Regulations for Passenger Ship Administration Article 55

All passenger cabins of any passenger ship shall be installed with stairways and vertical stairways for passengers to promptly escape to the lifeboat deck in accordance with the following provisions:1. Each watertight compartment or similarly restricted space or group of spaces located below the bulkhead deck shall be equipped with two escape routes of which at least one shall not go through the watertight door. However, one of the escape routes may be exempted if the shipping administration authority or ship register institute approves according to the characteristics and locations of compartments, and the number of passengers.2. Each main vertical zone or similarly restricted space or group of spaces located above the bulkhead deck shall have at least two practicable escape routes, of which at least one shall allow access to a stairway forming a vertical escape.3. The escape routes prescribed in the two preceding paragraphs shall have at least one enclosed stairway readily accessible, which shall have as much as possible continuous fire shelter from the level of its origin to the lifeboat embarkation deck. The width, number, and continuity of each stairways shall be approved by the shipping administration authority or ship register institute.