mca large yacht code

Large Yacht Code version 2 and version 3

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Information on LY2 and LY3

We are very proud to be the originators of the Large Yacht Code, which is the internationally recognised standard for all large yachts.

The MCA first produced a Code of Practice for the Safety of Large Commercial Sailing and Motor Vessels, or 'LY1', in 1997. It provides unique and internationally recognised safety standards for construction, operation and manning of large yachts. The Code applied to vessels in commercial use for sport or pleasure, which are 24 metres in load line length and over, do not carry cargo and not more than 12 passengers.

The Code sets standards of safety and pollution prevention, which are IMO accepted equivalents to the standards set by the relevant international conventions applicable to vessels of this size.

However due to advances in technology and changes in practice it was recognised 'LY1' would need to be revised, so work commenced on 'LY2'.

Large Commercial Yacht Code (2) or 'LY2'

The Large Commercial Yacht Code, or LY2, came into effect on 24th September 2004. Chartering is a commercial use of a vessel therefore all yachts engaged in chartering activities have to comply with the Code. A significant change in LY2 was the introduction of the Short Range Yacht. LY2 was replaced by LY3 in 2013.

Large Commercial Yacht Code (3) or 'LY3'

LY3 , was launched at the 2012 Monaco Yacht Show and came into effect on 20 August 2013. It introduced equivalent requirements for large yachts to the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).

It also included updates for the requirements for masts and rigging for sailing yachts and the latest technology in radio communication equipment.

LY3 has been replaced by the Red Ensign Group yacht code which came into effect on 1 January 2019. 

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Large Yacht Code 3 reassures owners & builders

The three simple characters ‘LY3’ seem mundane, but some might say that in at least one respect they have saved the superyacht industry from a near-death experience.

Short for ‘Large Yacht Code 3’, LY3 is successor to the current Large Yacht 2 code (LY2), developed by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for Red Ensign-flagged vessels.

At the time of writing this article, LY3 was still in draft, and was set to not only will replace LY2, but it also builds upon the previous proposed LY2 Edition 3, which was released in 2011.

The Large Yacht Code applies to charter yachts 24m and longer and less than 3,000GT, carrying no more than 12 passengers.

LY3 goes a long way toward blowing away some of the doubt that was beginning to cloud yacht-building schedules due to the upcoming requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006).

More mundanely, this latest code also addresses private submarine issues, the expanding girth of persons aboard yachts, fire hazards of laundries and galleys, elevators and mandatory radio watches.

MLC Equivalencies

The spectre of the International Labour Organization’s MLC 2006 may have many people wondering if new yachts under 150ft could even be built.

Written to protect commercial seafarers’ rights, MLC 2006 stipulates crew accommodation sizes that would be difficult to fit within the confines of a yacht. Studies show that yacht guests would lose approximately 40 per cent of their space to crew.

And because MLC 2006 does not specifically exclude superyachts, at the time of writing, they are included – and both flag and port states will enforce the regulations internationally. MLC 2006 comes into effect 12 months after 30 member nations sign; with the critical mass reached in August 2012, it is scheduled to come into force in August 2013.

For yacht owners and builders, LY3 brings some really good news, offering some certainty as to what might be permissible for yachts under these upcoming regulations. Recognizing that practicable sleeping accommodations may not easily meet MLC 2006’s requirements, LY3 uses the term ‘equivalent’ – focusing on the intent as opposed to the strict letter of the law.

LY3 vs MLC 2006

The 169-page LY3 draft devotes more than 10 pages to the MLC 2006, adding two new sections, 21A and 21B, to implement substantially equivalent arrangements to the crew accommodation requirements of MLC.

For example, for vessels less than 3,000GT, MLC 2006 strictly prescribes a very exact 4.5 square meters (48 square feet) or more of free floor area for a single-occupancy cabin, not less than seven square meters (75 square feet) if occupied by two seafarers.

