Flag, Class and Port State ControlLesson 5 of 6
Planning lifeboat service for a fleet
How to line up crew checks, drills, annual and five-yearly service and falls renewal with survey windows and port calls.
14 minutes · For signed-up learners, free · Rules checked 20 October 2026 · Reviewed by the Lifeboat Inspections technical team
In plain words
Every lifeboat on every ship has a calendar of jobs. The crew check it every week and every month. It is launched in drills every three months. A certified technician examines it every year, and overhauls the hooks and load-tests the winch every five years. The wires that hold it, the falls, must be renewed at least every five years.
On one ship, that is manageable. Across a fleet, it gets hard. Ships trade where the cargo goes, not where the service technicians are. The yearly work has to fit the ship’s survey dates. The five-yearly work can’t be put off. And each make of boat, hook and davit may need a different provider.
Good planning means you never discover a deadline in the last port before it passes. You keep one calendar per ship, tied to the safety equipment certificate, and look ahead for the right port.
Key points
- The annual thorough examination is tied to the annual surveys under SOLAS I/7 or I/8 (SOLAS III/20.11.1.1, III/20.11.4).
- Annual surveys for the Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate fall within 3 months before or after each anniversary date (SOLAS I/8).
- The winch proof-load test and the release gear overhaul are due at least once every five years (SOLAS III/20.11.1.2, III/20.11.2.2).
- The Bahamas states there are “no provisions in SOLAS Chapter III to postpone the 5 yearly service” (BMA Marine Notice 82 §5.5).
- Falls are renewed when worn or at intervals of not more than 5 years, whichever is earlier (SOLAS III/20.4).
- Annual and five-yearly work needs a provider authorized, and technicians certified, for that make and type (MSC.402(96) §4.2–4.3, §7.1, §8.1).
Continue this lesson free
The full lesson, the interactive tool “Plan five years of lifeboat work” and the check are open to signed-up learners. It's free, takes a minute, and opens every lesson in all three courses.
Sources
- Adoption of amendments to SOLAS 1974 (new chapter III)IMO resolution MSC.47(66), 4 June 1996
- Amendments to SOLAS (III/19, III/20 weekly and monthly inspections)IMO resolution MSC.152(78), 20 May 2004
- Amendments to SOLAS (III/19.3 free-fall drills, III/20.4 falls)IMO resolution MSC.216(82), 8 December 2006
- Amendments to SOLAS (III/19 renumbering)IMO resolution MSC.350(92), 21 June 2013
- Amendments to SOLAS (III/3.25, III/20.11)IMO resolution MSC.404(96), 19 May 2016, in force 1 January 2020
- Requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of lifeboats and rescue boats, launching appliances and release gearIMO resolution MSC.402(96), 19 May 2016
- Amendments to MSC.402(96) (ventilation system)IMO resolution MSC.559(108), 23 May 2024
- SOLAS chapter I regulation 8 (text as circulated)Deutsche Flagge (BSH)
- Lifeboat SafetyBahamas Maritime Authority Marine Notice 82, v1.1, 30 October 2023
- Life-saving Appliances and SystemsRepublic of the Marshall Islands Marine Notice 2-011-37, Rev. Dec/2025
- Survival Craft, Rescue Boat and Launching Appliances – Testing, Servicing and MaintenanceLiberia Marine Notice SAF-005, Rev. 07/26
- MGN 560 (M+F) Amendment 2: requirements for life-saving appliancesUK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 10 December 2021
- Revised guidelines on safety during abandon ship drills using lifeboatsIMO MSC.1/Circ.1578/Rev.1, 6 July 2026
- IACS UR Z17 Procedural requirements for service suppliersIACS, Rev.23, July 2026
- ABS Regulatory News: Brief MSC 111ABS, 22 May 2026
Free awareness training. Lifeboat Inspections is not authorised to issue training certificates, so none is given, and this course is not a qualification. It doesn't replace STCW survival craft training, manufacturer training or MSC.402(96) technician certification. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.