4 General
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Maritime Safety Committee - MSC.1/Circular.1328 – Guidelines for the Approval of Inflatable Liferafts Subject to Extended Service Intervals Not Exceeding 30 Months – (11 June 2009) - Annex – Guidelines for the Approval of Inflatable Liferafts Subject to Extended Service Intervals Not Exceeding 30 Months - 4 General

4 General

  4.1 Liferafts approved and certified for extended service intervals pursuant to SOLAS regulation III/20.8.3 should be:

  • .1 serviced at an approved servicing stationfootnote at intervals not exceeding 30 months for the first 10 years of their service lives, and thereafter at the frequency required by SOLAS regulation III/20.8.1.1. This 10-year limitation may be extended if real time verification justifies acceptance by the Administration;

  • .2 inspected on board by inspection personnel in accordance with the provisions of these Guidelines and the instructions of the manufacturer at intervals not exceeding 12 months from the last service or onboard inspection and for the first 10 years of their service life;

  • .3 tested according to the recommendations of these Guidelines or test procedures which are substantially equivalent; and

  • .4 marked to indicate that they have been approved and certified for extended service intervals in accordance with these Guidelines.

  4.2 When liferafts approved for extended service intervals are installed on a ship, measures should be taken to safeguard inspection personnel during the onboard inspection mentioned in 4.1.2. Should rafts require repositioning during onboard inspections to provide access, suitable means should be provided to do so safely.

  4.3 In addition to complying with all relevant requirements of paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 of the LSA Code, inflatable liferaft arrangements intended for extended service intervals should:

  • .1 be capable of withstanding all environmental influences for extended service intervals on board seagoing ships;

  • .2 include protective arrangements that give the liferaft, its fittings and equipment adequate protection to withstand the environmental influences imposed by the extended interval;

  • .3 if the approved service interval exceeds the lifetime of dated items in the liferaft, include provisions for the replacement of expired items in conjunction with the annual onboard inspections required by SOLAS regulation III/20.8.3.2 without relocating the liferaft in its container or compromising the protective arrangements provided in accordance with 4.3.2;

  • .4 be arranged so that all items to be inspected during the onboard inspection are accessible without relocating the liferaft in its container and without compromising the protective arrangements;

  • .5 be arranged so that all replaceable dated items are readily accessible from the interior of the liferaft when the liferaft is deployed and inflated; and

  • .6 include means to evaluate the humidity level behind the protective barrier and to detect any leakage of inflation gas during the annual onboard inspection. The efficiency and accuracy of these means should be verified.

Parent topic: Annex – Guidelines for the Approval of Inflatable Liferafts Subject to Extended Service Intervals Not Exceeding 30 Months
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