Regulation 20.11.1.3 of Chapter III of the 1996 Amendment to the 1974 SOLAS Convention specifies that launching appliances should be subjected to a dynamic test of the winch brake at least once every five (5) years.

At the time of 1996 amendment of SOLAS, a dynamic test for launching appliances to ships constructed before 1 July 1986 (hereinafter referred to as 83SOLAS existing ships) was waived until 30 June 2003, pending the establishment of safe test procedure by IMO and special instruction by the flag government, and taking account of IACS interpretation. At this time, ClassNK made inquiries to each government and settled this matter as below.

In case where it is impracticable to carry out the test by 30 June 2003, the test should be carried out at the first Safety Equipment survey (Renewal / Periodical) after 30 June 2003 or the Dry Docking Survey but not later than 30 June 2004.

As for the ships under Cypriot, Greek or Maltese flag, instruction has already given and informed by previous issues the ClassNK Technical Information. For your information, the main points are shown as below. Please access ClassNK's web site (www.classnk.or.jp) for detailed information.

1. Ships under Cypriot or Greek flag (No. TEC-0447 and No. TEC-0522)
A dynamic test of lifeboat winch brakes is not applicable.
2. Ships under Maltese flag (No. TEC-0372)
(1) Winches that are fitted with a speed-limiting device are to be tested during the first Safety Equipment Renewal Survey after 1 July 1998. If at the time of this survey the port is not a convenient port, then a Conditional Safety Equipment Certificate is issued valid for only six (6) months, by which time this requirement is to be complied with.
(2) Winches that are not fitted with a speed-limiting device may be exempted from the test.

For any questions about the above, please contact:

NIPPON KAIJI KYOKAI (ClassNK)
Survey Department, Administration Center, Head Office
Address: 4-7 Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8567, Japan
Tel.: +81-3-5226-2027 / 2028
Fax: +81-3-5226-2029
E-mail: svd@classnk.or.jp