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Home › Survey & Certification › Safety Construction, Equipment and Radio Certificate
Operational guide · Certification & surveys

Safety Construction, Equipment and Radio Certificate

Safety Construction, Equipment and Radio cover distinct scopes. Check thresholds, certificates actually issued, records and endorsements; a combined Cargo Ship Safety Certificate may be provided.

SOLASSafety ConstructionSafety EquipmentSafety Radio

Operational Explanation

Cargo safety certificates attest different scopes of the ship: Construction concerns structure, machinery and arrangements; Equipment concerns safety equipment; Radio concerns radio installations. Reading them establishes which requirements have been verified and which configurations, limitations and surveys must remain consistent with the ship. A combined document brings certification together while keeping the three scopes identifiable.

Within the relevant SOLAS international-voyage scope, Construction and Equipment concern cargo ships from 500 GT and Radio from 300 GT. A combined document does not remove the examinations required by the certificates it replaces. Also check relevant exemptions and national requirements.

Scope / dataReading the file
ConstructionRelevant structure, machinery and arrangements; reports, annual/intermediate/renewal and due bottom inspections.
EquipmentRelevant safety equipment; Form E or the corresponding Form C section; annual/periodical/renewal.
RadioRelevant radio installations; Form R or the corresponding Form C section; periodical around each anniversary and renewal.

Regulatory Reference

IMO A.1207(34), §§3.7, 4.3–4.4; SOLAS I/8–12; MCA: UK certification table 2013 (historical; MSIS 23 withdrawn).

The Safety Construction programme also includes external bottom inspections. SOLAS I/10(a)(v) requires at least two inspections in the relevant five-year period, with no interval exceeding 36 months and specific provisions for I/14(e)–(f) extensions. Track them alongside renewal, annual and intermediate surveys; this cargo schedule does not govern passenger ships. SOLAS I/10(a)(v).

Scope of Application

Construction concerns hull, machinery and relevant arrangements; Equipment concerns safety equipment; Radio concerns radio installations. Read required Records of Equipment with the certificates: Form E, Form R or Form C for the combined certificate.

Procedure / How to Complete It

  1. Check tonnage, service and the ship’s regime.
  2. Identify separate or combined certificates and associated records.
  3. Map annual, intermediate, periodical and renewal surveys to the actual document.
  4. Compare certified equipment and limitations with those present.
  5. Check endorsements, reports and management of changes.

For shared attendance use a schedule showing document/scope, pertinent Record, due survey and report/outcome. Identify any equipment or limitation discrepancy against the relevant row and have follow-up defined; signing one scope does not close the other rows.

Practical Example

A 350 GT cargo ship on international voyages may require Radio certification without meeting the SOLAS threshold for Construction and Equipment certificates. Do not infer absence of other safety obligations.

On a cargo ship with a combined certificate, the Radio report is available while an Equipment check remains incomplete. The file records the two outcomes separately and follows the missing check through to the result and pertinent endorsement.

What Typically Goes Wrong

Always expecting three separate documents or using the Radio date as proof that other scopes were also examined.

Common Mistakes Mistake Library

MistakeConsequencePrevention
Use the Radio date to close Construction and EquipmentOther scopes may lack due examinations or endorsements.Connect each scope with its pertinent survey, report and endorsement, including in the combined certificate.
Always require three separate certificatesValidly combined certification may be treated as missing.Identify the document issued and verify all required scopes and Records.

What the PSCO Checks

Check certificates and Records of Equipment, endorsements and correspondence with equipment and service. For a combined certificate verify coverage of all required scopes and surveys.

Operational Tips

Preparation checklist

FAQ

Are the thresholds identical?
No: Construction and Equipment from 500 GT, Radio from 300 GT within the relevant SOLAS scope.
Does the combined certificate remove surveys?
No. It retains the examinations required by the replaced certificates.
Does Radio have an intermediate survey?
The cargo Radio regime requires a periodical survey around each anniversary; do not confuse it with the Construction intermediate survey.
Does Form E replace the Equipment certificate?
No. It is the Record of Equipment to read with the pertinent certificate. Its presence does not replace due surveys and endorsements.

Related Topics

HSSCAnnual Survey

Certified substantive revision: 13 October 2026 · page fingerprint 4e2904c84014