What
is "SOLAS"?
With special emphasis on lifesaving requirements
The
1974 international convention for Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS)
and it subsequent amendments are prescribing all the safety
and operational rules and standards from international
conventions and apply to vessels over 5OO GT.
The
SOLAS international convention is administered by the International
Maritime Organization (IMO). Today, SOLAS covers almost
all types of commercial ships engaged in international service
and has been ratified by all major maritime nations.
Lifesaving systems have changed . Gone (at least for new construction)
are the open pulling (oar-propelled) lifeboats of the Titanic's
day. Today's lifeboats have full or partial rigid enclosures to
protect the occupants from the elements, and are propelled by
diesel engines. Lifeboats on tankers are equipped with air supply
and sprinkler systems which allow them to travel through fire
on the water. Many cargo ships have a free-fall launched lifeboat
that is dropped from a ramp on the stern of the ship.
Chapters
III of SOLAS cover lifesaving systems. Until the 1974 revision,
SOLAS contained little in the way of technical detail for these
systems. It was up to each national maritime safety administration,
to ensure that these systems were adequate for use on their ships,
through an equipment approval process. However, beginning with
a 1983 revision, specifications for lifesaving systems were included
in SOLAS, in what is now IMO’s Life-Saving Appliances
(LSA) Code, and a companion Recommendation on
Testing of Life-Saving Appliances. These international standards
have given rise to the expression "SOLAS approved",
implying that some kind of international approval system is in
place. In fact, each national maritime safety administration is
still responsible for ensuring that equipment on its ships meets
the SOLAS requirements.
This
is changing, however. In 1992, the United States introduced a
work item at IMO on international approval of lifesaving appliances.
Negotiations on this subject have not led to an international
or "SOLAS" approval system, but much has been done to
standardize testing procedures so that data exchange between approving
authorities should be easier. The European Commission has a directive
2001 CE on marine equipment, which directs member countries
to accept each others’ marine safety equipment approvals.
Through the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the United
States has formally proposed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA)
on this agreement with the European Union.
THE MSC.1/Circ.1206 SOLAS REGULATION
On July 1, 2006, the new IMO regulation (MSC.1/Circ.1206 SOLAS chapter III) came into effect as a guide line. This new regulation recommends for the periodic servicing and maintenance of lifeboats , davits and on-load release gears that annual and five years inspection have to be made by original equipment manufacturer or skilled service companies homologated by them. As a consequence of the new regulations for maintenance and service, classification societies and flag state administrations require to proceed accordingly.
For details on inspection and maintenance of davits & lifeboats, go to www.acebi-service.com
For
more details on IMO regulations, see www.imo.org