LY3 tries to take into account the unique shape and structure of a smaller yacht’s hull. To provide room in a cabin for sufficient movement on yachts under 1,250GT, LY3 allows reduced floor areas on a sliding scale between 3.6 and 4.5 square meters (39 and 48 square feet) for a single cabin and 6.2 and 7 square meters (66 and 75 square feet) for a double cabin.

Thus, if the cabin shape and bunk placement allows free movement of a seafarer’s upper body, ‘a reduced free floor area may be provided with the Administration’s agreement, but should not be less than one square meter per seafarer.’

‘It’s a bit surprising that [the galley] has not been addressed before,’ observes Mark Towl, policy manager for large yachts at the MCA. Particularly since, as Franc Jansen, director and head of YPI Management, points out, ‘Some of the most damaging fires lately in yachts have been starting in the galley and laundry.’

The draft LY3 recognizes that a yacht’s galley can be a hazard to all on board because of the combustible nature of grease in the atmosphere as it collects in exhaust ducting, much like soot in a chimney.

To keep any combustion that might start in the galley within the galley for as long as possible, galleys in yachts laid down on or after 1 January 2015 are to be enclosed by ‘B-15’ Class fire boundaries – a technical standard for fire resistance.

LY3 will recommend vessels constructed prior to 2015 also comply. LY2 addressed this by simply trying to prevent the fire from spreading, requiring a damper to shut off the gas flow at the lower end of the duct and then inside the ducting itself. In larger yachts a grease trap is required.

Containing a galley fire in the galley doesn’t do much to save whatever – or whoever – happens to be inside the galley. That includes cables and wiring, meaning that even a well-contained galley fire could still affect other spaces in the yacht.

LY3 directs that cables and wiring serving essential or emergency power, lighting, internal communications or signals be diverted around the galley, as well as laundry, machinery spaces and fuel storage.

In addition, ventilation ducts for accommodations, galleys, service spaces or control stations are not to pass through machinery spaces or areas containing fuelled vehicles or fuel storage spaces, unless the ducts are steel.

Getting stuck in a dark, broken elevator is unpleasant for anyone, but even more so in a seaway. Elevator doors that open suddenly to a cavernous open shaft rather than a panelled elevator do nothing to improve a guest’s experience.

In addition to specifying that elevators shall be designed, constructed, installed and tested by a competent person, LY3 specifies that an elevator’s construction and installation for marine use needs a certificate, including a load test from a classification society, an insurer, or the manufacturer.

Section 16 of LY3 is devoted to a yacht’s radio and applies to all vessels. It requires a yacht during ‘its intended voyage’ be able to transmit ship-to-shore distress alerts by at least two separate and independent means, each using a different radio communication service, and receive shore-to-ship distress alerts.

In addition, a yacht must be able to transmit and receive ship-to-ship distress alerts, search-and-rescue coordinating communications, on-scene communications, signals for locating by radar, maritime safety information, and bridge-to-bridge communications.

LY3 also directs what main and backup power is required and sets radio watch standards mandating a continuous watch at sea.

Submersibles

Submarines are undeniable fun, but they’re inherently dangerous. Operating a submarine is not like riding a personal watercraft. Even launching one from a stabilized yacht can be tricky.

Because a submarine compresses as she sinks, losing buoyancy continuously if ballast is not reduced, the boat will want to sink faster and faster until she crushes or comes to rest on the bottom where someone can come to the rescue.

Some pleasure submarines advertise their ability to survive for several days on the bottom, but seem to miss the point that at their maximum depth they are beyond divers’ reach, hence giving the hapless occupants those same ‘several days’ to contemplate their demise.

LY3 states that submersible craft carried on yachts should comply with International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee Circular 981 as well as respective national regulations, including:

• Being constructed and maintained in accordance with the rules of a recognized classification society and “suitable for the intended use;”

• A safety management system separate from other systems operated by the parent vessel, including an operations manual;

• Certification for the safety of submersible craft and its support equipment following a satisfactory survey and audit.

