Bulletin 485 - 9/06
Measures to Prevent Accidents with Lifeboats - Worldwide
Members attention is drawn to a draft Marine Guidance Note (MGN) published by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), which compiles current guidance on the safe servicing, maintenance, and drilling of lifeboats.
The MCA states in the MGN that in recent years the Maritime Industry has suffered an unacceptably high number of accidents with lifeboats in which crew were injured, sometimes fatally, whilst participating in lifeboat drills and/or inspections, and noted that most accidents fell under the following categories
- Failure of on-load release mechanism
- Inadvertent operation of on-load release mechanism
- Inadequate maintenance of lifeboats, davits and launching equipment
- Communication failures
- Lack of familiarity with lifeboats, davits, equipment and associated controls
- Unsafe practices during lifeboat drills and inspections
- Design faults other than on-load release mechanisms.
In response to these concerns, the MCA has written the guidelines of the MGN based on guidance relating to the safe servicing, maintenance and drilling of lifeboats published by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The MGN, which is to be read along with the requirements of SOLAS chapter III (with particular reference to Regulations 20 and 36) and also the requirements of the LSA Code (with particular reference to section 4.4.7), can be found on the MCA website in the following directory
Guidance & Regulations / Consultations / Closed Consultations / Started in 2006 / Measures to Prevent Accidents with Lifeboats / Draft MGN: Measures to Prevent Accidents with Lifeboats
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