Lifeboat 5-yearly overhaul and 1.1 load test

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Every five years the whole system is pushed beyond its normal working load. The release gear is taken apart, measured and rebuilt, then tested with 1.1 times the weight of the fully loaded boat. The winch brake is tested the same way: a boat loaded to 110% of its full weight, lowered at full speed and stopped sharply. If something is going to break, the test is designed to make it break with nobody inside.

That only works if the test is planned. Loading tonnes of water bags or weights into a boat hanging over the side, then dropping it at full speed, is one of the most hazardous jobs on a ship. The UK flag’s guidance is blunt: once the boat reaches 70% of its test load, nobody enters it again.

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In this lesson

Try it: When is the five-yearly overhaul and load test due?
In plain words
In detail
What the rules say
Flag and class notes
Key numbers
What inspectors find
Work it out: a calculator
Questions people ask
Quiz: 6 questions

Sources

1 IMO Resolution MSC.404(96), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (adopted 19 May 2016, in force 1 January 2020), regulation III/20.11.1, 20.11.2 and 20.11.3. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.404(96).pdf
2 IMO Resolution MSC.402(96), Requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of lifeboats and rescue boats, launching appliances and release gear (in force 1 January 2020), Annex, paragraphs 4.3 and 6.3. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.402(96).pdf
3 IMO Resolution MSC.216(82), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (in force 1 July 2008), regulation III/20.4. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.216(82).pdf
4 IMO Resolution MSC.272(85), Amendments to the LSA Code (adopted 4 December 2008, in force 1 July 2010), Annex, item 1 (paragraph 4.4.2.2.1) and item 3 (paragraph 4.7.2.1). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.272(85).pdf
5 IMO Resolution MSC.152(78), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (in force 1 July 2006), regulation III/20.11.1.3. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.152(78).pdf
6 IMO Resolution MSC.216(82), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (in force 1 July 2008), Annex, items 28, 29 and 31 (regulation III/20.11.1.3, 20.11.2 and new 20.11.3). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.216(82).pdf
7 UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MGN 560 (M+F) Amendment 2, Requirements for life-saving appliances (10 December 2021), Part 3, paragraphs 1.2.1 to 1.2.3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-560-m-amendment-2-life-saving-appliances/mgn-560-m-amendment-2-requirements-for-life-saving-appliances
8 Liberia Maritime Authority, Marine Notice SAF-005 (Rev. 07/26), paragraph 4.1.4. https://www.liscr.com/sites/default/files/online_library/SAF-005.pdf
9 The Bahamas Maritime Authority, Marine Notice 82, Lifeboat Safety, version 1.1, paragraphs 5.5 to 5.7. https://www.bahamasmaritime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MN082-Lifeboat-Safety.pdf

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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