The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention is a cornerstone of maritime safety, setting out essential regulations and standards to ensure the safety of ships and their crews. As a reminder, there are changes to SOLAS coming into force on 1st January 2024 says Britannia P & I.
Safe mooring operations
- It will be mandatory to furnish and maintain documentation related to the mooring arrangement’s design and the selection of mooring equipment on board.
- SOLAS Chapter III will introduce new requirements for life-saving appliances, including improved design and testing standards for lifeboats, rescue boats, and launching and embarkation appliances.
- The International Code for Safety for Ships utilizing Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code) has undergone revisions to incorporate lessons learned since its adoption in 2017.
Evolving and Enhancing Safety
Modernization of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS): The GMDSS requirements have been updated to incorporate broader, non-specific criteria, independent of service providers. Additionally, obsolete system carriage requirements have been eliminated.
Watertight doors on cargo ships: The requirements to watertight doors in MARPOL Annex I, the Load Lines Convention, the IBC Code and the IGC Code have been amended to harmonize the consideration of watertight doors in damage stability calculations with the same in SOLAS.
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Source: Britannia P & I
