Various issues pertaining to lifeboat accidents were submitted to last week’s session of the IMO Sub-committee on Design and Equipment (DE48). These were discussed within the IMO working group and the plenary session but have now been passed onto a correspondence group that will continue to work on the points raised and subsequently report back to DE 49, which is tentatively scheduled for20-24 Feb 

INTERTANKO has lodged its request to join the work of this IMO correspondence group and will coordinate this via its Lifeboat Accident Working Group (within the remit of the INTERTANKO Safety Technical Environment Committee (ISTEC)). 

Areas of work that will be undertaken by the IMO correspondence group include:

• Recommendations regarding testing of Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) requirements for davit winch brake test for loaded lifeboats;
• Proposed amendments to the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code concerning recovery procedures for free-fall lifeboats;
• Proposed amendments to the LSA Code concerning requirements for lifeboat release mechanisms;
• Proposals to develop operation and maintenance manuals for lifeboats;
• Proposals to develop a Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) circular to address the failure of on-load release gear of lifeboats;
• Consolidation of all the various MSC circulars dealing with lifeboats.