Before you touch the boat: records, manuals and safety

A good lifeboat examination starts at a desk, not at the davit. Before anyone touches the boat, the technician reads what has happened to it since the last visit: the crew’s weekly and monthly records, the last service report, any repairs, and the boat’s approval details. The manufacturer’s manuals must be on board, because every step of the work follows them.

The ship also checks the technician. Is the company authorised for this make and type of equipment? Is the technician’s own qualification valid and does it cover this equipment?

Then everyone agrees how the work will be done safely. Lifeboats have hurt many people during tests and maintenance. One rule matters above all: nobody adjusts or repairs the release gear while the hooks are carrying the boat’s weight.

Why the paperwork comes first

MSC.402(96) puts the record review near the very start of the annual examination. First come the weekly and monthly checklist items (§6.2.1). Then “records of inspections and routine on-board maintenance carried out by the ship’s crew and the applicable certificates for the equipment shall be reviewed” (§6.2.2).

This is not a formality. The records tell the technician where to look: an engine that has been hard to start, a hook indicator that was reported unclear, a davit limit switch that was repaired. They also show whether the crew have been doing their part. Some flags check this closely. The Bahamas, for example, verifies the records at the safety equipment survey and treats missing documents as a non-conformity under the ISM Code (BMA Marine Notice 82).

The ship’s records

The weekly and monthly entries go in the log-book (SOLAS III/20.6, III/20.7.2). All records of maintenance, thorough examination, testing, overhaul and repair are “updated and filed on board the ship for the service life of the equipment” (MSC.402(96) §5.2). A ship that has changed managers should still have the full history.

The equipment’s own documents

Every lifeboat carries a permanently affixed approval plate, endorsed by the Administration. It shows at least the manufacturer, model and serial number, the month and year of manufacture and the number of persons the boat is approved for (LSA Code 4.4.1.2, as amended by MSC.218(82)). Check that the plate matches the paperwork and the boat in front of you.

Check the release gear’s history too. Under SOLAS III/1.5, on-load release mechanisms that did not meet the newer hook stability rules had to be replaced by the first scheduled dry-docking after 1 July 2014, and no later than 1 July 2019 (MSC.317(89)). The records should show what is fitted now.

The manuals

“A full set of maintenance manuals and associated technical documentation” must be on board (MSC.402(96) §6.1.2). Every inspection and test follows them (§6.1.1). As a minimum they must include the items of the annual and five-yearly examinations, and the Company keeps them up to date with information from the manufacturer (§6.1.3).

SOLAS adds the on-board maintenance instructions (III/36). They must be easy to understand, illustrated where possible, and include a checklist for the monthly inspection, maintenance and repair instructions, a schedule of periodic maintenance, a lubrication diagram, lists of replaceable parts and spare part sources, and a log for records.

IMO guidance on what a good manual contains is in MSC.1/Circ.1205. The Marshall Islands, for example, expects manuals to follow MSC.1/Circ.1205/Rev.1 (Marine Notice 2-011-37).

The provider’s papers

Before work starts, the master or superintendent checks two documents.

The provider’s authorisation. The flag Administration issues it after an audit. It defines “the scope of services provided (e.g. makes and types of equipment)” and shows a clear expiry date (MSC.402(96) §7.4.1). An Administration may accept providers authorised by other Administrations or their recognised organisations (§7.4.3), but some flags issue their own authorisations. That is covered in the flag, class and port state control course.

The technician’s certificate. It is issued by the manufacturer or an authorised provider “for each make and type of the equipment” (§8.1). It states the level of qualification, the makes and types, and which annual or five-yearly activities it covers. It expires three years from the date of issue (§8.3.1).

Copies of both documents go with the fit-for-purpose statement at the end of the job (§5.3), so it pays to check them at the start.

Safety: agree it before you start

MSC.402(96) puts safety on the Company: it “shall establish and implement health, safety and environment (HSE) procedures covering all activities set out in these Requirements” (§1.4). Technicians working on board follow the Company’s instructions and procedures (§1.5).

Two notes in the release gear section are worth reading aloud at the start of every job (§6.2.4):

1. Setting and maintaining release gear are “critical operations”, and “utmost care shall be taken”.
2. “No maintenance or adjustment of the release gear shall be undertaken while the hooks are under load.”

In practice, that means the boat’s weight must be taken off the hooks before anyone adjusts them. SOLAS requires every lifeboat launching appliance to have “provision for hanging-off the lifeboat to free the release gear for maintenance” (III/16.2). Where fall preventer devices are used, Liberia requires them to comply with MSC.1/Circ.1327 (Marine Notice SAF-005). Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for both.

Other points to agree before work starts:

• who is in charge on deck, and who operates the winch;
• how the person in charge and the winch operator will communicate;
• whether anyone needs to be in the boat for a step, and if so, as few people as the procedure allows;
• weather, sea state and ship movements during any lowering or test;
• keeping people clear of the falls and the area under the boat.

IMO’s drill guidance recommends that, when people are to be in the boat, it is first lowered and recovered with nobody on board to show that the arrangement works (MSC.1/Circ.1578/Rev.1, 2.3.2). The same caution makes sense before any test that needs people in the boat.

“Repair” and “overhaul” have exact meanings

MSC.402(96) defines both. A repair is “any activities requiring disassembly of equipment, or any other activities outside the scope of the instructions for on-board maintenance” (§2.2.6). An overhaul is “a periodical activity defined by the manufacturer that proves continued fitness for purpose for a defined period” (§2.2.7). Both belong to certified personnel of the manufacturer or an authorised provider (§4.3). When a crew record shows a hook unit taken apart on board, ask who did it.

When the manufacturer no longer exists

The “manufacturer” can be the original maker or “any entity which has taken legal and legitimate responsibilities” for the equipment (§2.2.3). If no maker supports the equipment, the Administration may authorise providers based on prior authorisation or long experience (§7.3). The provider’s authorisation should then name that equipment.

Independent providers

When adopting MSC.402(96), IMO invited governments to make sure manufacturers give “equipment, instructions, specialized tools, spare parts, training and accessories” to independent service providers “in a timely and cost-effective manner” (MSC.402(96), operative paragraph 3). An authorised provider must show it has the manufacturer’s special tools and instructions for on-load release mechanisms and davit winches (§7.1.2, §7.1.4). It must also run a documented and certified quality system, covering for example the calibration of measuring tools and gauges, training and supervision of staff, and job preparation (§7.1.5). A quality system that meets the current ISO 9000 series and includes these items is acceptable.