Lifeboat Regulatory Update
Dear Customers and Friends of N&P Maritime, by now, you should have been notified of the new lifeboat regulatory update MSC402(96) which will take place on 1st Jan 2020. Which is basically months from now. Here is a 5 mins snippet of what I find important and is about to change besides that the regulation is going to become a mandatory requirement from next year.
The personnel carrying out the maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing overhaul and repair shall be certified by an authorized service provider...
What this means is that, the technician that is assigned to carry out any jobs on lifeboat, davits and release gear (or lifeboat hook), will have to be trained. No more possibility of getting flag approvals for such services unless that manufacturer of lifeboat or davit is bankrupted or no longer capable of providing any services.
The requirements shall equally apply to manufacturers when they are acting as service providers
If the manufacturer of lifeboat brand A is not trained and authorized by lifeboat brand B, he is not allowed to carry out services on lifeboat brand B.
Requirements for authorization of service providers
This is where it gets really mind boggling. The rules stated that - employment and documentation of personnel certified in accordance with a recognized national, international or industry standard as applicable, or a manufacturer's established certification programme. First, manufacturer trained personnel and their trained service station gets a free pass to service their own products, that is a given. Or, if the service provider underwent a national, international or industry statndard? From what we know, there are a couple of companies that promote this "industry standard training" and claims it complies to this new regulation. But there has not been any flag administration notice so far that specifically gives the green light. Therefore, without further notice from flag administration, the safest bet for owners and managers will be, use the authorized service stations.
Operational test of the davit-launched liferaft automatic release function shall be carried out with load
Under annual inspection of davit launched liferaft automatic release gear, the rules requires manually release the hook with a load of 150kg on the hook and automatically release the hook with a load of 200kg on the hook when it is lowered to the ground. This is a new requirement and come 2020, please make sure your service station brings along a certified load cell during the annual inspection if your ship does not have a load cell.
Have you read the new regulations and what are your thoughts? Please share with me at francis.wong@npmarine.sg, I would love to exchange ideas with you.
When this article was written in 2019, N&P Maritime provided lifeboat & davit inspection and repair services. Since October 2025 we are a supply-only company focused on RWO and Deckma spare parts.
FAQ
When did MSC402(96) take effect for lifeboat, davit and release gear maintenance? MSC402(96) took effect on 1st Jan 2020. From that date its requirements became mandatory for the maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of lifeboats, davits and release gear, replacing the earlier circular-based guidance described in the post.
Who can maintain and test lifeboat davits and release gear under MSC402(96)? Technicians must be certified by a service provider under MSC402(96) and trained for lifeboats, davits and release gear. Flag approvals are no longer an option unless the manufacturer is bankrupt or cannot provide services. Manufacturer-trained personnel and their trained service stations can service their own products.
Can a lifeboat manufacturer service another manufacturer's lifeboat under MSC402(96)? No. If the manufacturer of lifeboat brand A is not trained and certified for lifeboat brand B, it cannot carry out services on brand B. The requirements apply equally to manufacturers when they act as service providers, so brand-specific training and certification are necessary.
What load test does MSC402(96) require for davit-launched liferaft automatic release gear? The annual inspection requires manually releasing the hook with 150kg on the hook and automatically releasing it with 200kg when lowered to the ground. This operational test must be carried out with load. The post advises ensuring the service station brings a certified load cell if the ship does not have one.