A marine terminal access platform threaded through existing pipework
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Home / Resources / OSHA maritime
Article · 29 CFR 1915 · 1917 · 1918

Three Standards, and Which One Governs Your Site

OSHA regulates maritime work under three separate parts. Which applies depends on what the site does — and a shipyard, a terminal and a longshoring operation are not interchangeable.

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Unlike a standard industrial facility, the working surface itself is in motion.
1915 shipyards 1917 marine terminals 1918 longshoring Four hazard classes
01 Which standard applies

Start With What the Site Does

Requirements vary by operation, so the first compliance question is not "what does OSHA require" but "which part of OSHA governs this site". A facility doing more than one of these is governed by more than one.

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Typical exposures
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02 Four hazard classes

What Actually Causes the Falls

Each class has a different control, and each is named in the article. Three of the four are addressed by installed infrastructure rather than by procedure.

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03 Why marine is different

A Fall Here Has Somewhere Worse to Go

In a plant, a fall ends on the floor. In a marine environment it can end in open water, a cargo hold, confined machinery, or an active operational zone — and emergency response is harder to reach in all four.

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Employer exposure beyond the injury itself
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Because these are high-risk environments, OSHA expects proactive and well-documented programmes that demonstrate consistent hazard mitigation — not a response assembled after an incident.

05 Frequently asked

Questions on Maritime Compliance

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Engineer the Access, Not the Procedure

Slippery surfaces, elevated work areas, and open deck edges are all addressed by installed structure rather than by a rule someone has to remember.

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Guardrail systems Engineered past the 200 lb minimum, not to it.
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