Start hereRules checked 20 October 2026
For decades, the only international rule on testing ship’s cranes was a labour convention about dockers. It was not applied everywhere and did not cover the provision crane, the engine-room crane or the hose-handling crane, which crews use every day.
Since 1 January 2026, SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13 closes that gap. It brings shipboard lifting appliances and anchor handling winches into the statutory survey regime, with the classification society acting for the flag and port State control able to check. Most existing ships must be compliant by their first renewal survey after that date, so many ships are going through it right now.
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In this lesson
- SOLAS II-1/3-13: what happens when
- In plain words
- In detail
- What the rules say
- Flag and class notes
- Key numbers
- What inspectors find
- Quiz: 6 questions
Try it
SOLAS II-1/3-13: what happens when
In plain words
SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13 says three simple things:
- New cranes and winches (installed on or after 1 January 2026) must be designed and built to class rules or an equivalent standard, load tested and examined before first use, and permanently marked with their SWL.
- Existing cranes and winches must be tested and thoroughly examined by the ship’s first renewal survey on or after 1 January 2026, and existing cranes must also be permanently marked with their SWL by then.
- All of them, whatever their age, must be operated, inspected, maintained, examined and tested following IMO’s guidelines.
The guidelines are MSC.1/Circ.1663 for lifting appliances and MSC.1/Circ.1662 for anchor handling winches. They describe the annual thorough examination, the five-yearly load test, the register, the certificates, the manuals and what to do when something breaks.
In detail
What counts as a lifting appliance
SOLAS regulation II-1/2.30 defines a lifting appliance as any load-handling ship’s equipment used:
- for cargo loading, transfer or discharge;
- for raising and lowering hold hatch covers or movable bulkheads;
- as engine-room cranes;
- as stores cranes;
- as hose handling cranes;
- for launch and recovery of tender boats and similar;
- as personnel handling cranes.
Loose gear is anything by which a load is attached to a lifting appliance or anchor handling winch without being part of it: blocks, hooks, shackles, chains, slings, rings, swivels, lifting beams, spreaders, frames and grabs. An anchor handling winch is one for deploying, recovering and repositioning anchors and mooring lines in subsea operations; it is not the ship’s own windlass.
What is excluded
Regulation 3-13.1.2 does not apply to:
- lifting appliances on ships certified as mobile offshore drilling units;
- lifting appliances on offshore construction ships (pipe or cable laying, offshore installation, decommissioning) that meet standards acceptable to the Administration;
- integrated mechanical equipment for opening and closing hold hatch covers;
- life-saving launching appliances complying with the LSA Code (they have their own regime under SOLAS chapter III and MSC.402(96)).
Lifting appliances under 1,000 kg
Regulation 3-13.1.3 leaves it to each Administration to decide how far the design, testing and certification paragraphs apply to appliances with an SWL below 1,000 kg. Flags have answered differently, which is why you must read your own flag’s notice (see the flag notes below).
“Installed on or after 1 January 2026”
For a ship whose keel was laid on or after 1 January 2026, every lifting appliance counts as new. For older ships, an appliance is new if its contractual delivery date to the ship, or its actual delivery date if there is no contract date, is on or after 1 January 2026. Replacing an old provision crane today therefore means a fully certified new crane.
Demonstrating compliance
| New appliance | Existing appliance | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before first use | By first renewal survey on or after 1 January 2026 |
| Design | Class rules or equivalent standard | Not reassessed |
| Test and examination | Load test and thorough examination after installation | Load test and thorough examination |
| Marking | SWL permanently marked, with documentary evidence | Same, by the same date |
| Documents | Certificate of test and thorough examination (appendix 1) | Valid C152 certificate until expiry, or new certificate, or factual statement under MSC.1/Circ.1696 |
A factual statement confirms that an existing, never-certified appliance was load tested and thoroughly examined. It says clearly that it does not confirm compliance with the design and marking paragraphs (3-13.2.1 and 2.3), and, where the company nominated the SWL because no design data exist, that the competent person has not confirmed that SWL. It may be attached to the register, and it must not be written on the certificate form.
