Shipboard Lifting Appliances: The New SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-13 Regime
From 1 January 2026 SOLAS directly regulates every lifting appliance permanently installed on board — cargo cranes included — with mandatory testing, thorough examination and documented SWL marking. There are four exclusions, and they are exhaustive.
Operational Explanation
Until now shipboard lifting appliances were governed by class standards, by ILO Convention 152 and by Company internal practice, without a direct, uniform SOLAS reference. The new Regulation II-1/3-13 (Res. MSC.532(107), in force from 1 January 2026) brings them under direct SOLAS control.
The point most often got wrong is the scope. The definition of lifting appliance introduced by the same resolution (SOLAS II-1/2.30) covers, in the order the regulation lists them: appliances used for cargo loading, transfer or discharge; for raising and lowering hold hatch covers or movable bulkheads; engine-room cranes; stores cranes; hose handling cranes; launch and recovery of tender boats and similar applications; and personnel handling cranes. Cargo cranes are not excluded: they are the first item on the list. Also covered are anchor handling winches and the associated loose gear.
From 1 January 2026 new appliances must be designed, constructed, installed and tested to the rules of a Recognised Organisation or equivalent standards, with load testing and thorough examination before being put into service and after significant repairs or modifications, and with permanent, documented SWL marking. Appliances already installed must be tested and thoroughly examined by the first renewal of the relevant certificate on or after 1 January 2026.
Regulatory Reference
SOLAS Chapter II-1, Regulation 3-13 (new), introduced by Res. MSC.532(107) and in force from 1 January 2026. It applies to all permanently installed lifting appliances — including cargo cranes, the first item in the definition of lifting appliance at SOLAS II-1/2.30 — to anchor handling winches and to the associated loose gear. Only four exclusions: MODUs, offshore construction ships complying with standards acceptable to the Administration, integrated mechanical equipment for hatch covers, and LSA launching appliances. For SWL below 1,000 kg the Administration determines to what extent paragraphs 2.1 and 2.4 do not apply. Existing ships: testing and thorough examination by the first renewal of the relevant certificate (SAFCON for cargo ships) on or after 1 January 2026.
Implementing circulars: MSC.1/Circ.1662 (anchor handling winches); MSC.1/Circ.1663 (lifting appliances, with the model certificate of test and thorough examination and the model register); MSC.1/Circ.1696 (unified interpretation of paragraph 2.4, corresponding to IACS UI SC 310, first issued July 2025, applied by IACS Societies from 1 January 2026).
Scope of Application
Every ship subject to SOLAS fitted with permanently installed lifting appliances, including cargo cranes, as well as engine-room cranes, stores cranes, hose handling cranes, tender launching appliances, personnel handling cranes, hatch cover and movable bulkhead equipment, and anchor handling winches — the winches used for deploying and repositioning anchors and mooring lines in subsea operations, typical of AHTS units, not the ship's ordinary anchor windlasses.
Exclusions, exhaustive: appliances on units certified as MODUs; appliances on offshore construction ships (pipe/cable laying or repair, offshore installation, decommissioning) complying with standards acceptable to the Administration; integrated mechanical equipment for opening and closing hold hatch covers; launching appliances complying with the LSA Code.
SWL threshold of 1,000 kg: for appliances with a safe working load below 1,000 kg the Administration determines to what extent paragraphs 2.1 (design, construction, installation and testing of new appliances) and 2.4 (existing appliances) do not apply. It is not an automatic exemption, it does not affect SWL marking and it does not touch the other paragraphs: absent a determination by the flag State, the regulation applies in full. National practice diverges, so the position of your own Administration must be checked.
Procedure / How to Complete It
- Survey all permanently installed lifting appliances subject to Regulation II-1/3-13, including cargo cranes, anchor handling winches and the associated loose gear: the list of exclusions is closed and does not cover commercial appliances.
- Verify that each appliance has a valid test certificate, renewing it if expired or absent.
- Verify that the Safe Working Load (SWL) documentation is available and consistent with the appliance actually installed on board.
