§ 117.175 - Survival craft equipment.

§ 117.175 Survival craft equipment.

(a) General. Each item of survival craft equipment must be of good quality, and efficient for the purpose it is intended to serve. Unless otherwise stated in this section, each item of equipment carried, whether required under this section or not, must be secured by lashings, stored in lockers, compartments, brackets, or have equivalent mounting or storage arrangements that do not:

(1) Reduce survival craft capacity;

(2) Reduce space available to the occupants;

(3) Interfere with launching, recovery, or rescue operations; or

(4) Adversely affect seaworthiness of the survival craft.

(b) Inflatable liferafts. Each inflatable liferaft must have one of the following equipment packs as shown by the markings on its container:

(1) Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) B Pack; or

(2) SOLAS A Pack.

(c) Inflatable buoyant apparatus. Each inflatable buoyant apparatus must be equipped in accordance with the manufacturer's approved servicing manual.

(d) Life floats. Each life float must be fitted with a lifeline, pendants, two paddles, a painter, and a light.

(e) Buoyant apparatus. Each buoyant apparatus must be fitted with a lifeline, pendants, a painter, and a light.

(f) Equipment specifications for life floats and buoyant apparatus. The equipment required for lifefloats and buoyant apparatus must meet the following specifications:

(1) Lifeline and pendants. The lifeline and pendants must be as furnished by the manufacturer with the approved life float or buoyant apparatus. Replacement lifelines and pendants must meet the requirements in § 160.010 in subchapter Q of this chapter, or other standard specified by the Commandant.

(2) Paddle. Each paddle must be of at least 1,220 millimeters (4 feet) in length, lashed to the life float to which they belong, and buoyant.

(3) Painter. The painter must:

(i) Be of at least 30.5 meters (100 feet) in length, but not less than three times the distance between the deck where the life float or buoyant apparatus it serves is stowed and the lightship waterline of the vessel;

(ii) Have a breaking strength of at least 680 kilograms (1,500 pounds), except that if the capacity of the life float or buoyant apparatus is 50 persons or more, the breaking strength must be at least 1,360 kilograms (3,000 pounds);

(iii) Be of a dark color if synthetic, or of a type certified to be resistant to deterioration from ultraviolet light; and

(iv) Be stowed in such a way that it runs out freely when the life float or buoyant apparatus floats away from a sinking vessel.

(4) Light. The light must be a floating waterlight approved under approval series 161.010 or a standard specified by the Commandant. The floating waterlight must be attached around the body of the life float or buoyant apparatus by a 10 mm (3/8 inch) lanyard, resistant to deterioration from ultraviolet light, and at least 5.5 meters (18 feet) in length.

(g) Other survival craft. If survival craft other than inflatable liferafts, life floats, inflatable buoyant apparatus, and buoyant apparatus are carried on the vessel, such as lifeboats or rigid liferafts, they must be installed, arranged, and equipped as required in subchapter H (Passenger Vessels) of this chapter for passenger vessels on the same route.

[CGD 85-080, 61 FR 911, Jan. 10, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 51351, Sept. 30, 1997; 62 FR 64305, Dec. 5, 1997]