The General Office of the Ministry of Transport ("MOT") has recently formulated and issued the Muster List for Seagoing Transport Merchant Ships (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") to seek comments from the entities concerned by July 15, 2019.
The Draft for Comment sets out basic requirements for the muster list and the emergency card for seagoing transport merchant ships; division of work among all on-board crew members, their respective responsibilities and technical operations, at the time of abandoning cargo ships or passenger ships, putting out a fire, and entering an enclosed space for rescue purposes, and when a passenger ship is damaged; and availability of the muster list and the emergency card aboard and requirements for filling in the list and the card. This national standard applies to a cargo ship with a capacity of 500 tonnes or above or a passenger ship with 12 or more passengers aboard, which is sailing to the sea for commercial transport purposes. Meanwhile, the Draft for Comment clearly states that compared to the previous version, the latest version highlights changes in six respects, including "adding the actions and tasks in relation to freefall lifeboats on cargo ships" and "adding the actions and tasks in relation to damage control for passenger ships".