Manuals, operation and inoperative gear
Each appliance needs a maintenance manual and an operations manual from the maker, or from a competent third party if the maker’s are not available. Operators must be qualified, familiarised and authorised by the master. When an appliance is inoperative, it is not by itself a reason to delay the ship, provided the master takes it into account for the voyage, prevents its use, secures it against uncontrolled movement, stores inoperative loose gear separately and records it in the register.
Lifts and elevators
Passenger and service lifts are not in the SOLAS list of lifting appliances. They are covered by class rules (for example, the Lloyd’s Register Code for Lifting Appliances in a Marine Environment includes passenger and service lifts), national rules and the maker’s maintenance programme. Ask your RO which lift rules apply to your ship.
What the rules say
- SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13.1.1 applies the regulation to lifting appliances, anchor handling winches and the loose gear used with them; paragraph 1.2 excludes MODUs, certain offshore construction ships, integrated hatch cover equipment and LSA Code launching appliances. 1
- SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13.1.3 says the Administration shall determine to what extent paragraphs 2.1 and 2.4 do not apply to lifting appliances with an SWL below 1,000 kg. 1
- SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13.2.1 requires lifting appliances installed on or after 1 January 2026 to be designed, built and installed to the requirements of a recognized classification society or an equivalent standard, and to be load tested and thoroughly examined before first use and after major repairs. 1
- SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13.2.3 and 2.4 require SWL marking with documentary evidence, and for appliances installed before 2026, testing and thorough examination by the first renewal survey on or after 1 January 2026. 1
- SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13.3 requires all lifting appliances, anchor handling winches and loose gear, regardless of installation date, to be operationally tested, thoroughly examined, inspected, operated and maintained based on the IMO guidelines. 1
- SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13.4 says malfunctioning equipment shall not be assumed to make the ship unseaworthy or be a reason for delay, provided the master has taken it into account in planning and executing a safe voyage. 1
- MSC.1/Circ.1663 paragraphs 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 set out how new and existing appliances are certified, and section 5 lists the master’s actions for inoperative appliances. 2
- MSC.1/Circ.1663 paragraphs 3.5.2 and 3.6.2 require a maintenance manual and an operations manual for each lifting appliance, from the maker or a competent third party. 2
- MSC.1/Circ.1696, a unified interpretation of SOLAS II-1/3-13.2.4, allows existing non-certified appliances to show compliance with a factual statement issued by the competent person approved by the Administration or the RO. 3
- MSC.1/Circ.1662 gives the corresponding guidelines for anchor handling winches, including annual and five-yearly operational tests, the five-yearly one witnessed by the Administration or RO. 4
Flag and class notes
- Liberia (SAF-020): lifting appliances below 1,000 kg installed on or after 1 January 2026 must be load tested and thoroughly examined by the maker, shipbuilder or commissioning contractor after installation and given a certificate of test; for all appliances below 1,000 kg, owners must assess usage and risk and build inspection and maintenance into the SMS. Liberia delegates certification to its authorized ROs and lets intervals follow the harmonized survey dates. 4
- Luxembourg (CAM 08/2025): appliances below 1,000 kg are outside the mandatory approval, survey and certification scope, but must still be permanently marked with their SWL, with evidence on board, and covered by risk-based procedures in the SMS. 5
- Antigua and Barbuda (SOLAS Circular 2025-004): existing appliances below 1,000 kg must be load tested, examined and SWL-marked by the first safety construction renewal survey on or after 1 January 2026; those installed on or after that date must comply fully. 6
- Germany (ISM circular 02/2025): for appliances below 1,000 kg, owners may apply the national Industrial Safety Ordinance instead, with inspection by a qualified person at least every 12 months and SWL marking. 7
- Lifts: class codes cover passenger and service lifts separately; Lloyd’s Register’s Code for Lifting Appliances in a Marine Environment is one example. 8
- These four flags give four different answers for small cranes. Always read your own flag’s notice and confirm with your RO.
