International Safety of Life at Sea treaty

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards.

The current version of SOLAS is the 1974 version, known as SOLAS 1974, which came into force on 25 May 1980. As of March 2016, SOLAS 1974 had 162 contracting states, which flag about 99% of merchant ships around the world in terms of gross tonnage.

SOLAS in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.

As at March 2016, SOLAS 1974 had 162 contracting States, which flag about 99% of merchant ships around the world in terms of gross tonnage. As of 2015^[update], the non-parties to SOLAS 1974 include Bolivia, Lebanon and Sri Lanka, all considered flag of convenience states.

SOLAS 1974 requires flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with the minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The treaty includes articles setting out general obligations, etc, followed by an annexe divided into twelve chapters, two new chapters were added in 2016 and 2017. Of these, chapter five (often called 'SOLAS V') is the only one that applies to all vessels on the sea, including private yachts and small craft on local trips as well as to commercial vessels on international passages. Many countries have turned these international requirements into national laws so that anybody on the sea who is in breach of SOLAS V requirements may find themselves subject to legal proceedings.

The first version of SOLAS Treaty was passed in 1914 in response to the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which prescribed numbers of lifeboats and other emergency equipment along with safety procedures, including continuous radio watches. The 1914 treaty never entered into force due to the outbreak of the First World War.

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