The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of.

As a result the 1974 Convention has been updated and amended on numerous occasions. The Convention in force today is sometimes referred to as SOLAS, 1974, as amended.

Technical provisions

The main objective of the SOLAS Convention is to specify minimum standards for the construction,

Chapter I - General Provisions

Includes regulations concerning the survey of the various types of ships and the issuing of documents signifying that the ship meets the requirements of the Convention. The Chapter also includes provisions for the control of ships in ports of other Contracting Governments.

Chapter II-1 - Construction - Subdivision and stability, machinery and electrical installations

The subdivision of passenger ships into watertight compartments must be

The degree of subdivision - measured by the maximum permissible distance between two adjacent bulkheads - varies with ship's length and the service in which it is engaged. The highest degree of subdivision applies to passenger ships.

Requirements covering machinery and electrical installations are designed to ensure that services which are essential for the safety of the ship, passengers and crew are maintained under various emergency conditions.

"Goal-based standards" for oil tankers and bulk carriers were adopted in 2010, requiring new ships to be designed and constructed for a specified design life and to be safe and environmentally friendly, in intact

Chapter II-2 - Fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction

Includes detailed fire safety provisions for all ships and specific measures for passenger ships, cargo ships and tankers.

They include the following principles: division of the ship into main and vertical zones by thermal and structural boundaries; separation of accommodation spaces from the remainder

Chapter III - Life-saving appliances and arrangements

The Chapter includes requirements for life-saving appliances

Chapter IV - Radiocommunications

The Chapter incorporates the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). All passenger ships and all cargo ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards on international voyages are required to carry equipment designed to improve the chances of rescue following an accident, including satellite emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs) and search and rescue transponders (SARTs) for the location of the ship or survival.

Chapter V - Safety of navigation

Chapter V identifies certain navigation safety services which should be provided by Contracting Governments and sets forth provisions of an operational nature applicable in general to all ships on all voyages. This is in contrast to the Convention
Chapter VI - Carriage of Cargoes

The Chapter covers all types of cargo (except liquids and gases in bulk) "which, owing to their particular hazards to ships or persons on board, may require special precautions". The regulation

Chapter VII - Carriage of dangerous goods

The regulations are contained in three parts:

Part A - Carriage of dangerous goods in packaged form.

Part A-1 - Carriage of dangerous goods in solid form in bulk - covers the documentation, stowage and segregation requirements for these goods and requires reporting of incidents involving such goods.

Part B covers Construction and equipment of ships carrying dangerous liquid chemicals in bulk and requires chemical tankers to comply with the International Bulk Chemical Code (IBC Code).

Part C covers Construction and equipment of ships carrying liquefied gases in bulk and gas carriers to comply with the requirements of the International Gas Carrier Code (IGC Code).

Part D includes special requirements for the carriage of packaged irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high-level radioactive wastes on board ships and requires ships carrying
Chapter VIII - Nuclear ships

Gives basic requirements for nuclear-powered ships and is particularly concerned with radiation hazards. It refers to detailed and comprehensive Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships which was adopted by the IMO Assembly in 1981.

Chapter IX - Management for the Safe Operation of Ships

The Chapter makes mandatory the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, which requires a safety management syst

Chapter X - Safety measures for high-speed craft

The Chapter makes mandatory the International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft (HSC Code).

Chapter XI-1 - Special measures to enhance maritime safety

The Chapter clarifies requirements relating to authorization of recognized organizations (responsible for carrying out.

Chapter XI-2 - Special measures to enhance maritime security

Regulation XI-2/3 of the chapter enshrines the International Ship and Port Facilities Security Code

Regulation XI-2/5 requires all ships to be provided with a ship security alert system. ,Regulation XI-2/

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