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Lifeboats and davitsLesson 8 of 9

Lifeboat drills without accidents

You will be able to plan a lifeboat drill that meets SOLAS III/19 and teaches the crew, without putting anyone at needless risk.

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

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The MAIB review that opened this course found that every lifeboat death in its ten years of data happened in a drill or a test, not in a real emergency. That is the paradox of lifeboat drills: the crew must practise, because a boat nobody has launched will not be launched well on the night it is needed, yet the practice itself is where people get hurt.

Since 2006 the rules have shifted to separate the two. The boat must still go into the water and be handled by its assigned crew, but nobody has to be inside it while it is lowered from the stowed position, and IMO guidance now asks for drills that are planned, unhurried and treated as learning. This lesson is about getting both right.

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The rest of this lesson, the interactive Planning this month's abandon ship drill 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: Planning this month's abandon ship drill
  • 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.47(66), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (adopted 4 June 1996), regulation III/19.3, III/19.4.3 and III/19.5 (original numbering 19.3.3.x). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.47(66).pdf
  2. 2 IMO Resolution MSC.152(78), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (adopted 20 May 2004, in force 1 July 2006), regulation III/19.3.3.3 (now 19.3.4.3). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.152(78).pdf
  3. 3 IMO MSC.1/Circ.1326, Clarification of SOLAS regulation III/19 (11 June 2009), paragraphs 2 and 3 (copy published by Traficom, Finland). https://www.traficom.fi/files/media/regulation/22597-MSC_1-Circ_1326_-_Tulkinta_Selvennys_SOLAS_III_19.pdf
  4. 4 IMO Resolution MSC.350(92), Amendments to SOLAS 1974 (adopted 21 June 2013, in force 1 January 2015), Annex, items 2 and 3 (new regulation III/19.3.3 and renumbering of 19.3.3 as 19.3.4). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.350(92).pdf
  5. 5 IMO MSC.1/Circ.1578/Rev.1, Revised guidelines on safety during abandon ship drills using lifeboats (6 July 2026), Annex sections 1 and 2 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
  6. 6 IMO MSC.1/Circ.1206/Rev.1, Measures to prevent accidents with lifeboats (11 June 2009), paragraph 2.3.6 and 2.3.8. https://transportstyrelsen.se/globalassets/global/sjofart/dokument/imo_dokument/msc/msc.circ.1206-rev1.pdf
  7. 7 Liberia Maritime Authority, Marine Notice SAF-004 (Rev. 10/26), Lifeboat and emergency drills, sections 2 and 3. https://www.liscr.com/sites/default/files/online_library/SAF-004.pdf
  8. 8 The Bahamas Maritime Authority, Marine Notice 82, Lifeboat Safety, version 1.1, paragraphs 4.2 and 6.1 to 6.6. https://www.bahamasmaritime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MN082-Lifeboat-Safety.pdf
  9. 9 UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MGN 560 (M+F) Amendment 2 (10 December 2021), Part 4. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-560-m-amendment-2-life-saving-appliances/mgn-560-m-amendment-2-requirements-for-life-saving-appliances
  10. 10 IMO Resolution A.1207(34), Survey Guidelines under the HSSC, 2025, Annex, paragraph (EA) 1.2.1.17. 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
  11. 11 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). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.216(82).pdf
  12. 12 Tokyo MOU, Report on the Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Emergency Systems and Procedures (1 September to 30 November 2019), questionnaire results, question 9. https://www.tokyo-mou.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/CIC-Emergency-Systems-and-Procedures-Report-p.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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