New SOLAS Edition

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has published a new consolidated edition of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the most important of all the international conventions dealing with maritime safety.It provides an essential reference for maritime administrations, ship builders, ship owners and operators, shipping companies, equipment manufacturers, training institutes and all others concerned with the SOLAS requirements.

SOLAS is one of the oldest maritime safety conventions, the first version having been adopted in 1914 following the sinking of the Titanic. Since then, there have been four more versions of the Convention.

The present version was adopted in 1974 and entered into force in 1980, and has subsequently been amended many times to keep it up to date.

The SOLAS Consolidated Edition 2009 provides a consolidated text of the SOLAS Convention, its Protocols of 1978 and 1988 and all amendments in effect from 1 July 2009. It includes new regulations adopted since the 2004 edition was published, including regulation V/19-1 on long-range identification and tracking of ships; regulation II-1/3-8 on mooring and towing equipment; and regulation II-1/35-1 on bilge pumping arrangements.

The SOLAS provisions for corrosion protection have been updated and expanded, with the new requirements incorporated in a revised chapter II-1, which includes probabilistic requirements for subdivision and damage stability.

The appendix containing the “form of certificates” includes the fully revised safety certificates for nuclear passenger and cargo ships. The revised “list of certificates and documents required to be carried on board ships” is also included.