3.2 Survival craft
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Resolutions - Assembly - IMO Resolution A.520(13) – Code of practice for the evaluation, testing and acceptance of prototype novel life-saving appliances and arrangements – (Adopted in 1983) - Annex - Recommendation on Testing of Life-Saving Appliances - 3 Appliance Criteria and Testing of Prototypes - 3.2 Survival craft

3.2 Survival craft

  3.2.1 Survival craft should:

  • .1 where arranged to be suspended by falls and lowered to the water by means of a launching device, be of sufficient strength to withstand:

    • .1.1 if rigid, an overload of 100% of the total mass of the survival craft when loaded with its full complement of persons and equipment, without suffering significant residual deflection on removal of that load, except that in the case of a survival craft constructed of metal, the overload should be 25%;

    • .1.2 if inflatable, a load of 4 times the mass of its full complement and equipment at an ambient temperature of +20°C without pressure relief of inflated compartments, and a load of 1.1 times the mass of its full complement and equipment at an ambient temperature of -30°C;

    • .1.3 when fully loaded without sustaining damage that would affect its efficient functioning

      • a sideways impact against a rigid vertical surface at an impact velocity of at least 3.5 m/s; and

      • a drop into the water from a height of 3 m;

  • .2 in the case of a self-righting partially enclosed and totally enclosed survival craft, protect its occupants when subjected to the sideways impact referred to in paragraph 3.2.1.1.3;

  • .3 if inflatable:

    • .3.1 withstand an inflation test pressure of at least 3 times the working pressure and be so arranged that the pressure cannot exceed twice the working pressure; and

    • .3.2 inflate with a non-toxic gas within a period of one min at an ambient temperature between 18°C and 20°C and within a period of 3 min at an ambient temperature of -30°C;

  • .4 where arranged for free-fall launching, have sufficient strength and diving characteristics to withstand a fall into the sea from the maximum height at which it is designed to be stowed, taking into account unfavourable conditions of trim up to 10° and a list up to 20° either way, without impairing its operating capabilities or causing injury to its occupants;

  • .5 where required to float free, be stowed in such a manner as to permit it to float free from its stowage and break free from the ship in an operational condition when the ship sinks;

  • .6 if inflatable, withstand repeated jumps on to it from a height of at least 4.5 m above the water;

  • .7 be approved for the maximum number of persons it is permitted to accommodate, as decided by practical seating tests afloat and based upon the number of adult persons wearing individual buoyancy equipment who can be seated without in any way interfering with the normal operation of its equipment or means of propulsion;

  • .8 when prepared for a launching, permit its full complement of persons excluding any stretcher cases to board rapidly and in the case of cargo ships in not more than 3 min from the time the instruction to board is given;

  • .9 permit embarkation of stretcher cases;

  • .10 have arrangements to secure it to help the ship by a painter of adequate strength and of a length equal to at least twice the distance from its stowed position to the lightest seagoing waterline or 15 m, whichever is the greater;

  • .11 in the case of a self-righting partially enclosed or totally enclosed survival craft, unless capable of operating safely in the upside-down position, have such strength and stability that it is inherently or automatically self-righting when all entrances and openings are closed watertight, all equipment is secured and the full complement of persons are secured to their seats with safety belts;

  • .12 in the case of a passive survival craft, unless capable of operating safely in the upside-down position, have such sufficient strength and stability that:

    • .12.1 it is self-righting; or

    • .12.2 it can be readily righted, in a seaway, by one person unassisted;

  • .13 when fully or partly loaded maintain its operational effectiveness when drifting in a seaway;

  • .14 have sufficient buoyancy to support its full complement even when holed in any one location below the waterline without loss of buoyancy material or other damage, to automatically or inherently attain a position which provides an above-water escape for its occupants;

  • .15 have a freeboard, measured from the waterline to the lowest opening through which the survival craft may become flooded, of not less than 1.5% of the survival craft's length when loaded with one half of its full complement seated to one side of the centreline;

  • .16 be provided with effective means for bailing or be self-bailing in a seaway, but self-righting partially enclosed survival craft should be automatically self-bailing in a seaway;

