Laws & Conventions

What are the requirements of rescue boat as per SOLAS/ LSA code?

Written by Amit Sharma
According to LSA Code, Chapter V, Reg. 5.1
The rescue boat must comply with the following requirements:
  • Rescue boats may be either of rigid or inflated construction or a combination of both and shall:
    1. be not less than 3.8 m and not more than 8.5 m in length; and
    2. be capable of carrying at least five seated persons and a person lying on a stretcher.
  • Rescue boats shall be capable of maneuvering at a speed of at least 6 knots and maintaining that speed for a period of at least 4 hours.
  • Rescue boats shall have sufficient mobility and maneuverability in a seaway to enable persons to be retrieved from the water, marshal liferafts and tow the largest liferaft carried on the ship when loaded with its full complement of persons and equipment or its equivalent at a speed of at least 2 knots.
  • A rescue boat shall be fitted with an inboard engine or outboard motor. If it is fitted with an outboard motor, the rudder and tiller may form part of the engine.
  • Arrangements for towing shall be permanently fitted in rescue boats and shall be sufficiently strong to marshal or tow liferafts.
  • Inflated rescue boats shall be so constructed as to be capable of withstanding exposure:
    1. when stowed on an open deck on a ship at sea;
    2. for 30 days afloat in all sea conditions.




  • The buoyancy of an inflated rescue boat shall be provided by either a single tube subdivided into at least five separate compartments of approximately equal volume or two separate tubes neither exceeding 60% of the total volume.
  • In addition to complying with the requirements of lifeboats, inflated rescue boats shall be marked with a serial number, the maker’s name or trademark, and the date of manufacture.
  • The inflated rescue boat shall be maintained at all times in a fully inflated condition.
  • Every Rescue boat shall be provided with effective means of bailing or automatically self-bailing
  • Rescue boats shall be provided with small water-tight stowage for small items of equipment.




As per SOLAS chapter III, regulation 21, (Rescue boats)

  • Passenger ships of 500 gross tonnages and over shall carry at least one rescue boat on each side of the ship, complying with the requirements of the LSA code.
  • Passenger ships of less than 500 gross tonnage shall carry at least one rescue boat complying with the requirements.
  • A lifeboat may be accepted as a rescue boat provided it also complies with the requirements for a rescue boat.

Cargo ships shall carry at least one rescue boat complying with the requirements of section 5.1 of the LSA Code.




Note:

A lifeboat may be accepted as a rescue boat, provided that it also complies with the requirements for a rescue boat

PANCHAM KUMAR

About the author

Amit Sharma

Graduated from M.E.R.I. Mumbai (Mumbai University), After a brief sailing founded this website with the idea to bring the maritime education online which must be free and available for all at all times and to find basic solutions that are of extreme importance to a seafarer by our innovative ideas.

1 Comment

  • Good day sir,

    I am appearing in masters orals in karachi , pakistan. kindly guide me regarding shipboard emergencies, UNCLOS, Masters obligations under Solas and marpol.

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