The Spanish Association for Standardisation, UNE, recently approved and published a new standard for seaport passenger boarding bridges (SPBBs) used in cruise and ferry terminals.
UNE 27800:2020 is a new Spanish standard specifying safety and security requirements, as well as SPBB performance and operating specifications, which are used to service all types of cruise ships and ferries, Barcelona-based engineering concern ADELTE said.
It is intended to improve the stipulations laid out in the EC Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, setting specific and minimum criteria for safe, durable and practical boarding bridges.
For over a decade, various interest groups in the Spanish cruise and ferry sectors have insisted on a need to regulate this type of equipment. Currently, there is no harmonised European standard under the directive, the European regulation governing SPBBs.
As a result, ADELTE said that it took the initiative in 2018 to promote the creation of a working group within the UNE’s Standardisation Technical Committee CTN 27, to develop a reference standard.
This group has worked for two years in co-operation and with the participation of all stakeholders – cruise terminal operators, cruise ship builders, cruise lines, certification bodies and engineering companies, the company explained.
The new standard specifies the technical requirements needed to minimise hazards that may arise during the commissioning, operation and maintenance of SPBBs for cruise ships and ferries, according to manufacturers’ or authorised representatives’ instructions.
It also stipulates other essential requirements recommended by port authorities, cruise and ferry companies, as well as cruise and ferry operators, terminal operators and engineering companies.
UNE 27800:2020 applies to fixed and mobile bridges for boarding and disembarking passengers on cruise ships and ferries.
It is applicable from the interface with the terminal building or pier to the connection with the ship, including the fixed tunnels that form part of a SPBB, ADELTE explained.