Key numbers
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Resolution adopted | 8 June 2023, MSC.532(107) 1 |
| In force | 1 January 2026 1 |
| Existing appliances deadline | First renewal survey on or after 1 January 2026 1 |
| SWL threshold for flag discretion | 1,000 kg 1 |
| Thorough examination | Annually and after each load test 2 |
| Load test | At least every 5 years 2 |
| Guidelines | MSC.1/Circ.1663 (lifting appliances), MSC.1/Circ.1662 (anchor handling winches) 4 |
What inspectors find
- Stores, engine-room or hose-handling cranes with no SWL marking and no certificate, because they were never treated as cargo gear. 6
- No operations or maintenance manual on board for older cranes, although a competent third party may provide one. 2
- Inoperative cranes not secured against movement or not recorded in the register. 2
- Factual statements written on the certificate form, which MSC.1/Circ.1696 says must not be used for that purpose. 3
FAQ
Does SOLAS II-1/3-13 apply to the ship's windlass and mooring winches?
No. Anchor handling winches in the regulation are winches on offshore anchor handling ships. The ship’s own windlass and mooring winches are covered by class rules and SOLAS II-1/3-8 for mooring (lessons 6 and 9).
Our existing cranes have valid C152 certificates issued in 2024. Do we need to retest now?
Valid certificates under another acceptable instrument, issued before the rule entered into force, are considered compliant until they expire. Keep the annual thorough examinations going, and the five-yearly test when it falls due.
Is a lifeboat davit a lifting appliance under this rule?
No. Life-saving launching appliances that comply with the LSA Code are excluded. They follow SOLAS chapter III and MSC.402(96).
What happens if a crane breaks down mid-voyage?
The ship is not unseaworthy for that reason alone. The master must stop its use, secure it, record it in the register and plan the voyage around it, and some flags, Liberia for example, want the Administration and the RO informed.
Quiz6 questions
Sources
- 1
IMO Resolution MSC.532(107), 2023 amendments to SOLAS (adopted 8 June 2023, in force 1 January 2026), regulation II-1/2.30 to 2.33 and new regulation II-1/3-13. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.532(107).pdf
- 2
IMO MSC.1/Circ.1663, Guidelines for lifting appliances (28 June 2023), Annex, sections 3.2 to 3.6 and 5 (copy hosted by ABS). https://ww2.eagle.org/content/dam/eagle/Images/rules-and-resources/regulatory-updates/solas-requirements/guidelines-hyperlinks/msc1-circ1663-guidelines-for-lifting-appliances%20%284%29.pdf
- 3
IMO MSC.1/Circ.1696, Unified interpretation of SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13.2.4 (28 August 2025), Annex paragraphs 1 to 6 (copy hosted by the Marshall Islands Registry). https://www.register-iri.com/wp-content/uploads/MSC.1-Circ.1696.pdf
- 4
Liberia Maritime Authority, Marine Notice SAF-020 Rev. 12/25, applicability section and paragraphs 2.1.2, 2.3 and 2.5 (summarising MSC.1/Circ.1662 and MSC.1/Circ.1663). https://www.liscr.com/marketing/liscr/media/liscr/online%20library/maritime/saf-020.pdf
- 5
Luxembourg Maritime Administration, Circular CAM 08/2025, Implementation of SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13 (4 November 2025). https://maritime.public.lu/dam-assets/circulaires/2025/20251104-08-implementation-of-solas-regulation-ii-13-13.pdf
- 6
Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services, SOLAS Circular No. 2025-004 (17 December 2025), section 2 and background. https://abregistry.ag/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SOLAS-Circular-2025-004-New-SOLAS-requirements-for-Lifting-Appliances-1-2.pdf
- 7
German Flag (BG Verkehr), ISM Circular 02/2025, Lifting appliances: new SOLAS requirements 1 January 2026. https://www.deutsche-flagge.de/de/redaktion/dokumente/ism-rundschreiben/circ02-2025-lifting-appliances-hebezeuge.pdf
- 8
Lloyd’s Register, Code for Lifting Appliances in a Marine Environment (edition 1 July 2026), scope summary page. https://www.lr.org/en/knowledge/lloyds-register-rules/code-for-lifting-appliances-in-a-marine-environment/
Rules checked 20 October 2026. VSL Safety is not an approved training provider and doesn't issue certificates. These lessons don't replace STCW training, or the manufacturer's training and certification that service technicians need.
