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Minimum safety regulations for personal flotation devices in South Africa
1. Introduction
A personal flotation device (PFD) is a garment or device which, when correctly worn and used in water, will provide the user with a specific amount of buoyancy which will increase the likelihood of survival. PFD’s include lifejackets and buoyancy aids.
A PFD type can be defined as a category of PFD that does not differ in such essential respects as:
- the trade name or mark, or;
- the shape, materials, dimensions, manufacturing processes or methods of assembly. However, a PFD type may include a range of sizes, provided that the dimensions of each size in the range is at least equal to that in the sample which when subjected to the tests satisfied the requirements of the relevant product specification standard.
2. Legislation
In South Africa PFD’s are subjected to the provisions of the following Acts of the South African Parliament:
3. Requirements of the Merchant Shipping Act (Act No. 57 of 1951)
Personal flotation devices shall be supplied and used in accordance with the requirements of the Merchant Shipping (National Small Vessel Safety) Regulations, 2007, as made by the Minister of Transport under section 356 of Act No. 57 of 1951. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) can be contacted for further details. The contact details of SAMSA are available at http://www.samsa.org.za/.
However, in order to import, sell or supply a type of PFD for use in terms of the Merchant Shipping (National Small Vessel Safety) Regulations, 2007, such a type of PFD shall comply with the requirements of the Compulsory Specification for personal flotation devices (herein referred to as VC8032:2009) as published by Government Notice No. R. 91 (Government Gazette No. 31844) of 6 February 2009.
4. Requirements of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act, 2008 (Act No. 5 of 2008)
4.1 In accordance with the requirements of Act No. 5 of 2008 and its regulations, the following applies to PFD’s:
In accordance with the definitions in section 1 and the requirements of section 14 of Act No. 5 of 2008, no person may import, display, offer, advertise or export for or in pursuance of a sale, have in possession for the purpose of sale, trade, manufacture or export, or supply a commodity, product or service to which a compulsory specification appliers, unless such a commodity, product or service complies with the compulsory specification concerned. All PFD’s that are sold, manufactured and supplied in, imported into and exported from the Republic of South Africa shall comply with VC8032:2009.
In accordance with regulation 2.1 as published by Government Notice No. R. 999 (Government Gazette No. 9728) of 3 May 1985, the manufacturer or importer shall keep accurate records in respect of the number of PFD’s manufactured or imported.
In accordance with the regulations relating to the payment of levy and the issue of sales permits in regard to compulsory specifications as published by Government Notice No. R. 999 (Government Gazette No. 9728) of 3 May 1985, the manufacturer or importer shall pay the prescribed levies as published from time to time in the Government Gazette to the NRCS on the first day of the month following the expiry of each levy period on the number of PFD units manufactured or imported. The levy periods are 01 April – 31 June, 01 July – 30 September, 01 October – 31 December and 01 January – 31 March of each Government financial year.
Manufacturers and importers of PFD’s are advised to inform their suppliers, distributors and retailers of the abovementioned requirements.
4.2 Approval of PFD’s
In accordance with the requirements of paragraph 3.9 of VC8032:2009, the manufacturer or importer that is an established legal entity within the Republic of South Africa shall apply to the NRCS for the approval of each type of PFD before it is placed on the market. An application for approval of each type of PFD shall consist of the items as listed in NRCS form No. VC8032-A.
A set of application forms consists of the following:
The Specialist of the NRCS CMM Department can be contacted for further details regarding the approvals process and for the submission of applications for the approval of PFD’s.
Proof of approval will be in the form of a NRCS LOA[1] Approval Granted or NRCS LOA Approval Extended certificate for a type of PFD pursuant to VC8032:2009, bearing a unique approval number that was assigned to each approved type. The holder of the approval shall ensure that the approval number is marked on each PFD conforming to the type approved under VC8032:2009.
Manufacturers, importers, suppliers, distributors and retailers of PFD’s are advised to inform their customers to only obtain PFD’s displaying such approval numbers.
All manufacturers, importers and suppliers must be in possession of a letter of authority certificate for the import, sale and supply of PFD’s in the Republic of South Africa.
4.2.1 Importation of PFD’s
The Customs service of the South African Revenue Service may demand a letter of authority certificate from an importer for the release of a consignment of imported PFD’s.
The Customs official may only release the consignment of PFD’s once the importer has presented a letter of authority certificate that is relevant to the types of PFD’s as contained in the consignment.
Any individual or organization may contact the NRCS CMM Department concerning suspected non-complying PFD’s that may be available in the market. When reporting such concerns of suspected non-complying PFD’s, the following information will be required by the NRCS CMM Department:
a) Full description of the suspected non-complying PFD type.
b) Name of the importer, seller or supplier who has supplied the PFD type.
c) Physical address and contact details of the importer, seller or supplier.
Reporters are advised to keep the following evidence:
a) Proof of purchase or other delivery documents.
b) The product itself.
c) All accompanying documentation and packaging.
On receipt of such reports the NRCS CMM Department will conduct an investigation into the suspected non-complying PFD’s in terms of the powers vested in accordance with Act No. 5 of 2008. The NRCS CMM Department will take any actions needed that may be necessary in terms of vested powers in accordance with Act No. 5 of 2008 to prevent the availability of non-complying PFD’s to the consumer.
The reporter will be notified of the outcome of the investigation verbally (if the concern was received verbally) or in writing (if the concern was received in writing) within the limits of Section 32 of Act No. 5 of 2008.
Please note that the name of the person or organisation reporting a concern to the NRCS CMM Department will not be divulged to the alleged contravener, unless specifically authorised by the reporter.
6.1 Approval of PFD’s
SPECIALIST
NRCS CMM DEPARTMENT
Tel No.: +27 12 428-6065
Fax No.: +27 12428-6513
6.2 Consumer recourse
NRCS CMM Regional Operations Section
Mr. Hendrik F. de Kock
MANAGER: CMM REGIONS
Tel No.: +27 (012) 428-6585
Fax No.: +27 12428-6513
NRCS CMM Gauteng Section
Mrs. Emmah Monyanga
MANAGER: INSPECTIONS
Tel No.: +27 (012) 428-6502
Fax No.: +27 12428-6513
6.3 Information and purchasing of South African National Standards
SABS Standards Information Centre
Telephone Number:
National: (012) 428-6666
International: +27 12 428-6666
Fax Number:
National: (012) 428-6928
International: +27 12 428-6928
Email: info@sabs.co.za
Centre hours: 07:30 – 17:00
[1] Letter of authority certificate
This page was last updated on 11/05/2009.
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