For ships constructed on or after 1 July 2014, a minimum of two two-way portable radiotelephone apparatus for each fire party for firefighter's communication shall be carried on board
- Those two-way portable radiotelephone apparatus shall be of an explosion-proof type or intrinsically safe.
- The purpose of these specific radios is to provide a dedicated means of communication between a team of fire fighters entering the space, and the crew member located outside the space who is assigned to control this team, i.e. one Fire Party
- Intrinsically safe radios should have a power output of 1 watt or less. It is the ship's responsibility to demonstrate that the radios are fit for purpose, i.e. that they are able to work within the environment to be expected in a fire scenario, that their operating range is sufficient and that they are safe.