The owner or managing operator shall prepare an evacuation plan that must:

(a) Identify possible casualties involving fires or flooding, including a fire in the largest capacity passenger space in each main vertical zone;

(b) Provide procedures for evacuating all affected spaces for each casualty identified as required by paragraph (a) of this section without abandoning the vessel, including—

(1) Identify readily accessible areas of refuge for the maximum number of persons allowed aboard the vessel. The capacity for an area of refuge may not exceed the number of persons specified in § 116.438(n)(2) of this part, except that one person may be permitted for each 0.28 square meters (3 square feet) of deck area; and

(2) Identify at least two means of escape complying with § 114.400 from the space being evacuated; and

(c) Include procedures to evacuate passengers from the vessel using an abandon ship plan, considering the number of passengers and the vessel's route. The abandon ship plan must identify at least one escape route from each area of refuge to each embarkation station required by § 116.510 of this part.

[CGD 85-080, 61 FR 900, Jan. 10, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 51350, Sept. 30, 1997; USCG-1998-4442, 63 FR 52191, Sept. 30, 1998]