7.20 Operational Readiness, Maintenance and Inspection:

Operational Readiness

(1) Before the ship leaves port and at all times during the voyage, all life-saving appliances shall be in working order and ready for immediate use.

Maintenance of Life Saving Appliances

(2) Maintenance, testing and inspections of life–saving appliances shall be carried out based on the guidelines developed by the IMO^footnote and in a manner having due regard to ensuring reliability of such appliances.

(3) Instructions for on-board maintenance of life-saving appliances complying with subsection (16) shall be provided and maintenance shall be carried out accordingly.

(4) The Administration may accept, in compliance with the requirements of subsection (3), a shipboard planned maintenance programme, which includes the items covered in the list required in accordance with subsection (16).

Maintenance of Falls

(5) Falls used in launching shall be inspected periodically^footnote with special regard for areas passing through sheaves, and renewed when necessary due to deterioration of the falls or at intervals of not more than 5 years, whichever is the earlier.

Spares and Repair Equipment

(6) Spares and repair equipment shall be provided for life-saving appliances and their components which are subject to excessive wear or consumption and need to be replaced regularly.

Weekly Tests and Inspections

(7) The following tests and inspections shall be carried out weekly and a report on them shall be entered in the log-book-

(a) all survival craft, rescue boats and launching appliances shall be visually inspected to ensure that they are ready for use and the inspection shall include, but not be limited to, the condition of hooks, their attachment to the lifeboat and the confirmation that the on-load release gear has been properly and completely reset;
(b) all engines in lifeboats and rescue boats shall be run for a total period of not less than 3 minutes, provided the ambient temperature is above the minimum temperature required for starting and running the engine and during this period of time it should be demonstrated that the gear box and gear box train are engaging satisfactorily;
(c) if the special characteristics of an outboard motor fitted to a rescue boat would not allow it to be run for a period of 3 minutes other than with its propeller submerged, a suitable water supply may be provided; and
(d) the general emergency alarm shall be tested.

Monthly Tests and Inspections

(8) The following tests and inspections shall be carried out monthly and a report on them shall be entered in the log-book-

(a) all lifeboats, except free-fall lifeboats, shall be turned out from their stowed position, without any persons on board, if weather and sea conditions so allow; and
(b) inspection of the life-saving appliances, including lifeboat equipment, shall be carried out using the checklist required by subsection (16) to ensure that they are complete and in good order.

Servicing of Life Saving Appliances and Systems

(9) Every inflatable liferaft, inflatable lifejacket, marine evacuation system and inflated rescue boat shall be serviced-

(a) at intervals not exceeding 12 months, provided where in any case this is impracticable, the Administration may extend this period to 17 months; and
(b) at an approved servicing station which is competent to service them, maintains proper servicing facilities and uses only properly trained personnel^footnote.

(10) An Administration which approves new and novel inflatable liferaft arrangements pursuant to section 7.2 may allow for extended service intervals on the following conditions-

(a) the new and novel liferaft arrangement has proved to maintain the same standard, as required by testing procedure, during extended service intervals.
(b) the liferaft system shall be checked on board by certified personnel at intervals set out in subsection (9)(b).
(c) service at intervals not exceeding five years shall be carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the IMO^footnote.

(11) An Administration which permits extension of liferaft service intervals in accordance with subsection (10) shall notify the IMO of such action in accordance with Regulation 5(b) of Chapter I of SOLAS.

(12) All repairs and maintenance of inflated rescue boats shall be carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions; emergency repairs may be carried out on board the ship; however, permanent repairs shall be effected at an approved servicing station.

Servicing of Life Saving Appliances and Systems

(13) Hydrostatic release units, other than disposable hydrostatic release units, shall be serviced-

(a) at intervals not exceeding 12 months, provided where in any case this is impracticable, the Administration may extend this period to 17 months^footnote; and
(b) at a servicing station which is competent to service them, maintains proper servicing facilities and uses only properly trained personnel.

Periodic Servicing of Launching Appliances and on-Load Release Gear

(14) Launching appliances shall be-

(a) maintained in accordance with instructions for on-board maintenance as required by subsection (16).
(b) subject to a thorough examination at the annual surveys required by Regulations 7 or 8 of Chapter I of SOLAS, as applicable; and
(c) upon completion of the examination referred to in paragraph (b) above, subjected to a dynamic test of the winch brake at maximum lowering speed and the load to be applied shall be the mass of the survival craft or rescue boat without persons on board, provided that, at intervals not exceeding five years, the test shall be carried out with a proof load equal to 1.1 times the weight of the survival craft or rescue boat and its full complement of persons and equipment.

(15) Lifeboat or rescue boat on-load release gear shall be-

(a) maintained in accordance with instructions for on-board maintenance as required by subsection (16);
(b) subject to a thorough examination and operational test during the annual surveys required by Regulations 7 or 8 of Chapter I of SOLAS, as applicable; and
(c) operationally tested under a load of 1.1 times the total mass of the boat when loaded with its full complement of persons and equipment whenever the release gear is overhauled provided that such over-hauling and test shall be carried out at least once every five years^footnote.

(16) Instructions for on-board maintenance of life-saving appliances shall be easily understood, illustrated wherever possible, and, as appropriate, shall include the following for each appliance-

(a) a checklist for use when carrying out the inspections required by subsection (8)(b);
(b) maintenance and repair instructions;
(c) a schedule of periodic maintenance;
(d) a diagram of lubrication points with the recommended lubricants;
(e) a list of replaceable parts;
(f) a list of sources of spare parts; and
(g) a log for records of inspections and maintenance.

Rotational Deployment of Marine Evacuation Systems

(17) In addition to or in conjunction with the servicing intervals of marine evacuation systems required by subsection (9), each marine evacuation system should be deployed from the ship on a rotational basis at intervals to be agreed by the Administration provided that each system is to be deployed at least once every six years.

Marking of Stowage Locations

(18) Containers, brackets, racks, and other similar stowage locations for life-saving equipment, shall be marked with symbols in accordance with the recommendations of the IMO^footnote, indicating the devices stowed in that location for that purpose and where more than one device is stowed in that location, the number of devices shall also be indicated.