Life-Saving Appliance Inspection, Servicing & Testing

Life-saving equipment spends most of its life unused, which is exactly why it needs routine checks and maintenance to stay in working order. We inspect and service the full LSA inventory aboard, working to the manufacturer’s schedules and the vessel’s flag-state requirements rather than a generic checklist.

We plan servicing around the vessel’s schedule, so readiness is maintained without operations stopping to accommodate it. We coordinate attendance with port calls, lay-ups and yard periods, and track due dates across the equipment so nothing aboard quietly falls out of date.

We carry out examinations, servicing, repairs and operational testing on lifeboats and rescue boats. We run the boat through what it would actually have to do rather than looking it over at rest, with engines started and run, steering and controls tested, and the hull and structure examined for damage and deterioration.

We check onboard equipment against the vessel’s required inventory, and report anything we find with a clear recommendation for repair or replacement. Our own engineers carry out the repairs, so the boat returns to service without a second contractor becoming involved.

A serviceable boat is no use on a seized davit, so launching and recovery equipment gets the same attention as the boats it carries. We maintain davits, winches, release mechanisms, and associated components, inspecting wires, sheaves, brakes, gearing, limit switches, hooks, and release gear to the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule.

As an approved service station for Global Davit and Davit International, we work under the maker’s own authority on their equipment. When a davit system needs proving under load, our waterbag load testing service applies controlled incremental loading aboard without craning solid weights onto the deck.

We service or replace liferafts, lifejackets, immersion suits and lifebuoys, the personal safety equipment crew and passengers depend on once they leave the vessel. Lifejacket cylinders and firing heads are checked and changed where needed, immersion suits are examined for seam integrity and closure condition, and lifebuoys are checked along with their lights and lines.

When equipment reaches the end of its service life, we say so and supply a replacement rather than servicing something that should be condemned. Covering it alongside the boats and davits means one attendance covers the vessel’s entire life-saving inventory.

We check equipment performance, identify faults, and replace worn components at every attendance, because the fault that matters is the one found before an emergency, not during it. That might be a release hook that no longer resets cleanly, a winch brake that slips under load or a boat engine that struggles to start.

Our own engineers carry out the repairs and retest the equipment afterwards, so it returns to service proven rather than assumed. We also record every fault, repair, and replacement against the equipment, giving you a clear history when the next inspection comes round.

Our LSA work supports applicable SOLAS, IMO, flag-state and manufacturer requirements. We are an approved service station for Fassmer, Hatecke, Global Davit, and Davit International; a Bahamas Maritime Authority-authorised service provider; and a Lloyds, RINA, and DNV-approved service provider, so the work is recognised by the people who inspect it.

Every attendance produces clear reports, maintenance records, and the relevant certification to support vessel inspections, itemised by equipment and its position aboard. If the vessel’s lifting equipment is due at the same time, our Marine LOLER 2006 inspections can be completed during the same attendance.