IMO safety signs: Res. A.1116(30) and ISO 24409 explained

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In a fire at night, with smoke at head height and the lights out, nobody on board reads a notice. People follow green arrows at floor level, look for the shape of a lifejacket on a locker door, and grab the extinguisher under the red square. Shipboard signs are the last piece of safety equipment a person uses, and the only one that has to work for passengers, contractors and new crew who have never seen the ship before.

That only works if every ship uses the same symbols, in the same colours and shapes, in the same places. Since 2019 that standard has been resolution A.1116(30), Escape route signs and equipment location markings, built on the ISO 24409 series and the ISO 7010 registered safety signs.

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The rest of this lesson, the interactive Signs and markings on the way from cabin to muster station 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: Signs and markings on the way from cabin to muster station
In plain words
In detail
What the rules say
Flag and class notes
Key numbers
What inspectors find
Questions people ask
Quiz: 5 questions

Sources

1 IMO Resolution A.1116(30), Escape route signs and equipment location markings, adopted 5 December 2017, preamble, operative paragraph 4 and Annex sections 1 to 3 with tables 1 to 3. https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/AssemblyDocuments/A.1116(30).pdf
2 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, as amended, regulations II-2/13, II-2/15.2.4, III/9, III/11 and III/20.10 (IMO publication). https://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/International-Convention-for-the-Safety-of-Life-at-Sea-(SOLAS),-1974.aspx
3 IMO Resolution A.1207(34), Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC), 2025, Annex 1, items (EA) 1.2.1.9, (EA) 1.2.2.18, (EA) 1.2.2.26 and (PR) 5.2.2.85. 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
4 Tokyo MOU, Annual Report on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region 2025, figure 7 (deficiencies by main categories: fire safety 19.98%, life-saving appliances 13.11%). https://www.tokyo-mou.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/ANN25.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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