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Lifeboats and liferafts

Annual and five-yearly thorough examination

What the annual and five-yearly lifeboat examinations must cover, step by step, from the hull to the winch brake.

8 lessons 2 h Advanced 3D simulator in every lesson Final quiz Course completed card

Written by Al Safwan Marine service engineers

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Lesson 1 is open to everyone. An account (just your email) opens all 8 lessons and saves your progress.

What you'll learn

  • What the annual thorough examination and the five-yearly examination each include, who may do them, and how SOLAS III/20.11 grew from 1998 to 2028.
  • The documents to check and the safety arrangements to agree before an annual or five-yearly lifeboat examination starts.
  • The ten boat items of the annual thorough examination, what the LSA Code requires of each, and what a careful examiner looks at.
  • How release gear is examined each year, and how the on-load, off-load, free-fall and davit-launched liferaft release tests are carried out.
  • What the annual examination checks on davits and winches, how fast a boat may be lowered, and how the empty-boat brake test is done.
  • How lifeboat falls are inspected, when they must be renewed, why end-for-ending stopped in 2008, and which terminations flags no longer accept.

Course content

8 lessons · 2 h total

Lesson 1 is open to everyone. An account opens the rest.

1 Annual and five-yearly: what each one covers 12 min · 3D simulator · Quiz Open

What the annual thorough examination and the five-yearly examination each include, who may do them, and how SOLAS III/20.11 grew from 1998 to 2028.

Open lesson 1

2 Before you touch the boat: records, manuals and safety 14 min · 3D simulator · Quiz With an account

The documents to check and the safety arrangements to agree before an annual or five-yearly lifeboat examination starts.

See how lesson 2 starts

3 Examining the boat: hull, engine, systems and equipment 16 min · 3D simulator · Quiz With an account

The ten boat items of the annual thorough examination, what the LSA Code requires of each, and what a careful examiner looks at.

See how lesson 3 starts

4 Release gear and the release tests 16 min · 3D simulator · Quiz With an account

How release gear is examined each year, and how the on-load, off-load, free-fall and davit-launched liferaft release tests are carried out.

See how lesson 4 starts

5 Davits, winches and the brake test 13 min · 3D simulator · Quiz With an account

What the annual examination checks on davits and winches, how fast a boat may be lowered, and how the empty-boat brake test is done.

See how lesson 5 starts

6 Falls and wire rope 12 min · 3D simulator · Quiz With an account

How lifeboat falls are inspected, when they must be renewed, why end-for-ending stopped in 2008, and which terminations flags no longer accept.

See how lesson 6 starts

7 The five-yearly: proof load and hook overhaul 14 min · 3D simulator · Quiz With an account

The 1.1 × full-load winch test, how the test load is made up, and what a release gear overhaul involves.

See how lesson 7 starts

8 Free-fall, rescue boats and what's coming 14 min · 3D simulator · Quiz With an account

How free-fall release systems and rescue boats are tested, and which new rules from 2026 to 2031 apply to which boats.

See how lesson 8 starts

Final quiz
15 questions from across the course · pass with 12After the lessons
Course completed card
With your name and a link anyone can checkAt the end

Inside a lesson

Every lesson in this course has the same five steps: a primer, a 3D tour of the part (Watch it), the reading, a task you do on the 3D machine yourself (Try it) and a short quiz. 8 lessons use this simulator.

A fire-protected enclosed lifeboat on a gravity davit at a ship's side, with its winch, falls and release hooks

Who this is for

  • Superintendents
  • Technicians
  • Surveyors

No experience needed: every lesson starts with a short primer in plain words.

Your Course completed card

Finish every lesson and pass the final quiz (12 of 15) to get a Course completed card with your name and a QR code anyone can scan to verify.

Share it on LinkedIn, WhatsApp and elsewhere, or download the picture.

It shows you completed online familiarisation training. It is not a certificate or an STCW, flag-approved or manufacturer qualification, and it doesn't replace that training.

About this course

A free-fall lifeboat being lowered from its davit at sea during an annual inspection
Our annual free-fall lifeboat and davit inspection at Fujairah anchorage.

Once a year, every lifeboat, rescue boat, davit, winch and release hook on a SOLAS ship gets a thorough examination and operational test by a certified technician. Every five years, the same work is done with a heavier test load and a full overhaul of the release gear. This course follows that work in the order it happens on board: the paperwork first, then the boat, the release gear, the davit and winch, the falls, and finally the five-yearly proof load.

Each lesson quotes the paragraph of SOLAS chapter III or resolution MSC.402(96) that sets the requirement, and explains what it means in practice. The manufacturer’s manual for the equipment on your ship always comes first; this course explains the common rules that every manual has to meet.

It is written for superintendents who plan and check the work, technicians who carry it out, and surveyors who witness it. The tools in each lesson let you try the checks for yourself.

Written by Al Safwan Marine's service engineers from SOLAS, the IMO codes and circulars, and class and flag rules. The sources are listed at the end of every lesson.

3D

Lifeboats and liferafts

Lifeboat safety and the rules

Why lifeboats hurt people, which rules keep crews safe, and what to check, log and leave to specialists.

8 lessons1 h 30 minIntroductory

3D

Lifeboats and liferafts

Lifeboats, rescue boats and davits

How lifeboats, rescue boats and their davits work, how they are examined and load-tested, and how to drill safely.

9 lessons2 h 10 minPractical

Ready? Lesson 1 takes 12 minutes.

Free during our launch period. On your phone or computer, no password.

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Thorough examination8 lessons
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