Lifeboat Inspection & Servicing in Rabigh.

Lifeboat inspection and servicing to SOLAS and MSC.402(96)

Lifeboat inspection and servicing covers the periodic thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of a ship’s lifeboats, including totally enclosed davit-launched boats and free-fall lifeboats. It is the primary means of abandonment on most ships and has to work first time.

Many lifeboat accidents have happened during drills and maintenance, often involving hooks, falls or incorrectly reset release gear. vslSafety coordinates an authorised service provider for the make and type fitted and plans the attendance around the port call.

Regulatory requirements and who can do the work

The core requirement is SOLAS regulation III/20, which sets weekly and monthly inspections by the crew and annual and five-yearly work under paragraph 20.11. Since 1 January 2020, amendments adopted by resolution MSC.404(96) make the Requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of lifeboats and rescue boats, launching appliances and release gear, resolution MSC.402(96), mandatory.

• Annual thorough examinations and operational tests, the five-year examination, overload tests, overhaul and repair must be carried out by certified personnel of the manufacturer or of a service provider authorised by the flag Administration.
• Personnel are certified for each make and type of equipment; MSC.402(96) sets a three-year validity for these personnel certificates.
• SOLAS regulation III/1.5 required non-compliant on-load release mechanisms (other than free-fall release systems) to be replaced with gear meeting the revised LSA Code paragraph 4.4.7.6, no later than the first scheduled dry-docking after 1 July 2014 and in any case before 1 July 2019, using the evaluation process in MSC.1/Circ.1392.
• Related guidance includes MSC.1/Circ.1206/Rev.1 on preventing lifeboat accidents and MSC.1/Circ.1578 on safety during abandon ship drills.

Launching appliances and their winches are covered by the same regime; see our davit and launching appliance servicing page for the davit side of the work.

Inspection and servicing intervals

Item	Requirement	Interval	Reference
Lifeboats and launching appliances	Visual check of readiness, hooks and reset of on-load release gear; engine run of at least 3 minutes; general alarm test	Weekly	SOLAS III/20.6
Lifeboats (except free-fall)	Turned out from stowed position; monthly LSA inspection using the ship’s checklist, logged	Monthly	SOLAS III/20.7
Lifeboat launch drill	Launched and manoeuvred in the water by its assigned crew	At least every 3 months	SOLAS III/19
Free-fall lifeboat	Free-fall launch with operating crew only, or simulated launching	Not more than 6 months	SOLAS III/19
Lifeboat and release gear	Thorough examination and operational test	Annual survey	SOLAS III/20.11; MSC.402(96)
On-load release gear	Overhaul and operational test at 1.1 times total mass with full complement and equipment	At least every 5 years	SOLAS III/20.11.2; MSC.402(96)
Falls	Periodic inspection; renewal when deteriorated	Renew at not more than 5 years	SOLAS III/20.4

What the service includes

• Review of crew inspection records, previous service reports and the maker’s manuals
• Examination of hull, canopy, fixed and loose equipment and, as far as practicable, void space boundaries
• Engine, starting system, batteries and gearbox checks
• Checks of sprinkler and air supply systems where fitted, steering, bailing and fendering
• Examination of release gear activation, free play, hydrostatic interlock, cables and hook fastening
• On-load and off-load release operational tests, followed by re-examination; test-without-launching for free-fall boats
• At five years, dismantling of hook release units, tolerance checks, adjustment and a 1.1 overload test
• Inventory check of lifeboat equipment, with a list of items to replace

Lifeboat types commonly serviced

Providers regularly work on totally enclosed davit-launched lifeboats, free-fall lifeboats on stern ramps, partially enclosed boats on passenger ships, combined lifeboat and rescue boats, and tanker lifeboats with sprinkler and self-contained air support systems. Common makes include Palfinger (Harding, Schat-Harding), Viking Norsafe, Fassmer, Hatecke and many Asian builders. Authorisation is make- and type-specific, so the provider’s certificate scope must match the boat and hook fitted.

Common defects and PSC deficiencies

Life-saving appliances regularly feature among the larger deficiency areas in port State control statistics; the Paris MoU 2024 annual report attributes 9.3% of all recorded deficiencies to SOLAS chapter III. The Paris and Tokyo MoUs also ran a joint concentrated inspection campaign on lifeboat launching arrangements in 2009. Typical findings include:

• Release gear not fully reset, excessive wear in the hook mechanism or seized cables
• Engines that fail to start or batteries in poor condition
• Missing or expired equipment, such as pyrotechnics, rations, water and first-aid kits
• Cracked or delaminated GRP, damaged canopies and leaking hatches
• Service reports missing, out of date or issued by personnel without a valid make-and-type certificate

Certificates and documents you receive

After the work, MSC.402(96) requires the manufacturer or authorised service provider to issue a statement confirming the lifeboat arrangements remain fit for purpose, together with copies of the provider’s authorisation and the technician’s certification. Reports are countersigned by the master or company representative and kept on board for the service life of the equipment, along with any defect list and the five-year load-test record.

How to prepare the vessel

Plan the annual examination within the safety equipment survey window and the five-year overhaul for dry-docking or a longer port stay. Confirm the port permits lowering boats into the water, arrange water bags for the overload test, and have engines fuelled, batteries charged and an officer available to witness. Coordinate with davit servicing and load testing so that one attendance covers boat, hook and winch.

Information needed for a quotation

• Vessel name, IMO number, flag and class
• Port, berth or anchorage, ETA and ETD
• Lifeboat maker, model, serial numbers and release hook type
• Number of boats and whether any are free-fall or combined rescue boats
• Scope: annual examination, five-year overhaul, repairs or hook replacement
• Date and copy of the last service report and any outstanding defects
• Whether water launching, test weights or class attendance are required

vslSafety coordinates a suitable authorised provider at the vessel’s port and returns a quote with scope, attendance time and exclusions; final acceptance rests with flag, class and the attending surveyor.

Frequently asked questions

How often does a lifeboat need to be serviced?

SOLAS regulation III/20.11 requires a thorough examination and operational test of the lifeboat and its release gear at every annual survey, carried out by certified personnel of the manufacturer or an authorised service provider. On-load release gear must also be overhauled and tested under 1.1 times the fully loaded boat mass at least once every five years. The crew carry out the weekly and monthly inspections in between, following the maker’s manual.

Can the crew carry out the annual lifeboat inspection?

Not on their own. Under MSC.402(96), the annual thorough examination and operational test must be done by personnel certified for that make and type, working for the manufacturer or a service provider authorised by the Administration. A ship operator can only do this work if it is itself authorised in that way. The crew remain responsible for weekly and monthly inspections and routine maintenance under the direction of a senior officer.

What is the five-year lifeboat hook overhaul?

At least every five years, the release gear is dismantled, checked against the maker’s tolerances and design requirements, reassembled and adjusted, and vital parts are examined for defects and cracks. The on-load release is then operationally tested with a load of 1.1 times the weight of the boat with its full complement of persons and equipment, usually using water bags or test weights inside the boat.

Does a free-fall lifeboat have to be dropped for its annual test?

No. MSC.402(96) allows the annual operational test of a free-fall release system to be carried out without launching the boat, using the test arrangement required by the LSA Code and the maker’s instructions. Separately, SOLAS regulation III/19 requires a free-fall launch with only the operating crew, or a simulated launching, at intervals of not more than six months.