MSC.1/Circ.1206 MEASURES TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS WITH LIFEBOATS

The Maritime Safety Committee, at its eighty-first session 10 to 19 May 2006, recalled that at
its seventy-fifth session (15 to 24 May 2002), it had considered the issue of the unacceptably high
number of accidents with lifeboats in which crew were being injured, sometimes fatally, while
participating in lifeboat drills and/or inspections, and noted that most accidents fell under the
following categories:

.1 failure of on-load release mechanism;
.2 inadvertent operation of on-load release mechanism;
.3 inadequate maintenance of lifeboats, davits and launching equipment;
.4 communication failures;
.5 lack of familiarity with lifeboats, davits, equipment and associated controls;
.6 unsafe practices during lifeboat drills and inspections; and
.7 design faults other than on-load release mechanisms.

2 Pending further consideration of the problem, the Committee approved MSC/Circ.1049 on
Accidents with lifeboats, to draw the attention of manufacturers, shipowners, crews and classification societies to the personal injury and loss of life that may follow inadequate attention to the design, construction, maintenance and operation of lifeboats, davits and associated equipment and urged all concerned to take necessary action to prevent further accidents with lifeboats.

It invited Member Governments to: