in a space containing a hazardous material unless the truck conforms to the requirements of this section. The COTP may suspend or prohibit the use of cargo handling vehicles or equipment when that use constitutes a safety hazard.

(b) Each truck must have a specific designation of Underwriter's Laboratories or Factory Mutual Laboratories. Any repair or alteration to a truck must be equivalent to that required on the original designation.

(c) Description of designations. The recognized testing laboratory type designations are as follows:

(1) An “E” designated unit is an electrically-powered unit that has minimum acceptable safeguards against inherent fire hazards.

(2) An “EE” designated unit is an electrically-powered unit that has, in addition to all the requirements for the “E” unit, the electric motor and all other electrical equipment completely enclosed.

(3) An “EX” designated unit is an electrically-powered unit that differs from the “E” and “EE” unit in that the electrical fittings and equipment are so designed, constructed, and assembled that the unit may be used in certain atmospheres containing flammable vapors or dusts.

(4) A “G” designated unit is a gasoline-powered unit having minimum acceptable safeguards against inherent fire hazards.

(5) A “GS” designated unit is a gasoline-powered unit that is provided with additional safeguards to the exhaust, fuel, and electrical systems.

(6) An “LP” designated unit is similar to a “G” unit except that it is powered by liquefied petroleum gas instead of gasoline.

(7) An “LPS” designated unit is a unit similar to a “GS” unit except that liquefied petroleum gas is used for fuel instead of gasoline.

(8) A “D” designated unit is a unit similar to a “G” unit except that it is powered by a diesel engine instead of a gasoline engine.

(9) A “DS” designated unit is a unit powered by a diesel engine provided with additional safeguards to the exhaust, fuel, and electrical systems.

(d) Class 1 (explosive) materials. No power-operated truck may be used to handle Class 1 (explosive) materials or other cargo in an area near Class 1 (explosive) materials on board a vessel except:

(1) A power-operated truck designated EE or EX.

(2) A power-operated truck designated LPS, GS, D, or DS may be used under conditions acceptable to the COTP.

(e) Other hazardous materials.

(1) Only an “EX”, “EE”, “GS”, “LPA”, or “DS” truck may be used in a hold or compartment containing Division 2.1 (flammable gas) materials, Class 3 (flammable liquids), Class 4 (flammable solids) materials, or Class 5 (oxidizers or organic peroxides) materials, cottons or other vegetable fibers, or bulk sulfur.

(2) Only a designated truck may be used to handle any other hazardous material not covered in paragraph (d) or (e)(1) of this section.

(f) Minimum safety features. In addition to the construction and design safety features required, each truck must have at least the following minimum safety features:

(1) The truck must be equipped with a warning horn, whistle, gong, or other device that may be heard clearly above normal shipboard noises.

(2) When the truck operation may expose the operator to danger from a falling object, the truck must be equipped with a driver's overhead guard. When the overall height of the truck with forks in the lowered position is limited by head room the overhead guard may be omitted. This overhead guard is only intended to offer protection from impact of small packages, boxes, bagged material, or similar hazards.

(3) A forklift truck used to handle small objects or unstable loads must be equipped with a load backrest extension having height, width, and strength sufficient to prevent any load, or part of it, from falling toward the mast when the mast is in a position of maximum backward tilt. The load backrest extension must be constructed in a manner that does not interfere with good visibility.

(4) The forks on a fork lift truck must be secured to the carriage so as to prevent any unintentional lifting of the toe which could create a hazard. The forks may not display permanent deformation when subjected to a test load of three times the rated capacity.

(5) Each fork extension or other attachment must be secured to prevent unintentional lifting or displacement on primary forks.

(6) Tires extending beyond the confines of the truck shall be provided with a guard to prevent the tires from throwing particles at the operator.

(7) Unless the steering mechanism is a type that prevents road reactions from causing the steering handwheel to spin, a mushroom type steering knob must be used to engage the palm of the operator's hand, or the steering mechanism must be arranged in some other manner to prevent injury. The knob must be mounted within the perimeter of the wheel.

(8) All steering controls must be confined within the clearnace of the truck or guarded so that moving of the controls will not result in injury to the operator when passing stanchions, obstructions or other.

(g) Special operating conditions.

(1) A truck may not be used on board a vessel unless prior notification of its use is given to the master or senior deck officer on board.

(2) Before a truck is operated on board a vessel, it must be in a safe operating condition as determined by the master or senior deck officer on board.

(3) Any truck that emits sparks or flames from the exhaust system must immediately be removed from service and may not be returned to service until the cause of these sparks or flames has been eliminated.

(4)-(5) [Reserved]

(6) All truck motors must be shut off immediately when a breakage or leakage of packages containing flammable liquids or gases, flammable solids, oxidizers, or organic peroxides occurs or is discovered.

(7) The rated capacity of the truck must be posted on the truck at all times in a conspicuous place. This capacity may not be exceeded.

(8) At least one Coast Guard approved marine type size 1 Type B, or UL approved 5BC portable fire extinguisher, or its approved equivalent, must be affixed to the truck in a readily accessible position or must be kept in close proximity, available for immediate use.

