As a general rule, all equipment placed onboard or replaced should
be type-approved.
Rules on how vessels must be equipped are stated in the regulations
issued by the Swedish Maritime Administration. Each regulation may
cover a certain equipment category and be applicable to several
vessel categories or may cover a certain vessel category and
contain rules on several equipment categories.
Type approval of equipment is governed by an EC directive. The
directive is a “harmonised” directive, which means that
a product that has been type approved by a notified body in one
member state in the European Community may be placed on any
Community vessel (regardless of flag). The Directive took force
with the Swedish Maritime Administration’s regulations and
general guidelines (SJÖFS 1999:8, reprinted 2003:2) on marine
equipment. Any exceptions from the requirement are specified in the
regulations that specify equipment standards.
Equipment categories in accordance with SJÖFS 1999:8
- Life-saving appliances
- Marine pollution prevention
- Fire protection
- Navigation equipment
- Radio communication equipment
- Equipment required under COLREGS 72 (navigation lights and
sound signal appliances)
- Bulk carrier safety equipment (loading instruments)
Equipment that is not covered by the Marine Equipment Directive
may be subject to other regulations, e.g., those on electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC) and CE-marking.
Vessel categories
- Vessels covered by international conventions, cargo ships and
passenger ships in international traffic
- Vessels covered by the EC Directive; passenger ships in
national traffic and fishing vessels
- High-speed craft (HSC)
- Other vessels in commercial traffic not covered by the
aforementioned regulations
- Merchant vessels with a length of at least 5.5 metres but less
than 15 metres may be equipped according to the Nordic Boat
Standard (NBS-Y) according to applications in SJÖFS
1997:3
International conventions and EC Directives take force in Sweden
through laws, ordinances and regulations.