Marine Pyrotechnics, also called marine distress visual signal,include hand flare, rocket parachute, buoyant smoke signal, lifebuoy self activating smoke signal(MOB) and line throwing apparatus.

Red Hand Flare

The hand flare shall:

1. be contained in a water-resistant casing;
2. have brief instructions or diagrams clearly illustrating the use of the hand flare printed on its casing;
3. have a self-contained means of ignition; and
4. be so designed as not to cause discomfort to the person holding the casing and not endanger the survival craft by burning or glowing residues when used in accordance with the manufacturer’s operating instructions.

The hand flare shall:

1. burn with a bright colour;
2. burn uniformly with an average luminous intensity of not less than 15,000cd;
3. have a burning period of not less than 1 min,; and
4. continue to burn after having been immersed for a period of 10 s under 100 mm of water.

Rocket parachute flares

The rocket parachute flares shall;

1. be contained in a water flares shall
2. have brief instructions or diagrams clearly illustrating the use of the rocket parachute flare printed on its casing
3. have integral means of ignition ;and
4. be so designed as not to cause discomfort to the person holding the casing when used in accordance with the manufacturer’s operating instructions.

The rocket shall, when fired vertically, reach an altitude of not less than 300m, At or near the top of its trajectory, the rocket shall eject a parachute flare, which shall:

1. burn with a bright red colour;
2. burn uniformly with an average luminous intensity of not less than 30,000cd;
3. have a burning period of not less than 40s;
4. have a rate of descent of not more than 5m/s; and
5. not damage its parachute or attachments while burning.

Buoyant smoke signals

Buoyant smoke signals shall:

1. be contained in a water-resistant casing;
2. not ignite explosively when used in accordance with the manufacturer’s operating instructions; and
3. have brief instructions or diagrams clearly illustrating the use of the buoyant smoke signal printed on its casing.

The buoyant smoke signal shall:

1. emit smoke of a highly visible colour at a uniform rate for a period of not less than 3 min when floating in calm water;
2. not emit any flame during the entire smoke emission time;
3. not be swamped in a seaway ; and
4. continue to emit smoke when submerged in water for a period of 10 s under 100mm of water.

Lifebuoy self-activating smoke signals(MOB)

Self-activating smoke signals shall:

1. Emit smoke of a highly visible colour at a uniform rate for a period of at least 15 min when floating in calm water.
2. Not ignite explosively or emit any flame during the entire smoke emission time of the signal;
3. Not be swamped in a seaway;
4. Continue to emit smoke when fully submerged in water fou a period of at least 10 seconds;
5. Be capable of withstanding the drop test requirement.

Line-throwing appliance

Every line-throwing appliance appliance shall:

1. Be cappble of throwing a line with reasonable accuracy;
2. Include not less than four projectiles each capable of carrying the line at least 230m in calm water;
3. Include not less than four lines each having a breaking strength of not less than 2KN; and
4. Have brief instructions or diagrams clearly illustrating the use of the line-throwing appliance.