SOLAS: Chapters, Scope and the Alarms It Requires

Read first: how a convention becomes law. This topic opens the biggest of those conventions: what SOLAS is, what each chapter covers, and the alarms it makes every ship carry.

SOLAS at a Glance

In short: SOLAS = the International Convention for the Safety Of Life At Sea. The current version was adopted on 1 November 1974 and came into force on 25 May 1980. It sets the minimum safety standards for how ships are built, equipped and operated (IMO).

• History: the first SOLAS came in 1914, after the Titanic. New versions followed in 1929, 1948, 1960 and 1974 (IMO).
• Tacit acceptance: the 1974 version brought in a quicker way to amend it. An amendment enters into force on a set date unless enough Parties object. That is why SOLAS keeps growing without a new convention (IMO).
• One of the four pillars of international shipping rules: SOLAS (safety), STCW (training and watchkeeping), MARPOL (pollution) and MLC 2006 (seafarers’ working and living conditions).
• Who enforces it: the flag State surveys the ship and issues the certificates; port States check them (SOLAS Chapter I).
• Which ships: SOLAS is written for ships on international voyages. Unless a regulation says otherwise, it does not apply to (SOLAS I/3):
  • warships and troopships;
  • cargo ships of less than 500 GT;
  • ships not propelled by mechanical means;
  • wooden ships of primitive build;
  • pleasure yachts not engaged in trade;
  • fishing vessels.
• The big exception is Chapter V: it applies to all ships on all voyages, yachts and fishing vessels included, with only a few exemptions such as warships (MGN 610 (M+F) Amd 1).
• On the bridge: a 40 m private yacht on passage is outside most of SOLAS, but her OOW still follows Chapter V — charts, voyage plan, danger messages, help to anyone in distress.

The Chapters, I to XV

In short: SOLAS has 15 chapters (I to XV). Chapters II and XI are split in two (II-1 / II-2, XI-1 / XI-2). Learn them in blocks: build the ship (I–II), save and call for help (III–IV), navigate (V), carry cargo (VI–VIII), manage and protect (IX–XI), special ships and checks (XII–XV).

Source: IMO, International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974.

• The chapters most asked in the oral: I, II-1, II-2, III, IV, V, IX (ISM), XI (ISPS), XIII, XIV and XV.
• Chapter VI: national rules now call it “Carriage of cargoes and oil fuels”; the IMO overview page still lists the short title.
• Common slip: older books and videos stop at Chapter XIV (or even XII). Since 1 July 2024 there are 15.

Chapter V: Safety of Navigation

In short: Chapter V is the OOW’s chapter. It applies to all ships, and most of its rules land on the bridge. The bridge equipment a ship must carry grows with tonnage under SOLAS V/19: a basic kit for all ships (magnetic compass, bearing device, charts or ECDIS with back-up, GNSS, a radar reflector under 150 GT), then extra items at 150, 300, 500, 3,000, 10,000 and 50,000 GT — spare compass, signalling lamp and BNWAS from 150 GT; echo sounder, X-band radar, log, THD and AIS from 300 GT; gyro and ATA from 500 GT; S-band radar from 3,000 GT; ARPA from 10,000 GT. The full ladder, and how to check each item, is in bridge equipment under SOLAS V/19.

The other Chapter V regulations to name in the exam (MGN 610 (M+F) Amd 1):

• V/14 — Manning: the ship is safely manned; English is the working language for bridge-to-bridge and bridge-to-shore safety communications.
• V/15 — Bridge design and procedures; V/16 — Maintenance of equipment: a fault does not make the ship unseaworthy, but it must be repaired and the voyage planned around it.
• V/24 — Heading and track control: go to manual steering in high traffic density, restricted visibility and other hazardous situations.
• V/26 — Steering gear testing and drills.
• V/27 — Charts and publications, adequate and up to date — see compulsory nautical publications.
• V/28 — Records of navigational activities.
• V/29 — Life-saving signals: an illustrated table must be readily available to the OOW.
• V/31–33 — Danger messages and distress: the Master reports dangerous ice, a dangerous derelict or other direct danger, a tropical storm, sub-freezing air temperatures with gale-force winds causing severe icing, and winds of force 10 or more with no storm warning received; lost or sighted freight containers are reported too (Canadian Notices to Mariners A10B). A Master who can help someone in distress must go to their assistance (V/33).
• V/34 — Safe navigation: a proper voyage plan that accounts for ships’ routeing, sufficient sea room, navigational hazards and the marine environment — see passage planning.
• V/34-1 — Master’s discretion: nobody (owner, charterer, company) may stop the Master taking a decision needed for safety of life or the environment. The Master alone is responsible for safe navigation.
• V/35 — Misuse of distress signals is forbidden.

The Three Alarms SOLAS Requires

In short: asked “how many alarms does SOLAS mention?”, give three: the fire alarm (a continuous signal), the general emergency alarm (7 or more short + 1 long) and the abandon-ship order (given by the Master, by word of mouth). More detail on musters and drills: emergency organisation, alarms and drills.

• The general alarm is operated from the navigation bridge, is heard throughout the accommodation and crew spaces, and keeps sounding until switched off by hand (SI 1999/2722 reg. 6).
• The general alarm is not the abandon-ship order. It calls people to muster. Only the Master orders abandon ship, by word of mouth, never by an automatic signal.
• On many cargo ships the fire alarm may also summon the crew, together with the whistle signal (MGN 71 (M+F) Amd 1).
• Every signal used on board, and how the abandon-ship order is given, must be written on the muster list.
• On the bridge: smoke is reported at 0200. You sound the fire alarm, call the Master and, on the Master’s order, the general alarm. Nobody goes to the boats until the Master says so.