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Lifeboat safetyLesson 3 of 8

Know your boat

The types of lifeboat and rescue boat, which ones a ship carries, and what each main system on board does, with the LSA Code paragraph behind it.

12 minutes · For signed-up learners, free · Rules checked 20 October 2026

A technician working in an orange lifeboat on deck
A job photo from our group's lifeboat team.

In plain words

Not all lifeboats are the same. A free-fall boat sliding off the stern of a bulk carrier is very different from a davit-launched boat on a tanker, and both differ from a small rescue boat.

The type of boat decides which systems it has. A tanker’s boat may carry its own air supply and a sprinkler to protect people from burning oil. A free-fall boat has strong seats and seat belts for the drop into the sea. Every boat lowered on falls has release hooks, and the on-load part of that gear needs special care.

Knowing your own boat matters for two reasons. In an emergency, you must be able to use it without thinking. During checks, you can only spot what is wrong if you know what right looks like. Start with the approval plate, then walk round the boat with its manual.

Key points

  • Cargo ships carry totally enclosed lifeboats on each side for everyone on board, or a free-fall lifeboat over the stern for everyone, plus liferafts (SOLAS III/31.1).
  • Every lifeboat carries a permanently fixed approval plate showing the maker, model, serial number, date of manufacture and number of persons (LSA Code 4.4.1.2, MSC.218(82)).
  • A lifeboat engine must start within 2 minutes at −15 °C and carry fuel for 24 hours at 6 knots (LSA Code 4.4.6).
  • An air-support lifeboat keeps the air safe to breathe, with the engine running, for at least 10 minutes with all openings closed (LSA Code 4.8).
  • A fire-protected lifeboat protects its occupants in a continuous oil fire for at least 8 minutes, using a water-spray system (LSA Code 4.9).
  • A rescue boat is 3.8 m to 8.5 m long and carries at least five seated persons and one on a stretcher (LSA Code 5.1.1.3).
  • Lifeboat equipment, from painters and flares to water and food rations, is checked against one list (LSA Code 4.4.8).

Continue this lesson free

The rest of this lesson, the interactive Explore the parts of a lifeboat and the quiz are open to signed-up learners. It's free, takes a minute, and opens every lesson in all 14 courses.

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Sources

  1. Adoption of the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) CodeIMO resolution MSC.48(66), 4 June 1996
  2. Adoption of amendments to SOLAS 1974 (new chapter III)IMO resolution MSC.47(66), 4 June 1996
  3. Amendments to the LSA Code (approval plate)IMO resolution MSC.218(82), 8 December 2006
  4. Amendments to SOLAS (rescue boats, III/14 and III/21)IMO resolution MSC.216(82), 8 December 2006
  5. Amendments to SOLAS (weekly and monthly inspections, III/20)IMO resolution MSC.152(78), 20 May 2004
  6. Amendments to the LSA Code (person mass of 82.5 kg)IMO resolution MSC.272(85)
  7. Amendments to the LSA Code (release mechanisms, 4.4.7.6)IMO resolution MSC.320(89), 20 May 2011
  8. Amendments to the LSA Code (oars)IMO resolution MSC.459(101), 13 June 2019
  9. Amendments to the LSA Code (free-fall towing)IMO resolution MSC.485(103), 13 May 2021
  10. Amendments to the LSA Code (ventilation of totally enclosed lifeboats)IMO resolution MSC.535(107), 8 June 2023
  11. Amendments to MSC.402(96) (ventilation system)IMO resolution MSC.559(108), 23 May 2024
  12. 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
  13. ABS Regulatory News: Brief MSC 111ABS, 22 May 2026

Free awareness training. Al Safwan Marine is not an approved training provider, so no certificate is given, and these courses are not a qualification. They don't replace STCW training, manufacturer training or the certification technicians need for this work. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.

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This lesson is also published by our sister site lifeboatinspections.com.