1 The Maritime Safety Committee, at its eighty-seventh
session (12 to 21 May 2010), following the recommendations made by
the Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment, at its fifty-second
session, adopted amendments to the LSA Code (resolution MSC.293(87)) which are expected
to enter into force on 1 January 2012 and to the Revised recommendation
on testing of life-saving appliances (resolution
MSC.295(87)), to increase the assumed weight of liferaft occupants
to 82.5 kg for the purpose of liferaft approval evaluation and testing.
2 In adopting the aforementioned amendments, the
Committee considered the recommendation by the Sub-Committee on Ship
Design and Equipment, at its fifty-second session, that the determination
of the required safe working load of a life raft launching appliance
on a passenger ship should continue to be based on an assumed occupant
weight of 75 kg, even though the liferaft has been tested to a higher
weight standard, and agreed to the recommendation.
3 The Committee, therefore, agreed that the required
safe working load of liferaft launching appliances on passenger ships
should continue to be based on an assumed occupant weight of 75 kg
times the number of persons for which the liferaft is approved. The
Committee also agreed that, notwithstanding paragraph 2/6.2.5 of the
Revised recommendation on testing of life-saving appliances (resolution MSC.81(70)), as amended by resolution MSC.295(87), for liferaft launching
appliances on passenger ships, the load for the installation "lowering
test" should continue to be based on an assumed occupant weight of
75 kg.
4 Member Governments are invited to apply the
above clarification when evaluating and testing installations of liferaft
launching appliances on passenger ships, and bring it to the attention
of all parties concerned.