Lifeboat Safety and the RulesLesson 5 of 8
Weekly and monthly lifeboat checks
What the crew must check every week and every month under SOLAS III/20, and how to write it up in the log-book.
12 minutes · For signed-up learners, free · Rules checked 20 October 2026 · Reviewed by the Lifeboat Inspections technical team
In plain words
A lifeboat is only useful if it works on the day it is needed, and nobody knows when that day will come. So the rules ask the crew to look at the boats often: a short check every week and a fuller one every month.
Every week, someone looks at each boat and its davit, checks that the hooks are properly closed and reset, runs the engine for a few minutes and tests the general alarm. On cargo ships, conventional boats are also moved a little from their stowed position to prove the davit and winch work. Every month, the boats are swung out and all the equipment inside is checked against a list.
Each check ends with an entry in the log-book. That entry is the proof the check happened. It is also where the service technicians start when they come for the annual examination.
Key points
- Weekly: every survival craft, rescue boat and launching appliance is visually inspected, including the hooks and that the on-load release gear is “properly and completely reset” (SOLAS III/20.6.1).
- Weekly: every lifeboat and rescue boat engine runs for at least 3 minutes in total, showing that the gearbox engages (SOLAS III/20.6.2).
- Weekly on cargo ships: lifeboats other than free-fall boats are moved from their stowed position, with nobody on board, if weather and sea allow; the general emergency alarm is tested (SOLAS III/20.6.3–.4).
- Monthly: lifeboats other than free-fall boats are turned out, with nobody on board, if weather and sea allow (SOLAS III/20.7.1).
- Monthly: all life-saving appliances, including lifeboat equipment, are inspected using the checklist in the on-board maintenance instructions (SOLAS III/20.7.2, III/36.1).
- Both checks are reported in the log-book, and the crew may do them under the direction of a senior ship’s officer (SOLAS III/20.6, III/20.7.2; MSC.402(96) §4.1).
Continue this lesson free
The full lesson, the interactive tool “Walk round a boat and write the log entry” 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 (regulations III/19 and III/20, weekly and monthly inspections)IMO resolution MSC.152(78), 20 May 2004, in force 1 July 2006
- Amendments to SOLAS (regulation III/20)IMO resolution MSC.216(82), 8 December 2006
- Adoption of the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) CodeIMO resolution MSC.48(66), 4 June 1996
- 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 the LSA Code (hook reset, lowering speeds)IMO resolution MSC.554(108), 23 May 2024
- Amendments to MSC.402(96) (ventilation system)IMO resolution MSC.559(108), 23 May 2024
- Amendments to the LSA Code (oars)IMO resolution MSC.459(101), 13 June 2019
- Review of Lifeboat and Launching Systems' AccidentsMAIB Safety Study 1/2001, 1 February 2001
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.