MANDATORY SAFETY EQUIPMENT

02/04/2021

MANDATORY SAFETY EQUIPMENT ON BOARD :

When you go sailing on French territorial waters, whether on a sailboat or a motorboat, the person in charge of the vessel is responsible for ensuring the presence on board of a certain number of mandatory safety equipment as soon as the boat measures between 2.50 m and 24 m (including sailboats, dinghies, and inflatable boats).
In France, it is the "division 240" that specifies the mandatory equipment on board "pleasure crafts, vessels, and ships for personal or training use with a hull length less than or equal to 24 meters", equipment determined according to your navigation zone relative to a shelter. Four zones have been defined, each corresponding to a minimum mandatory safety equipment:
– Basic equipment: navigation up to 2 miles from a shelter.
– Coastal equipment: navigation between 2 and 6 miles from a shelter.
– Semi-offshore equipment: navigation between 6 and 60 miles from a shelter.
– Offshore equipment: navigation at a distance greater than 60 miles from a shelter.

Reminder: a shelter is a protected coastal area where you can put your boat and crew safely in case of storm or high swell. This may be a harbor, beach, body of water, etc.
Be aware that the choice of navigation distance relative to a shelter is left to the skipper's initiative and depends on the vessel’s design category. For example, if your boat is category C, it was designed for "inshore navigation", in large bays, major estuaries, lakes, and rivers, where winds can reach up to force 6 and waves can reach significant height up to 2 m inclusive.
Therefore, you will be subject to basic and/or coastal equipment requirements but not semi-offshore or offshore equipment as your vessel is not intended for "open sea". Conversely, if your boat is category A, i.e. designed for offshore navigation, you may be required to carry basic, coastal, semi-offshore, or offshore equipment.

Basic equipment includes the following items
– a life jacket or buoyancy aid (per person on board)
– a luminous signaling device (lamp, spotlight, etc.) – required for each life jacket for VNM
– a fixed or portable bilge pump (except self-draining vessels)
– a fire-fighting device (except VNM)
– a towing device
– an anchor line or a floating anchor (if light weight >= 250 kg)
– National flag (outside territorial waters)
– 1 means to know the tides of the day and area

Coastal equipment includes basic equipment + the following list
– a device for locating and assisting a person fallen overboard (except boats with capacity < 5 adults and all inflatable boats)
- a magnetic compass (or GPS system)
– 3 automatic handheld red flares
– one or more navigation charts
– the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG)
– a summary document of navigation marks
A device for locating and assisting a person fallen overboard (for example a horseshoe buoy) must bear the name and registration number of the vessel.
It is important (even if not mandatory) to also indicate these details on life jackets.

Semi-offshore equipment includes basic + coastal equipment + the following list

– a harness per person on board a sailboat (one per motorboat)
– a life raft(s) or rescue dinghy(ies)
– a fixed VHF radio
– equipment to fix position, plot and follow a course
– a device to receive weather forecasts
– the updated light list
– the tide directory (except in the Mediterranean)
– the logbook
– a first aid kit

Offshore equipment includes basic + coastal + semi-offshore equipment + the following two items

– an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB)
– a portable VHF radio

Life jackets are defined based on their buoyancy. The CE standard gives a typical buoyancy value expressed in Newtons (N). Three families are offered in pleasure boating: life jackets with buoyancy of 50 N, 100 N, and 150 N. Division 240 defines the buoyancy requirements as follows:
– Basic (up to 2 miles from a shelter): 50 Newtons
– Coastal (up to 6 miles from a shelter): 100 Newtons. If the person can swim and wears the jacket permanently, buoyancy can be 50 Newtons
– Semi-offshore and offshore (from 6 miles from a shelter): 150 Newtons
Since June 1st, division 240 has adapted to recreational sailors: if you navigate in a coastal zone, between 2 and 6 miles from a shelter, wearing a 50 Newton buoyancy aid is authorized if you can swim and wear it permanently! (Official Journal of May 12, 2019). Otherwise, you must carry 100 Newton buoyancy aids. Regarding children, note that if they are less than 1 year old, they are not counted in the number of persons on board. On vessels, crafts and pleasure boats subject to carrying personal flotation devices (PFD), children weighing up to 30 kg have a 100 N PFD regardless of the distance from a shelter.
Make sure to keep your safety equipment in good working order, schedule its required inspections, and ensure it is ready to be used in an emergency. And if you rent a boat, do not hesitate to check that it is complete, up to date and in good condition.

Safe navigation.