International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) (SOLAS)
The principal international treaty establishing minimum safety standards for the construction, equipment and operation of applicable ships.
The current framework is SOLAS 1974, as amended, whose chapters cover matters including structure, fire protection, life-saving appliances, radiocommunications, navigation, cargoes, safety management and specialised ship types. Flag states implement and certify compliance, with port-state-control provisions allowing inspection in other contracting states.
SOLAS does not apply identically to every vessel: ship type, size, voyage, build date and chapter determine the requirement, while national law may extend similar standards to non-SOLAS craft. The applicable consolidated text and administration’s implementation must therefore be checked rather than relying on the acronym alone.
