5 Life-saving appliances

  5.1 The effectiveness of life-saving appliances depends heavily on good maintenance by the crew and their use in regular drills. The lapse of time since the last survey for a Safety Equipment Certificate can be a significant factor in the degree of deterioration of equipment if it has not been subject to regular inspection by the crew. Apart from failure to carry equipment required by a convention or obvious defects such as holed lifeboats, the PSCO should look for signs of disuse of, obstructions to, or defects with survival craft launching and recovery equipment which may include paint accumulation, seizing of pivot points, absence of greasing, condition of blocks and falls, condition of lifeboat lifting hook attachment to the lifeboat hull and improper lashing or stowing of deck cargo.

  5.2 Should such signs be evident, the PSCO would be justified in making a detailed inspection of all life-saving appliances. Such an examination might include the lowering of survival craft, a check on the servicing of liferafts, the number and condition of lifejackets and lifebuoys and ensuring that the pyrotechnics are still within their period of validity. It would not normally be as detailed as that for a renewal of the Safety Equipment Certificate and would concentrate on essentials for safe abandonment of the ship, but in an extreme case could progress to a full Safety Equipment Certificate inspection. The provision and functioning of effective overside lighting, means of alerting the crew and passengers and provision of illuminated routes to assembly points and embarkation positions should be given importance in the inspection.