  • .17 provide protection for its complement against wind, rain and spray, adequate ventilation and protection for its complement at all ambient temperatures between -15°C and +30°C;

  • .18 be designed with due regard to the safety of persons on board with regard to slippery or hot surfaces and sharp edges;

  • .19 be possible to manoeuvre;

  • .20 provide means for persons in the water to cling to the survival craft;

  • .21 permit persons to board the survival craft from the water when wearing individual buoyancy equipment;

  • .22 permit those on board the survival craft, when wearing individual buoyancy equipment, to recover persons from the water without their assistance;

  • .23 be provided with manually controlled lighting sufficient to permit reading of instruction material and to facilitate operations at night with a power capacity sufficient for at least 12 h;

  • .24 carry provisions, water and equipment for the full complement;

  • .25 be of sufficient strength and have sufficiently strong fixtures and painters to be:

    • .25.1 towed at speeds up to 3 knots in the case of passive survival craft;

    • .25.2 towed at all speeds up to 5 knots in the case of active survival craft;

    • .25.3 launched with the ship making headway at speeds up to 5 knots in the case of active survival craft intended for use on cargo ships of 20,000 gross tonnage and upwards;

  • .26 have means of permitting watertight restowage, where equipment is required to be stowed in watertight containers;

  • .27 be so arranged that in a seaway, a person in the survival craft may be picked up by helicopter or transferred to a ship by ladder or net without assistance from other persons in the survival craft;

  • .28 be prototype tested with regard to paragraphs 3.2.1.1 to 3.2.1.6, 3.2.1.8 to 3.2.1.12, 3.2.1.14, 3.2.1.15, 3.2.1.17, 3.2.1.19 to 3.2.1.23 and 3.2.1.25 and with regard to paragraphs 3.2.1.7 and 3.2.1.16 in a seaway;

  • .29 be provided with means for location and detection complying with paragraph 3.7.4.

  3.2.2 In addition to meeting the requirements of paragraph 3.2.1, active survival craft should:

  • .1 have a means of propulsion, capable of being started manually or by two independent power sources and operated at an ambient temperature of -15°C within 2 min of commencing the engine start procedure using if necessary starting aids, unless, having regard to the particular voyages in which the ship carrying the craft is constantly engaged, another minimum starting and operating temperature is appropriate;

  • .2 if self-righting partially enclosed or totally enclosed, have a means of propulsion capable of running in the inverted position during capsize of the survival craft and of continuing to run after returning to the upright position unless it is stopped automatically when inverted and is easily restarted after the survival craft has returned to the upright position and, in the case of a self-righting partially enclosed survival craft, the water has drained from the survival craft. Capsizing should not cause a significant spill of oil into the survival craft;

  • .3 have sufficient mobility and manoeuvrability in a seaway to allow retrieval of persons from the water, marshalling of passive survival craft and to allow the largest passive survival craft carried on the ship to be towed at a speed of 2 knots in calm water;

  • .4 be capable of maintaining a speed of at least 6 knots for at least 24 h;

  • .5 be designed with due regard to the safety of persons in the water and the possibility of damage to the propulsion system by floating debris;

  • .6 be prototype tested with regard to paragraphs 3.2.2.1, 3.2.2.2 and 3.2.2.4 and with regard to paragraph 3.2.2.3 in a seaway.

  3.2.3 In addition to meeting the requirements of paragraphs 3.2.1 and 3.2.2, a survival craft with a self-contained air support system should:

  • .1 be capable of proceeding at maximum power for at least 10 min without exposing its complement to harmful gases or creating a subatmospheric pressure within the survival craft;

  • .2 be prototype tested with regard to paragraph 3.2.3.1 by running the survival craft for at least 10 min while maintaining an overpressure within the survival craft of not more than 20 mbar.

  3.2.4 In addition to meeting the requirements of paragraphs 3.2.1, 3.2.2 and 3.2.3, fire-protected survival craft should be prototype tested by enveloping the survival craft with its means of propulsion running in a fire for a period of at least 8 min during which time there should be no ingress of harmful fumes and habitable temperatures should be maintained within the survival craft.

Parent topic: 3 Appliance Criteria and Testing of Prototypes
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