Tender Operations: Service Boats for Passenger Transfer
MSC.1/Circ.1417 recommends controls for ship-carried craft transferring more than 12 passengers from a stationary ship to shore and back; binding effect and extension depend on implementation and the SMS.
Operational Explanation
MSC.1/Circ.1417 is recommendatory guidance. Risk assessment, operating log and their fields become mandatory when implemented by the Administration, required by a competent authority or adopted in the Company SMS/procedure.
Regulatory Reference
MSC.1/Circ.1417: guidelines for tendering operations, not applicable to passenger ships/craft certified for domestic service only. Requirement for a documented risk assessment or a specific ISM procedure when lifejackets remain stowed rather than worn during tendering with SOLAS lifeboats. A tendering operations log is required: dates/times, number of trips and passengers carried per tender, name of the mother ship, prevailing weather and sea conditions.
A point about the nature of these requirements, because the page lists them as though they were obligations and they are not. MSC.1/Circ.1417 of 13 June 2012, Guidelines for Passenger Ship Tenders, is a recommendatory circular: Member Governments are “invited to use the annexed Guidelines … when applying the relevant SOLAS regulations for passenger ship tenders”. It creates no obligations: it guides Administrations in applying to these craft the SOLAS regulations that already exist, in particular Chapter II-1 and Chapter IV of the LSA Code. The items listed above — a documented risk assessment, a log of operations — are therefore recommended good practice, not Convention requirements. They become enforceable once the Company adopts them into its SMS: from that moment an auditor checks them as a Company procedure, not as an IMO requirement. It is a distinction that changes the defence if the point is challenged.
The circular's scope is narrower than its name suggests: it covers ship-carried craft used to transfer more than 12 passengers from a stationary passenger ship to shore and back, and expressly excludes coastal sightseeing excursions, inflatable boats and RHIBs.
Scope of Application
Ship-carried craft used to transfer more than 12 passengers from a stationary passenger ship to shore and back. Craft certified only for domestic service, coastal sightseeing excursions, inflatable boats and RHIBs are excluded; other dedicated craft need their own applicable basis.
Procedure / How to Complete It
- Confirm whether craft and operation meet the circular's definition.
- Identify exclusions and other flag/port requirements.
- Apply risk assessment and log as recommendations or as duties when implemented in SMS/applicable law.
- Follow actually approved limits, manning and procedures.
Practical Example
Example: before starting tendering operations in a port lacking a quay, the Master checks the weather and sea conditions, confirms that the risk assessment relating to stowing lifejackets in the tender-lifeboats is up to date, and arranges the passenger embarkation briefing before the first run of the day.
What Typically Goes Wrong
Common Mistakes Mistake Library
| Mistake | Consequence | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Lifejackets left stowed during tendering without a documented risk assessment supporting this choice | Operational practice lacking a documentary basis, indefensible in the event of an incident | Always maintain an up-to-date risk assessment or a specific ISM procedure when adopting this practice |
| Tendering operations log not systematically updated for every run | Inability to accurately reconstruct who was aboard which tender at a given time | Update the tendering log for every single run, not as a day's-end summary |
| Tendering operations started without an explicit assessment of the current weather and sea conditions | Transfer conducted in conditions not adequately assessed, risk to passengers | Explicitly assess weather and sea conditions before every tendering session, not only at the start of the day |
What the PSCO Checks
Operational Tips
- Do not treat the SOLAS lifeboat's technical certification as a substitute for the operational risk assessment required for its use as a tender.
- Update the tendering operations log run by run, always including the prevailing weather and sea conditions.
- Always brief passengers before boarding a tender, even for routes perceived as short or routine.
Preparation checklist
- Craft/operation scope checked
- Exclusions checked
- Guideline status stated
- Implementation/SMS identified
- Approved limits applied
FAQ
Related Topics
Last substantive revision of this page: 14 August 2026 · page fingerprint 5be46ba59054