(9) The vessel's fire fighting equipment, both fixed (where installed) and portable, must be kept ready for immediate use in the vicinity of the space being worked.

(h) Refueling.

(1) A truck using gasoline as fuel may not be refueled in the hold or on the weather deck of a vessel unless a portable non-spilling fuel handling system of not over five gallons capacity is used. Gasoline may not be transferred to a portable non-spilling fuel handling device on board the vessel.

(2) A truck using liquefied petroleum gas as fuel may not be refueled in the hold or on the weather deck of a vessel unless it is fitted with a removable tank and the hand-operated shutoff valve of the depleted tank is closed. In addition, the motor must be run until it stalls from lack of fuel and then the hand-operated shut off valve closed before the quick disconnect fitting to the fuel tank is disconnected.

(3) A truck using diesel oil as fuel may not be refueled on the weather deck or in the hold of a vessel unless a portable container of not over a five gallon capacity is used. A truck may be refueled or a portable container may be refilled from a larger container of diesel fuel on the weather deck of a vessel if a suitable pump is used for the transfer operation and a drip pan of adequate size is used to prevent any dripping of fuel on the deck.

(4) Refueling must be performed under the direct supervision of an experienced and responsible person specifically designated for this duty by the person in charge of the loading or unloading of the vessel.

(5) Refueling may not be undertaken with less than two persons specifically assigned and present for the complete operation, at least one of whom must be experienced in using the portable fire extinguishers required in the fuel area.

(6) At least one Coast Guard approved marine type size 1 Type B or UL approved 5BC portable fire extinguisher or its approved equivalent, must be provided in the fueling area. This is in addition to the extinguisher required by paragraph (g)(8) of this section.

(7) The location for refueling trucks must be designated by the master or senior deck officer on board the vessel. “NO SMOKING” signs must be conspicuously posted in the area.

(8) The location designated for refueling must be adequately ventilated to insure against accumulation of any hazardous concentration of vapors.

(9) Before any truck in a hold is refueled or before any fuel handling device or unmounted liquefied petroleum gas cylinder is placed in a hold, the motors of all trucks in the same hold must be stopped.

(10) All fuel handling devices and unmounted liquefied petroleum gas containers must be removed from a hold before any truck motor is started and the trucks are placed in operation in that hold.

(i) Replacing batteries. Batteries for electrically powered trucks and for the ignition systems of internal combustion powered trucks may be changed in the hold of a vessel subject to the following conditions:

(1) Only suitable handling equipment may be employed.

(2) Adequate precautions must be taken to avoid damage to the battery, short circuiting of the battery, and spillage of the electrolyte.

(j) Charging of batteries. Batteries of industrial trucks may be recharged in a hold of a vessel subject to the following conditions:

(1) The batteries must be housed in a suitable, ventilated, portable metal container with a suitable outlet at the top for connection of a portable air hose, or must be placed directly beneath a suitable outlet at the top for connection of a portable air hose. The air hose must be permanently connected to an exhaust duct leading to the open deck and terminate in a gooseneck or other suitable weather head. If natural ventilation is not practicable or adequate, mechanical means of exhaust must be employed in conjunction with the duct. The air outlet on the battery container must be equipped with an interlock switch so arranged that the charging of the battery cannot take place unless the air hose is properly connected to the box.

(2) If mechanical ventilation is used, an additional interlock must be provided between the fan and the charging circuit so that the fan must be in operation in order to complete the charging circuit for operation. It is preferable that this interlock switch be of a centrifugal type driven by the fan shaft.

(3) The hold may not contain any hazardous materials.

(4) The charging facilities may be part of the truck equipment or may be separate from the truck and located inside or outside the cargo hold. The power supply or charging circuit (whichever method is used) must be connected to the truck by a portable plug connection of the break-away type. This portable plug must be so engaged with the truck battery charging outlet that any movement of the truck away from the charging station will break the connection between the plug and receptacle without exposing any live parts to contact with a conducting surface or object and without the plug falling to the deck where it may become subject to damage.

(5) All unmounted batteries must be suitably protected or removed from an area in the hold of the vessel before any truck is operated in that area.

(k) Stowage of power-operated industrial trucks on board a vessel. Trucks stowed on board a vessel must meet vessel stowage requirements in §176.905.

(l) Packaging and stowage of fuel on board a vessel. Division 2.1 (flammable gas) materials and flammable liquids used as fuel for industrial trucks must be packaged and stowed as authorized in 46 CFR 147.60 or 46 CFR 147.45, respectively.

[Amdt. 176-1, 41 FR 16110, Apr. 15, 1976, as amended by Amdt. 176-1A, 41 FR 40687, Sept. 20, 1976; Amdt. 176-30, 55 FR 52689, Dec. 21, 1990; Amdt. 176-39, 61 FR 18933, Apr. 29, 1996; Amdt. 176-43, 62 FR 24741, May 6, 1997; 65 FR 58630, Sept. 29, 2000; 68 FR 61942, Oct. 30, 2003]