- For appliances already installed, plan testing and thorough examination by a competent person by the first renewal of the relevant certificate — the Cargo Ship Safety Construction (SAFCON) for cargo ships, the Passenger Ship Safety Certificate for passenger ships — on or after 1 January 2026: the effective deadline can therefore fall as late as the end of 2030.
- Identify which existing certificates issued under ILO Convention 152 are still valid: they are recognised until they expire. For appliances without original documentation, the Factual Statement provided for by MSC.1/Circ.1696 applies — it attests that testing and examination were carried out but does not confirm the SWL and does not cover paragraphs 2.1 and 2.3.
- Integrate periodic verification of all these appliances into the Planned Maintenance System, with a single register of shipboard lifting appliances following the model in Appendix 3 of MSC.1/Circ.1663.
Practical Example
Example: preparing for the first SAFCON renewal after January 2026, the Chief Officer surveys the lifting appliances and finds them on three different levels. The cargo cranes hold valid ILO 152 test certificates, so they are recognised until expiry. Two hose hoists have never had formal certification and are tested and thoroughly examined by a competent person. A stores crane installed in 1998 no longer has its manufacturer's documentation: for that one a Factual Statement is requested, which attests testing and examination but does not confirm the SWL, so the Company must separately decide what capacity to declare.
What Typically Goes Wrong
Common Mistakes Mistake Library
| Mistake | Consequence | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo cranes left out of the survey, on the view that Regulation II-1/3-13 covers only non-commercial appliances | The appliances of greatest capacity and greatest accident record — the very reason the regulation was adopted — are left out: non-conformity found at SAFCON renewal | The SOLAS II-1/2.30 definition puts cargo first. Survey every permanently installed appliance and apply only the four exhaustive exclusions |
| Anchor handling winches overlooked, or confused with ordinary anchor windlasses | Appliances subject to their own regime (MSC.1/Circ.1662) left out of the compliance plan | Check whether the ship has winches for deploying and repositioning anchors and lines in subsea operations, typical of AHTS units: those are in scope, the ship's own windlasses are not |
| The 1,000 kg threshold treated as an automatic exemption | Appliances left without SWL marking and, absent a flag State determination, without the whole regime | The threshold affects only paragraphs 2.1 and 2.4 and is left to the Administration: check your flag State's position before excluding anything |
| SWL documentation not updated after replacement or modification of a lifting appliance | Discrepancy between the installed appliance and the SWL documentation available on board | Always update the SWL documentation immediately after any replacement or modification of the appliance |
What the PSCO Checks
Operational Tips
- Start from the definition, not from the use: if an appliance handles a load and is permanently installed, it is in scope unless it falls within one of the four exhaustive exclusions.
- Survey all appliances in good time, cargo cranes included, well before the first renewal of the relevant certificate after January 2026: the deadline may look distant, but certifying an appliance without original documentation takes time.
- Do not assume the exemption below 1,000 kg: ask your Administration whether, and to what extent, it has determined one.
- Coordinate with the classification society on the certification of any appliances without a valid test certificate, with adequate lead time before the survey deadline.
Preparation checklist
Educational checklist. This summary supports learning and preparation only. It does not replace the vessel’s approved procedures, manuals, statutory documents, company SMS, or applicable official requirements. Completing it demonstrates neither compliance nor readiness for an inspection: it shows that a list has been read, not that the ship is in order. Always verify the current documents carried on board.
- All permanently installed lifting appliances surveyed, cargo cranes included
- Anchor handling winches identified and handled under MSC.1/Circ.1662, where fitted
- Exclusions applied only to the four exhaustive cases (MODUs, offshore construction ships, integrated hatch cover equipment, LSA launching appliances)
- Flag State position checked on the 1,000 kg SWL threshold
- Valid certificate of test and thorough examination for each appliance
- Permanent SWL marking present and consistent with the documentation
- Still-valid ILO 152 certificates identified and recognised until expiry
- Factual Statement requested for appliances without original documentation
- Compliance of existing appliances planned by the first renewal of the relevant certificate after 1 January 2026
- Register of lifting appliances kept to the model in MSC.1/Circ.1663
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Last substantive revision of this page: 16 August 2026 · page fingerprint a80493b87571