The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a new mandatory regulation for onboard lifting appliances: SOLAS (Safety of Life At Sea) Regulation II-1/3-13. The aim is to provide a uniform level of safety for their design, construction and installation, as well as to stipulate consistent requirements for periodical examinations, load tests, maintenance, inspections and operation.
This new regulation will enter into force on 1 January 2026.
If you operate a SOLAS vessel, the permanently installed lifting appliances listed in Table 1 must comply with the applicable requirements of the new SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-13, taking into account the associated Guidelines in MSC.1/Circ.1663.
| Lifting appliance types | Applicable DNV standards | ||
| DNV-ST-0377 | DNV-ST-0378 | DNV-ST-0498 | |
| Ships' load handling equipment used for loading, transfer and discharge of cargo (e.g. cargo cranes, cargo derricks, cargo excavators, cargo boom conveyors) | x | x | - |
| Movable ramps and decks when lifted with cargo | x | - | - |
| Hatch cover/bulkhead cranes | x | - | - |
| Engine room cranes | x | x | - |
| Stores/provision cranes | x | x | - |
| Hose handling cranes | x | - | - |
| Tender/workboat cranes and davits | - | - | x |
| Cranes used for personal handling (incl. Suez mooring boat crane/davit) | x | x | - |
Table 1: Lifting appliances to SOLAS Reg. II-1/3-13
In general, thia SOLAS maritime regulation also applies to lifting appliances with a safe working load (SWL) of less than 1,000 kg, unless otherwise stated by the vessel’s flag state administration. The regulation covers permanently installed lifting appliances as specified in the applicable requirements.
However, the SOLAS requirements do not apply to:
- Lifting appliances on vessels certified as Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs)
- Lifting appliances on offshore construction ships which comply with other standards acceptable to the Administration
- Mobile and non-permanently installed lifting appliances
- Dedicated life-saving launching appliances according to LSA-Code
Figure 1: Overview of compliance dates for NB and SiO
To support compliance with these new SOLAS requirements, DNV is launching a comprehensive IMO survey and certification service in the second half of 2025. This service will complement existing optional ILO and non-ILO survey schemes by providing design approval, manufacturing surveys, product certification, thorough examinations, load tests, and the issuance of required documentation including the Register of Ship's Lifting Appliances and Certificates of Test and Thorough Examination.
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