Plug N° Whatis SOLAS Convention? The word SOLAS is an abbreviation and SOLAS full formis “Safety Of Life AtSi a”, an International maritime treaty, alsoknown as SOLAS Convention or International Convention for the Safety of Life atSea (SOLAS), whichestablishes the least safetymeasures in the construction, equipment and operation of merchantships. IMO SOLAS 74, the last adoptedrevised convention of 1974, includes a number of regulationsunderdifferent SOLAS chapters, which deals withsafetyprecautions and safetyproceduresstartingfrom the construction of the ship to real emergency like ~ “Abandon Ship”. The convention isupdated to meet the safetynorms in the modern shipping industryfrom time to time. SOLAS CONTENT: The SOLAS 1974 international maritime treaty comprises of 13 chapters and eachchapter has itsown set of regulations. The Following are the list of SOLAS all 14 chapters and the regulationstheycontain: Chapter I - General Provisions: Surveys and certification of all the safety items etc are included. Chapter II-1 - Construction — Subdivision and stability, machinery and electricalinstallations: Deals withwatertightintegrity of the ship, especially for passengervessel. Chapter II-2 — Fire protection, firedetection and fire extinction: This chapterelaborates the means and measure for fire protection in accommodation, cargo spaces and engine room for the passenger, cargo and tanker ship. Chapter III ~ Life-savingappliances and arrangements: All the life-savingappliances and there use in different situations isdescribed.Chapter IV — Radio communications: Includesrequirements of GMDSS. SART, EPIRB ete for cargo and passengervessel ssels of all Chapter V ~ Safety of navigation: This chapter deals with all the seagoin, izes, fromboats to VLCCs, and includes passage planning, navi ignal ete, Chapter VI — Carriage of Cargoes: This chapterdefinesstorage and securing of different types of cargo and containers, but does not includeoil and gas cargo. Chapter VII — Carriage of dangerousgoods: Defines the International Maritime Goods Code for storage and transportation of dangerousgoods. Chapter VIII — Nuclearships: The code of safety for a nuclear-propelledshipisstated in thischapter. The International Safety Chapter IX - Management for the SafeOperation of Shi Management code for shipowner and the operatorisdescribedclearly. Chapter X — Safetymeasures for high-speed craft: safety code for the high-speed craft isexplained. Chapter XI-1 & 2- Specialmeasures to enhance maritime safety: Special and enhancedsurvey for safeoperation, otheroperationalrequirements and ISPS code isbriefed in thischapter. Chapter XII - Additionalsafetymeasures for bulk carriers: Includessafetyrequirement for above 150 meterslength bulk carrier. a — Verification of Compliance Chapter XIV -SafetyMeasures for Ships Operating in Polar Waters