Articles of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974

Article 1-General obligations under the Convention

Article II – Application- This Convention applies to ships authorized to fly the flag of a country to
which the Government is a party.

Article III-Laws, regulations:

Article IV - Cases of force majeure- is a French term that literally means “greater force." It is
related to the concept of an act of God, an event for which no party can be held accountable, such
as a hurricane or a tornado. Force majeure is used to describe any event that is unexpected by
parties to a contract, not caused by any party, and affects the relationship between them. Its use
can limit the ability of either party's duty to perform or require a party to intrude on a privilege of
the other.

Article V-Carriage of persons in emergency- the purpose of evacuating persons to prevent threats
to the safety of life, Contracting Governments may authorize their vessels to carry more personnel
than permitted under this Convention. This authorization shall not deprive other Contracting
Governments of the right under this Convention to inspect ships entering their ports. Notification
of such approval shall be addressed to the Secretary-General of the Agency by the Contracting
Government granting such approval, together with a statement of the circumstances.

Article VI - Prior treaties and conventions

Article VII- Special rules drawn up by agreement.
Article VIII – Amendments
Article IX- Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession

Article X - Entry into force- This Article 10 stipulates that SOLAS shall enter into force 12 months
after the date on which at least 25 countries, representing not less than 50% of the world's
merchant tonnage, have ratified the convention. Any instrument of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession deposited after the date on which the present Convention enters into force
shall take effect three months after the date of deposit. This provision ensures that a significant
number of maritime nations are bound by SOLAS before it becomes fully effective.

Article XI-Denunciation
Article XII - Deposit and registration
Article XIII- Languages