The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets out minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organization convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards.
Initially prompted by the sinking of the Titanic, the current version of SOLAS is the 1974 version, known as SOLAS 1974, which came into force on 25 May 1980,[1] and has been amended several times. As of April 2022[update], SOLAS 1974 has 167 contracting states,[1] which flag about 99% of merchant ships around the world in terms of gross tonnage.[1]
SOLAS in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.[2][3]
The non-parties to SOLAS 1974 include numerous landlocked countries, as well as El Salvador, Micronesia and East Timor. Some others including Bolivia, Lebanon and Sri Lanka, all considered flag of convenience states, are deemed to have "potentially negative performance" regarding ratification.[4]
The first version of SOLAS Treaty was passed in 1914 in response to the sinking of RMS Titanic, which prescribed numbers of lifeboats and other emergency equipment along with safety procedures, including continuous radio watches.[8] The 1914 treaty never entered into force due to the outbreak of the First World War.
Further versions were adopted in 1929 and 1948.[2][9]
The 1960 Convention was adopted on 17 June 1960 and entered into force on 26 May 1965. It was the fourth SOLAS Convention and was the first major achievement for the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It represented a considerable step forward in modernizing regulations and keeping up with technical developments in the shipping industry.[10]
In 1974, a completely new Convention was adopted to allow SOLAS to be amended and implemented within a reasonable timescale, instead of the previous procedure to incorporate amendments, which proved to be very slow. Under SOLAS 1960, it could take several years for amendments to come into force since countries had to give notice of acceptance to IMO and there was a minimum threshold of countries and tonnage. Under SOLAS 1974, amendments enter into force via a tacit acceptance procedure – this allows an amendment to enter into force on a specified date, unless objections to an amendment are received from an agreed number of parties.
The 1974 SOLAS came into force on 25 May 1980,[1] 12 months after its ratification by at least 25 countries with at least 50% of gross tonnage. It has been updated and amended on numerous occasions since then and the Convention in force today is sometimes referred to as SOLAS, 1974, as amended.[2][10]
In 1975 the assembly of the IMO decided that the 1974 convention should in future use SI (metric) units only.[11]
In particular, amendments in 1988 based on amendments of International Radio Regulations in 1987 replaced Morse code with the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) and came into force beginning 1 February 1992. The issues covered by the treaty are set out in the list of sections (above). Further amendments were made in May 2011.[12]
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) outlines the minimum safety standards to be adhered to while constructing and operating merchant ships. Per the IMO Convention, signatory nations must ensure that their ships comply with these standards.
The SOLAS Convention is usually considered the most important international treaty regarding the safety of merchant vessels and seafarers.
After the enormous loss of life in the Titanic Disaster, the international community wanted to establish rules and regulations to prevent similar maritime accidents from happening again. Hence, the first conference on the Safety of Life at Sea took place in London in January 1914.
The 1960 version was the first main task for IMO since its establishment, as it was a major step in modernising or upgrading regulations for monitoring technical developments in the maritime industry.
Several challenges had to be overcome, such as keeping the convention updated through regular amendments; however, their implementation took quite a while. Hence, a new convention was adopted in 1974, which included all amendments agreed to that date along with a new amendment procedure to ensure that changes were implemented or entered into force quickly.
The present version is the 1974 one, called SOLAS 1974, which came into force on May 25, 1980. It has been amended many times and as of April 2022, it had 167 contracting states.
SOLAS is among the three most important international instruments regulating maritime safety and marine pollution prevention. The other two are MARPOL and the STCW (International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) Convention.
Read: MARPOL – The Ultimate Guide
SOLAS is an abbreviation for “Safety Of Life At Sea.” It is an international maritime treaty, also known as the SOLAS Convention or International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), that establishes the least safety measures in the construction, equipment, and operation of merchant ships.
IMO SOLAS 74, the last revised convention adopted in 1974, includes several regulations under different SOLAS chapters, which deal with safety precautions and procedures starting from the ship’s construction to emergencies like “Abandon Ship.” The convention is updated periodically to meet the safety norms in the modern shipping industry.
Marine Insight has provided links to various articles which will help the readers understand how the regulation of the SOLAS Annexes is implemented on a seagoing vessel and the importance of SOLAS.
It applies to cargo vessels of 500 gross tonnage or more and passenger ships on international trips. Chapter Four of the SOLAS Convention extends its scope to cargo ships with 300 gross tonnage or more. Chapter 5 applies to all vessels except warships, naval auxiliaries, and other ships owned and operated by a contracting government and plying on government, non-commercial services.
The SOLAS 1974 international maritime treaty comprises 13 chapters, and each chapter has its own set of regulations. The following is the list of its14 chapters and the regulations they contain:
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, describes the requirement for all merchant ships of any flag state to comply with the minimum safety norms laid down in the chapters, which are as follows:
Chapter I – General Provisions: Surveys and certification of all the safety items, etc., are included.
Chapter II-1 – Construction – Subdivision and stability, machinery and electrical installations: Deals with watertight integrity of the ship, especially for passenger vessels.
Chapter II-2 – Fire protection, fire detection and extinction: This chapter elaborates on the means and measures for fire protection in accommodation, cargo spaces and engine rooms for passenger, cargo and tanker ships.
Chapter III—Lifesaving appliances and arrangements: This chapter describes all the lifesaving appliances and their use in different situations.
Chapter IV—Radio communications: This chapter includes the requirements of GMDSS, SART, EPIRB, etc., for cargo and passenger vessels.
Chapter V—Safety of navigation: This chapter deals with seagoing vessels of all sizes, from boats to VLCCs, and includes passage planning, navigation, distress signals, etc.
Chapter VII—Carriage of Dangerous Goods: This chapter defines the International Maritime Goods Code for storing and transporting hazardous goods.
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