Published on: 17 February 2022
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) published the MGN 580 (M) Amendment 1 – Fire protection – fire retardant treatments for fabrics on 11 February 2022. This outlines the MCA Approval Procedures for fire retardant treatment of various items, covers and components onboard vessels certificated under the Large Commercial Yacht Code.
There are four documents that have been published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which are:
- MGN 580 (M) Amendment 1
- Appendix 1 MCA Approval Procedures
- Appendix 2 Declaration of Conformity
- Appendix 3 UK approved bodies websites listings
Where the MGN provides guidance on the law, it should not be regarded as definitive. The way that the law applies to any particular case can vary according to the circumstances – for example, from vessel to vessel, you should consider seeking independent legal advice if you are unsure of your own legal positions.
The MGN brings the attention of interested parties to the publication of the MCA Approval Procedures for fire retardant treatment of floor coverings, suspended textile materials, upholstery materials and bedding components, onboard vessels certified under the Large Commercial Yacht Code.
Some of the key points for the MGN 580 (M) Amendment 1, are:
- The MCA Approval Procedure provide equivalence to inherently fire retardant materials used onboard new build and existing vessels certified under the Fire Safety section of the Large Commercial Yacht Code part A (vessel <500GT)They establish robust quality assurance procedures to allow approval of fire retardant treatments for the protection of materials used onboard large commercial yachts.
- The MCA Approval Procedures and a Declaration of Conformity for such fire retardant treatments can be found as Appendix 1 & 2, respectively, to this MGN.
- Service Provider is an organisation authorised by UK Approved Bodies to provide fire retardant treatment as defined in Appendix 1.
- List of Service Providers can be found online at the websites shown in Appendix 3.
- This MGN is applicable to new builds and existing large yachts.
This MGN replaces MGN 453 following the experience gained since 1 October 2012.
British Marine suggests you take the time to look over the MGN 580 (M) Amendment 1, as well as the supporting appendices that have recently been published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
You can find a link to the GOV.uk webpage for the MGN here.
You can also find the links to the MGN and the appendices in the list above.