LY3 stipulates that both operators and the operation of personal watercraft ‘should comply with the applicable legislation of the state in whose waters they are being operated,’ and that crew operating submarines have, ‘adequate theoretical and practical training for the type of submersible craft on board, and have demonstrated ability to operate it.’

Polar operations

As yachts boldly go where a gin and tonic has never been spilled, LY3 has a new provision for ‘yachts which intend to operate within polar regions.’

Stipulating what would seem to be the obvious, these vessels must be classed accordingly ‘with structural strength and systems incorporating heating and recirculation facilities [to] meet ice-class standards’ and ‘considerations should include those for icing’.

Heavy-displacement guests

Perhaps taking into account the culinary wonders typical of a super-yacht galley, among LY3’s minor changes are requirements for additional special life jackets for ‘large girth persons’.

Implementation

LY3 will continue to be developed jointly by the UK, including its relevant overseas territories and crown dependencies, and international industry representatives.

In fact, Mark Towl is quick to point out that LY3 truly will be a team effort of the Large Yacht Steering Committee and Large Yacht Working Group, comprising industry stakeholders, including builders, designers, managers, seafarers, classification societies and other Red Ensign group administrations.

LY3 comes into effect once it has been cleared by the UK’s statutory processes for implementing new legislation – meaning the code has to go through a number of internal checks and balances to ensure that there is no additional burden on the industry.

Then it has to go through the statutory 12-week public consultation period before it can be published.

Originally published: Showboats International, February 2012.

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• Maritime and shipping
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MSN 1851 (M) Large commercial yacht code (LY3)

Provides an update to the 2nd edition of the large commercial yacht code (LY2),as of 20 August 2013.

The Large Commercial Yacht Code (LY3)

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This notice is for all classification societies and:

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LY3 superyacht code adapted in Australia by AMSA

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27 May 2016

AMSA adopts the Large Yacht Code for superyachts

3 August 2016 – By Laurie Foulon

In March 2016, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) adopted the Large Yacht Code for superyachts and training vessels of 24 metres or more in length in a first for the Australian yachting community.

Marine Order 52 will change the way large yachts in Australia are regulated in line with international norms. AMSA Chief Executive Mick Kinley said the change recognises that large yachts, also referred to as Super Yachts, operated commercially for sport or leisure do not fall naturally into a single class.

“Australia shares the view of the United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency (UK MCA) that prescribed merchant ship safety standards may be incompatible with the safety needs of large yachts given the nature of their operations,” Mr Kinley said. “The introduction of Marine Order 52 will provide an equivalent standard through the adoption of the UK MCA’s Large Commercial Yacht Code 3rd Edition, known as the LY3 Code.”

The changes focus on the survey and certification requirements of large yachts engaged in commercial operations and how they will be regulated under the Australian Navigation Act 2012. Large yachts regulated under Marine Order 52, will be defined as motor or sailing vessels of more than 24 metres in load line length, of 150 gross tonnes or more, in commercial use for sport or pleasure and not carrying more than 12 passengers. “Large yachts will still have to comply with all other international conventions that apply to a vessel of its size and operations,” Mr Kinley said. AMSA will work with owners of vessels constructed prior to the new marine order to ensure they comply with the code as far as practical. “Where compliance is not practical because of the structure or arrangement of the vessel, AMSA will consider the use of equivalent solutions as allowed under marine orders and the LY3 Code,” Mr Kinley said.

The introduction of the LY3 Code follows the introduction of crew qualifications for SuperYacht master and deck officers on January 1, 2016. The new qualifications introduced a deck certificate or competency structure similar to that of the UK MCA certificate structure for Master, Chief Mate and Deck Watchkeeper qualifications for various tonnage yachts.

“AMSA identified the need for changes to accommodate seafarers and vessels in the Super Yacht community and has responded with the introduction of the new marine order, in consultation with industry and stakeholders,” Mr Kinley said.

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