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Liferafts and personal LSALesson 4 of 8

Marine evacuation systems and rotational deployment

You will be able to plan an MES rotation, run a deployment the way the flag expects, and know what to do when one fails.

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

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A marine evacuation system (MES) is the big inflatable slide or chute you see in a box on the side of a ferry or cruise ship. Pull the handle and, in a few minutes, a passage unrolls down the ship’s side to a floating platform, liferafts inflate alongside, and hundreds of people slide or drop into them. Hardly anyone on board has seen it happen.

That is the problem the rules try to solve. An MES is serviced every year, but the only time anyone finds out whether it really deploys is at installation and at its rotational test deployment, at least once every six years. The UK raised unsuccessful MES deployments at the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee, and both the UK and the Bahamas now collect a report on every deployment, graded as a pass, a partial pass or a fail.7 This lesson walks you through the decisions an operator and a master face around that deployment.

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The rest of this lesson, the interactive Planning and running a rotational MES deployment 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 and running a rotational MES deployment
  • 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 SOLAS 1974, chapter III, regulation 20.8.1 and 20.8.2 (Rotational deployment of marine evacuation systems), as adopted by IMO Resolution MSC.47(66) (in force 1 July 1998). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.47(66).pdf
  2. 2 LSA Code, IMO Resolution MSC.48(66), section 6.2 (Marine evacuation systems), paragraphs 6.2.1 to 6.2.5. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.48(66).pdf
  3. 3 IMO Resolution A.1186(33), Survey Guidelines under the HSSC, 2023, Annex items (EI) 1.1.4.19 and (EA) 1.2.2.37. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.1186(33).pdf
  4. 4 SOLAS chapter III, regulations 6.4.4, 7.3 and 15 (Stowage of marine evacuation systems), as adopted by Resolution MSC.47(66). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.47(66).pdf
  5. 5 SOLAS chapter III, regulation 19, MES drill and training paragraph (numbered 19.3.3.8 in the 1996 text adopted by MSC.47(66); cited and quoted as III/19.3.4.8 in UK MGN 558 (M) Amendment 1, section 6.1, and in later consolidated editions). https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/MSCResolutions/MSC.47(66).pdf
  6. 6 UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MGN 558 (M) Amendment 1, Life-Saving Appliances, Marine Evacuation Systems (MES), Servicing and Deployments (June 2021), sections 2 to 7 and Annex 1. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60c759f6e90e0743acb7a1b7/MGN_558_Amendment_1.pdf
  7. 7 Bahamas Maritime Authority, Marine Notice 84, Marine Evacuation Systems, version 1.0 (14 March 2022), sections 4 to 7. https://www.bahamasmaritime.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MN084-Marine-Evacuation-Systems-v1.0.pdf
  8. 8 Transport Canada, Ship Safety Bulletin 13/2019, Schedules of deployment for marine evacuation systems (12 November 2019). https://tc.canada.ca/sites/default/files/migrated/ssb_13_2019e.PDF
  9. 9 Lloyd’s Register, Guidance note: Summary of SOLAS requirements for maintenance, servicing, testing and drills (January 2020), table of on-board training and drills (MES drill and MES training, III/19.3.4.8). https://www.iims.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Onboard_Maintenance_Guidance_tables.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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This lesson is also published by our sister site vslsafety.com.