8.9 Operational readiness, maintenance and inspections
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - International Codes - HSC Code - International Code of Safety for High Speed Craft, 1994 – Resolution MSC.36(63) - Annex - International Code of Safety for High Speed Craft, 1994 - Chapter 8 - Life-saving Appliances and Arrangements - 8.9 Operational readiness, maintenance and inspections

8.9 Operational readiness, maintenance and inspections

  8.9.1.1 General

Before the craft leaves port and at all times during the voyage, all life-saving appliances should be in working order and ready for immediate use.

  8.9.1.2 Before giving approval to novel life-saving appliances or arrangements, the Administration should ensure that such appliances or arrangements:

  • .1 provide safety standards at least equivalent to the requirements of this chapter and have been evaluated and tested in accordance with the recommendations of the Organization;footnote or

  • .2 have successfully undergone, to the satisfaction of the Administration, evaluation and tests which are substantially equivalent to those recommendations.

  8.9.1.3 An Administration which permits extension of liferaft service intervals in accordance with 8.9.1.2 should notify the Organization in accordance with regulation I/5(b) of the Convention.

  8.9.2 Maintenance

  • .1 Instructions for on-board maintenance of life-saving appliances complying with the requirements of regulation III/52 of the Convention should be provided and maintenance should be carried out accordingly.

  • .2 The Administration may accept, in lieu of the instructions required by .1, a shipboard planned maintenance programme which includes the requirements of regulation III/52 of the Convention.

  8.9.3 Maintenance of falls

Falls used in launching should be turned end for end at intervals of not more than 30 months and be renewed when necessary due to deterioration of the falls or at intervals of not more than five years, whichever is the earlier.

  8.9.4 Spares and repair equipment

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

  8.9.5 Weekly inspection

The following tests and inspections should be carried out weekly:

  • .1 all survival craft, rescue boats and launching appliances should be visually inspected to ensure that they are ready for use;

  • .2 all engines in rescue boats should be run ahead and astern for a total period of not less than 3 min provided the ambient temperature is above the minimum temperature required for starting the engine;

  • .3 the general emergency alarm system should be tested.

  8.9.6 Monthly inspections

Inspection of the life-saving appliances, including survival craft equipment should be carried out monthly using the checklist required by regulation III/52.1 of the Convention to ensure that they are complete and in good order. A report of the inspection should be entered in the log-book.

  8.9.7 Servicing of inflatable liferafts, inflatable lifejackets and inflated rescue boats

  • .1 Every inflatable liferaft, inflatable lifejacket and MES should be serviced:

    • .1.1 at intervals not exceeding 12 months, provided where in any case this is impracticable, the Administration may extend this period by one month;

    • .1.2 at an approved servicing station which is competent to service them, maintains proper servicing facilities and uses only properly trained personnelfootnote.

  8.9.7.2 In addition to, or in conjunction with, the servicing intervals of marine evacuation systems (MES) required above, each marine evacuation system should be deployed from the craft 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.

  8.9.8 All repairs and maintenance of inflated rescue boats should be carried out in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Emergency repairs may be carried out on board the craft; however, permanent repairs should be effected at an approved servicing station.

  8.9.9 Periodic servicing of hydrostatic release units

Hydrostatic release units should be serviced:

  • .1 at intervals not exceeding 12 months, provided where in any case this is impracticable, the Administration may extend this period by one month;

  • .2 at a servicing station which is competent to service them, maintains proper servicing facilities and uses only properly trained personnel.

  8.9.10 Periodic servicing of launching appliances

Launching appliances:

  • .1 should be serviced at recommended intervals in accordance with instructions for on-board maintenance as required by regulation III/36 of the Convention;

  • .2 should be subjected to a thorough examination at the annual surveys required by paragraph 1.5.1.3; and

  • .3 should, upon completion of the examination in .2 above, be subjected to a dynamic test of the winch brake at maximum lowering speed. The load to be applied should be the mass of the survival craft or rescue boat without persons on board, except that, at intervals not exceeding 5 years, the test should 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.

  8.9.11 Novel life-saving appliances or arrangements

An Administration which approves new and novel inflatable liferaft arrangements pursuant to 8.9.1.2 may allow for extended servicing intervals under the following conditions:

  • .1 the new and novel liferaft arrangement should maintain the same standard, as required by testing procedures, throughout the extended servicing intervals;

  • .2 the liferaft system should be checked on board by certified personnel according to 8.7; and

  • .3 service at intervals not exceeding five years should be carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Organization.”

  8.9.12 An Administration which permits extension of liferaft service intervals in accordance with 8.9.11 should notify the Organization in accordance with regulation I/5(b) of the Convention.footnote

Parent topic: Chapter 8 - Life-saving Appliances and Arrangements
Copyright 2022 Clasifications Register Group Limited, International Maritime Organization, International Labour Organization or Maritime and Coastguard Agency. All rights reserved. Clasifications Register Group Limited, its affiliates and subsidiaries and their respective officers, employees or agents are, individually and collectively, referred to in this clause as 'Clasifications Register'. Clasifications Register assumes no responsibility and shall not be liable to any person for any loss, damage or expense caused by reliance on the information or advice in this document or howsoever provided, unless that person has signed a contract with the relevant Clasifications Register entity for the provision of this information or advice and in that case any responsibility or liability is exclusively on the terms and conditions set out in that contract.