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Life-saving appliances on ships

When the worst happens at sea, lives depend on the life-saving equipment and on whether the crew knows how to use it. This section explains the life-saving appliances of a merchant ship: what each is for, how it works and where the requirements come from. Every entry cites its legal basis (SOLAS, the LSA Code) and, where it fits, the related STCW training.

What are SOLAS and the LSA Code?

SOLAS is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. Its Chapter III says what life-saving appliances a ship must carry and how to maintain them. The technical details of the equipment live in a separate International Life-Saving Appliance Code, the LSA Code for short.

Quiz: 10 questions on life-saving appliances → Drill intervals, inspections and figures straight from SOLAS and the LSA Code.
Survival craft vs rescue boat: what is the difference?

"Survival craft" means the lifeboats and liferafts: what you leave a sinking ship in. A "rescue boat" is something else: a fast boat for picking people out of the water. Formally it is not a survival craft, though the two get mixed up.

Organisation and alarms

The muster list, alarm signals, drills and the inspection rhythm: who does what when the alarm sounds, and how you know the gear will work.

Muster list The board that gives every person on the ship a job for each emergency and says what every alarm signal means. Drills and practice alarms Regular training in abandoning ship and fighting fire. Thanks to the drills, in a real emergency everyone knows their task and does it without thinking twice. Maintenance and inspections of life-saving appliances Life-saving equipment has a fixed inspection rhythm: the crew checks it weekly and monthly, and once a year it goes through a thorough examination. The weekly and monthly inspections end with an entry in the logbook.

Personal life-saving appliances

What protects a single person in the water and against hypothermia.

Lifejacket Keeps an unconscious person face up above the water. One for every person on board, plus spares. Lifebuoy You throw it to a man overboard as the first reaction, so they can stay afloat before the bigger rescue starts. Immersion suit A watertight suit that protects against hypothermia in cold water. On a cargo ship there is one for every person on board. Thermal protective aid (TPA) A bag of low-conductivity material that a survivor climbs into in the boat or raft, to stop the remaining body heat from draining away.

Survival craft

The lifeboats and liferafts that keep people alive after abandoning ship.

Lifeboat A rigid, covered boat in which the crew leaves a sinking ship. It keeps people alive until rescue. Inflatable liferaft An air-inflated raft in a hard canister that inflates itself after being thrown overboard.

Rescue boats

The boat for picking people out of the water. Formally not a survival craft.

Rescue boat A fast boat for picking people out of the water and for marshalling and towing the survival craft.

Signalling devices

Pyrotechnics and the line-throwing appliance: how to show where you are.

Pyrotechnic distress signals Rockets, flares and smoke signals with which a survivor shows where they are and calls for help. Line-throwing appliance Fires a thin line several hundred metres, to connect the ship with a vessel in need and pass a heavier line across.

Locating devices

EPIRB, SART and VHF: the electronics that guide rescuers to you. Today formally part of the GMDSS.

Locating devices and rescue communications The electronics that guide rescuers to survivors: the EPIRB beacon, the SART transponder and portable VHF radios.

Launching and embarkation

Davits and release gear put the craft in the water; the ladders are for people to board.

Launching and embarkation Davits and release gear put the survival craft in the water; the ladders are for people to board.

Content based on SOLAS Chapter III and the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code; every figure was verified against the source texts. This is not a legal text: when in doubt, the current wording of the Convention decides.