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Lifeboats and davitsLesson 7 of 9

Free-fall lifeboats, rescue boats and fast rescue boats

You will know the special design, test and drill rules for free-fall lifeboats, rescue boats and fast rescue boats, including the changes adopted in 2026.

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

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A free-fall lifeboat leaves the ship in one movement: the crew straps in, the release is operated from inside, and the boat slides down its ramp and drops into the sea. There are no falls to foul and no hooks to open under load. But the release must hold several tonnes on a sloping ramp in any weather, and open instantly when asked, and the people inside take a real impact on every launch. Testing that release without actually dropping the boat is the problem the IMO was still solving in May 2026.

Rescue boats are the opposite: small, fast and launched often, to recover a person overboard or marshal liferafts. Fast rescue boats go further, at 20 knots or more in a seaway, with launching gear designed to cope with waves slamming the boat as it comes back up the ship’s side. Each type has its own rules, and its own ways to hurt crews.

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In this lesson

  • Try it: Which craft does this rule belong to?
  • 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 IMO Resolution MSC.48(66), International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code (adopted 4 June 1996), paragraphs 4.7.3 to 4.7.7, 5.1.1, 5.1.3, 6.1.1.9 and 6.1.4. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.48(66).pdf
  2. 2 IMO Resolution MSC.218(82), Amendments to the LSA Code (adopted 8 December 2006, in force 1 July 2008), Annex: section 5.1.4 (fast rescue boats), paragraph 6.1.1.11 and section 6.1.7. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.218(82).pdf
  3. 3 IMO Resolution MSC.404(96), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (in force 1 January 2020), regulation III/20.11.2.3. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.404(96).pdf
  4. 4 IMO Resolution MSC.402(96), Requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair (in force 1 January 2020), Annex, paragraphs 2.1, 6.2.3, 6.2.5, 6.2.7 and 6.3.3. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.402(96).pdf
  5. 5 IMO Resolution MSC.216(82), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (in force 1 July 2008), Annex, items 23 and 27 (regulations III/14.1 and III/20.8). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.216(82).pdf
  6. 6 IMO Resolution MSC.320(89), Amendments to the LSA Code (in force 1 January 2013), paragraph 4.4.7.6.7.2. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.320(89).pdf
  7. 7 IMO Resolution MSC.216(82), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (in force 1 July 2008), Annex, item 24 (regulation III/19.3.3.4, now 19.3.4.4); and Resolution MSC.47(66), regulation III/19.3.3.6. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.216(82).pdf
  8. 8 IMO Resolution MSC.350(92), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (adopted 21 June 2013, in force 1 January 2015), Annex, items 2 and 3 (renumbering of regulation III/19.3.3 as 19.3.4). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.350(92).pdf
  9. 9 American Bureau of Shipping, Brief: MSC 111 (22 May 2026), amendments to the LSA Code (free-fall lifeboats, release testing) and to resolution MSC.402(96). https://ww2.eagle.org/content/dam/eagle/regulatory-news/2026/abs-msc111-brief.pdf
  10. 10 Indian Register of Shipping, IMO Maritime Safety Committee 111th session report (May 2026), amendments to the LSA Code and to MSC.402(96). https://www.irclass.org/media/8535/msc-111-report.pdf
  11. 11 Liberia Maritime Authority, Marine Notice SAF-004 (Rev. 10/26), Lifeboat and emergency drills, section 4. https://www.liscr.com/sites/default/files/online_library/SAF-004.pdf
  12. 12 UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MGN 560 (M+F) Amendment 2 (10 December 2021), Part 4, paragraphs 3.1.2 and 3.2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-560-m-amendment-2-life-saving-appliances/mgn-560-m-amendment-2-requirements-for-life-saving-appliances
  13. 13 IMO Resolution A.1207(34), Survey Guidelines under the HSSC, 2025, Annex, paragraph (EA) 1.2.2.24. 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
  14. 14 IMO MSC.1/Circ.1578/Rev.1, Revised guidelines on safety during abandon ship drills using lifeboats (6 July 2026), Annex paragraph 2.4 and appendix (copy published by the Marshall Islands registry). https://wpsso.register-iri.com/wp-content/uploads/MSC.1-Circ.1578-Rev.1-1.pdf
  15. 15 UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Safety Study 1/2001, section 1.4. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7d8042ed915d2d2ac0954a/Lifeboat_Study.pdf
  16. 16 IMO Resolution MSC.272(85), Amendments to the LSA Code (adopted 4 December 2008, in force 1 July 2010), Annex, item 3 (paragraph 4.7.2.1). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.272(85).pdf
  17. 17 IMO Resolution MSC.152(78), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (adopted 20 May 2004, in force 1 July 2006), regulations III/20.6.3 and III/20.7.1. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.152(78).pdf
  18. 18 IMO Resolution MSC.594(111), Amendments to the Revised recommendation on testing of life-saving appliances (resolution MSC.81(70)) (adopted 21 May 2026), operative paragraph 2 and annex paragraph 6.1.1. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.594(111).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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