SOLAS lifting appliances: what to have ready before the Safety Construction renewal

Since 1 January 2026, SOLAS regulation II-1/3-13 sets mandatory requirements for lifting appliances on board, including cargo cranes, engine-room cranes, stores cranes and hose-handling cranes. For existing ships the deadline is the first Safety Construction renewal survey on or after that date, so for many geared bulk carriers the work falls due within the next few years.

New and existing appliances

Appliances installed before 1 January 2026 count as existing. New appliances must be designed, built and installed to a classification society’s requirements, load tested and thoroughly examined before first use, and permanently marked with their safe working load (SWL).

What existing appliances need by the first renewal survey

• A load test and thorough examination following MSC.1/Circ.1663.
• Permanent marking of the SWL.
• Documentary evidence of the SWL.

Valid test and examination certificates issued before 1 January 2026 under another instrument, such as ILO Convention No. 152, are generally accepted. Where an appliance has no such certificate, the company nominates the SWL from the operation manual, the maker’s drawings or a company declaration, and that SWL sets the minimum test load.

On board from now on

• A Register of Ship’s Lifting Appliances and Cargo Handling Gear.
• Certificates of test and thorough examination in the format of Appendix 1 to MSC.1/Circ.1663.
• Inspection, maintenance and testing included in the planned maintenance system, unless the flag decides otherwise.
• Loose gear made to the Administration’s or a recognized organization’s requirements, proof tested, and tested again after major repairs or alterations.

For appliances with an SWL below 1,000 kg, the flag decides how far the requirements apply. Thorough examinations and load tests may be carried out within the SOLAS survey windows unless the flag instructs otherwise.

A practical sequence

1. List every lifting appliance and item of loose gear, with its SWL and certificate status.
2. Confirm with class and flag which appliances are in scope and which existing certificates they accept.
3. Prepare SWL evidence where certificates are missing.
4. Set up the register and the maintenance routines in the planned maintenance system.
5. Plan the load tests for a port call before the renewal survey, with test weights or water bags arranged in advance.

How we help

We build the inventory and the register, prepare the SWL evidence, write the maintenance routines for your PMS, agree the approach with class and flag, and attend the load tests and examinations.