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Lifeboats and davitsLesson 9 of 9

Flag, class and port State control: what inspectors look for

You will know how each inspector looks at your lifeboats, which deficiencies lead to detention and how to prepare the ship and its records.

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

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Lifeboats are one of the few items on a ship that a port State control officer can test in front of the crew: ask for a boat to be lowered, an engine started, a drill run. And they are among the items most often found wanting. In 2025, member Authorities of the Tokyo MOU carried out 35,546 inspections and recorded 11,818 life-saving appliance deficiencies, 13% of everything they found. Lifeboats were the third most frequent reason for detention, with 152 detainable deficiencies, up from 136 the year before.

Three kinds of inspector look at the same lifeboat with different questions. The flag decides who may service it. The class society, surveying on the flag’s behalf, checks that it was serviced and works. The port State officer checks that it would work today, with this crew. This lesson shows what each of them looks for.

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The rest of this lesson, the interactive Port State control walk-round: bulk carrier, starboard 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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In this lesson

  • Try it: Port State control walk-round: bulk carrier, starboard lifeboat
  • In plain words
  • In detail
  • What the rules say
  • Flag and class notes
  • Key numbers
  • What inspectors find
  • Questions people ask
  • Quiz: 6 questions

Sources

  1. 1 Tokyo MOU, Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region 2025, sections on inspections and deficiencies, figure 7, figure 8 and table 15. https://www.tokyo-mou.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/ANN25.pdf
  2. 2 IMO Resolution A.1185(33), Procedures for port State control, 2023 (adopted 6 December 2023), Appendix 6, section 5. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.1185(33).pdf
  3. 3 IMO Resolution A.1185(33), Procedures for port State control, 2023, Appendix 2 (guidelines for the detention of ships), section 5. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.1185(33).pdf
  4. 4 IMO Resolution MSC.402(96), Requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair (in force 1 January 2020), Annex, sections 5, 7 and 8. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.402(96).pdf
  5. 5 IMO Resolution A.1185(33), Procedures for port State control, 2023, Appendix 7 (guidelines for control of operational requirements), paragraphs 2.1.4 and 2.6. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.1185(33).pdf
  6. 6 IMO Resolution MSC.152(78), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (in force 1 July 2006), regulation III/19.3.3.3, renumbered 19.3.4.3 by resolution MSC.350(92) from 1 January 2015. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.152(78).pdf
  7. 7 IMO Resolution A.1207(34), Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC), 2025 (adopted 3 December 2025), Annex, paragraphs (EA) 1.2.1.16, 1.2.1.17 and 1.2.2.20 to 1.2.2.28. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/IIIS/Documents/A%2034-Res.1207%20-%20SURVEY%20GUIDELINES%20UNDER%20THE%20HARMONIZED%20SYSTEMOF%20SURVEY%20AND%20CERTIFICATION%20(HSSC),%202025%20(Secretariat).pdf
  8. 8 Panama Maritime Authority, Merchant Marine Circular MMC-258 V.04 (May 2026), sections 5.3, 5.7 and 6. https://www.panamashipregistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/MMC-258-V04-MAY-2026.pdf
  9. 9 Liberia Maritime Authority, Marine Notice SAF-005 (Rev. 07/26), paragraph 4.3. https://www.liscr.com/sites/default/files/online_library/SAF-005.pdf
  10. 10 The Bahamas Maritime Authority, Marine Notice 82, Lifeboat Safety, version 1.1, paragraphs 7.3 and 7.4. 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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