Worldwide – SOLAS Amendments on Lifeboat Safety Now in Force CRM:0225012
Category: Regulation – Date: 17/01/2013 – Area: Worldwide
Worldwide – SOLAS Amendments on Lifeboat Safety Now in Force We would like to advise our Members of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) that entered into force on 1st January 2013 aimed at preventing accidents during the launching of lifeboats.
The amendments, adopted in May 2011, added a new paragraph 5 to SOLAS regulation III/1, to require lifeboats on load release mechanisms not complying with new International Life-Saving Appliances (LSA) Code requirements to be replaced, no later than the first scheduled dry-docking of the ship after 1st July 2014 but, in any case, not later than 1st July 2019. The SOLAS amendment is intended to establish new, stricter, safety standards for lifeboat release and retrieval systems, and will require the assessment and possible replacement of a large number of lifeboat release hooks.
Information submitted by flag states on their assessments of existing lifeboat hooks is available on the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) under Evaluation of Hooks. Members are requested to ensure that their technical departments are fully aware of these amendments. Source of information: International Maritime Organisation (www.imo.org)
