Lesson 2 · 14 min
Class and approved service firms
How flags and class societies approve lifeboat service firms for each make and type, and how to check a firm's papers before it starts work.
Start here
The 2-minute primer
New to this? These 6 cards explain the lesson in plain words. Go through them first and the lesson will make sense.
Primer done.
-
1/6Picture this
A licence that lists what you may fix
Think of a gas engineer’s ID card. It doesn’t just say “engineer”. It lists the appliances they are qualified to work on, and it has an expiry date.
Lifeboat service works the same way. The firm, and each of its technicians, carry papers that name the exact makes and types of equipment they may touch.
-
2/6The big idea
Check the papers before work starts
Since 1 January 2020, only approved firms may do the yearly and five-yearly work on lifeboats, davits (the crane arms) and hooks. Approval is never general. It covers particular makes and types, for the firm and for each technician.
Some flags approve firms themselves. Many let class societies do it for them, using one shared rulebook.
-
3/6Words you'll meet
Six words, in plain English
- Authorised service provider
- a firm officially approved to examine, test and repair lifeboat equipment.
- Make and type
- the manufacturer and the model of a boat, davit, winch or hook.
- Flag
- the country where the ship is registered, whose rules it must follow.
- Class society
- a private organisation that surveys ships and approves firms, often on the flag’s behalf.
- IACS
- the International Association of Classification Societies, which writes shared rules for its members.
- Fit-for-purpose statement
- a signed note after the work saying the lifeboat equipment is still fit to use.
-
4/6Why it matters
The wrong firm means wasted work
A firm approved for one maker’s davits is not automatically approved for another maker’s hooks. If the papers don’t match the equipment, the work does not count.
The surveyor and the port inspector will check these papers later. Finding the gap then can mean repeating the job, and a lifeboat that may not have been properly serviced.
-
5/6In this lesson
What you’ll be able to do
- Tell who may do the weekly, yearly and five-yearly work.
- Know what a firm must show to be approved.
- Read a technician’s certificate and see what it covers.
- Check a firm’s papers before it starts work on board.
-
6/6Quick check
A firm is approved for one maker’s davits. Can it overhaul another maker’s hooks?
Right: approval is given for each make and type of equipment, so the hooks must be on the firm’s papers and the technician’s.
In plain words
Since 1 January 2020, only approved firms may do the annual and five-yearly work on lifeboats, davits and hooks. The approval is never general. A firm is approved for particular makes and types of equipment, and each of its technicians is certified for particular makes and types too.
Who gives the approval depends on the ship’s flag. Some flags approve firms themselves. Many let the class societies do it on their behalf, using a common rulebook written by IACS, the association of the major class societies.
For the person booking the work, the job is simple but easy to skip: before the firm starts, check that its approval and its technicians’ papers cover the exact equipment on your ship, are in date, and come from a body your flag accepts. The surveyor and the port state officer will check later. It is better to check first.
Key points
- Annual and five-yearly work, overhauls and repairs must be done by the manufacturer or an authorised service provider, using certified personnel (MSC.402(96) §3, §4.2, §4.3).
- The flag authorises providers, and may accept providers authorised by other flags or by their Recognized Organizations (MSC.402(96) §7.4.3).
- Class societies approve service suppliers under IACS UR Z17, Annex 1, section 13, for each make and type of equipment (UR Z17 §13.2.2).
- The provider’s authorisation document states the makes and types covered and a clear expiry date (MSC.402(96) §7.4.1).
- Each technician is certified per make and type; the certificate lists the activities covered and expires three years from issue (MSC.402(96) §8.3.1).
- After the work, the provider issues a statement that the arrangements remain fit for purpose, with copies of its authorisation and the technicians’ certification (MSC.402(96) §5.3).
Sign in to read the rest of this lesson
Continue reading
Save your progress, open all 115 lessons and get a Course completed card when you finish.
or use your email
In the rest of this lesson
- The detail
- Deep dive
- Try it: Check a provider's papers
- Quiz: 5 questions
- Ask our engineers about this lesson
Familiarisation training from Al Safwan Academy. Finishing a course shows completion of online familiarisation training: it is not an STCW, flag-approved or manufacturer qualification, and these courses don't replace that training. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.