Section 48 in The Port Rules for the Port of Bombay
48.
Masters of vessels shall not send any person or persons into bilges or other confined spaces on board their vessels until such necessary precautions, as are laid down in the subjoined directions and extract from the Admiralty Regulations, shall have been taken:Direction(a)Unless proper precautions are taken, persons sent down to scrape the bilge of vessels, may lose their lives through asphyxia from the inhalation of mephitic gas. The masters of vessels are, therefore, directed to guard against accidents by pumping water in and out of the bilges opening the manole doors (under proper precautions) so as to ventilate the bilges, and by such other means as may be necessary in each particular case, and they are to prevent persons from entering the bilges until these precautions have been taken. The particular attention of masters of vessels is drawn to the above directions, as well as the advisability of telling off some competent persons to see that no one enters the bilges until the bilge-water has been pumped out and that the tindals in charge of boys who are to work in the bilge properly carry out all orders given to them in this respect. The pumping out of bilge water will not be permitted in the docks.
