Lifeboat Release Gear and a Locally Made Replacement Pin
A 2014-built 21,000 GT bulk carrier has 22 persons on board and carries two lifeboats, each certified for 25 persons, plus a rescue boat. During a weekly inspection, the chief officer finds that the port lifeboat's on-load release gear has a missing hydrostatic interlock pin. The manufacturer's spare is not on board. The engine room fitter machines a replacement pin from stainless steel stock; it fits and the hook closes with a 'positive click'. The lifeboat's last five-year thorough examination and operational test was five years and two months ago; the annual inspection was 11 months ago. The starboard lifeboat is in good order. The vessel is at anchor and is scheduled to sail in six hours with a cargo of coal. The master proposes to keep the port lifeboat in service because the pin is 'only a locking device' and the starboard boat is available. The classification surveyor is not on board; the next port is three days away.
1. Can the port lifeboat be credited as a life-saving appliance with the locally made pin? Explain the SOLAS Chapter III basis.
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The port lifeboat should not be credited. On-load release gear is safety-critical: it must release when intended and must not release accidentally under load. A locally machined pin made without the manufacturer's specification, material certification or approval cannot be assumed to have the correct strength, fit or corrosion resistance. The fact that the hook closes with a positive click proves only that it closes, not that the release mechanism will function correctly during launch or recovery.
The lifeboat is also overdue for its five-year thorough examination and operational test of the release gear, which was due five years and two months after the last examination. That is a separate deficiency. The starboard lifeboat being available does not make the port boat compliant; the ship's life-saving arrangement and certificate are based on the required boats being serviceable. The master's description of the pin as 'only a locking device' understates its role and should not be accepted as a technical justification.
2. What immediate actions should the master take before departure, and what alternatives could the flag State consider?
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The master should take the port lifeboat out of service, secure it against accidental use, mark it clearly, and record the defect. The locally made pin should be removed. The approved spare should be ordered and the release gear examined and tested by a competent person or service provider in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Before departure the realistic options are to delay sailing until the repair and the overdue five-year examination are completed, or to obtain flag-State authorization for a temporary alternative arrangement. Such an arrangement could involve additional liferafts and operational restrictions, but it must be authorized by the flag State and accepted by class; it is not something the master can decide alone. The next port being three days away does not justify sailing with an unapproved part in a release mechanism. The starboard lifeboat and rescue boat should remain available, and the crew should be briefed on the status of the port boat.
3. What records and drill implications follow from this finding?
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The records should include the defect report, the removal of the unapproved pin, the isolation of the port lifeboat, the order and receipt of the approved spare, the service report from the examination and operational test, and the class or flag-State correspondence. The overdue five-year examination should be recorded as a separate overdue item, not hidden inside the repair record.
Drills should continue using the starboard lifeboat and the rescue boat, but the port lifeboat should not be used for drill or training until it is returned to service. The crew should be briefed that the port boat is unavailable, and the drill record should show what was actually exercised. This prevents a false impression that both boats have been maintained and drilled.