Buying survival equipment is the easy part. Keeping it certified for the rest of its working life depends on picking a servicing provider whose authorisation actually covers your equipment, and that is where fleets quietly acquire a compliance problem they only discover at inspection.
The Question Behind the Question
Fleet managers usually arrive at this decision from one of two directions. Either they are choosing between buying equipment through a supplier or going direct to the manufacturer, or they are looking for a company to service what they already have. Both are really the same question, because the servicing relationship outlasts the purchase by years and determines whether the equipment stays certified.
The short answer is that it matters far less who sold you the raft than who is authorised to service it, and whether that authorisation covers the specific makes and models across your fleet. A cheaper purchase from a supplier with no servicing chain behind it becomes expensive the first time a vessel needs a service in a port where nobody can lawfully touch the equipment.
You buy life-saving appliances once. You service them every year for the life of the ship. The second relationship is the one that decides whether the first was a good decision.
What “Authorised” Actually Means Now
Before 2020 the picture was looser, and a competent local workshop could plausibly service a range of equipment. That changed with IMO Resolution MSC.402(96), which established requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul, and repair of lifeboats and rescue boats, launching appliances, and release gear. The central principle is that this work must be carried out by the manufacturer or by a service provider specifically authorised and certified for that equipment, working to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Alongside it sits the older but still governing framework for inflatable liferafts. IMO Resolution A.761(18) sets the conditions under which an Administration approves a servicing station for inflatable liferafts, covering manufacturer authorisation, facilities, technician training, and traceable procedures. Taken together, these instruments mean the relevant question is never “is this company reputable” but “is this company authorised, by this manufacturer, for this equipment, and accepted by my flag State”.
Manufacturer authorisation: Written authorisation from the equipment manufacturer covering the specific makes and models, not a general competence claim.
Administration approval: Approval by an Administration for the servicing being performed, with the certificate available and current.
Flag acceptance: Confirmation that your vessel’s flag State accepts that provider’s certification, since acceptance is not automatically universal.
Technician certification: Evidence that the individuals doing the work are trained and certified for that equipment, not just employed by an approved company.
Supplier or Manufacturer Direct
The buy-direct question has a genuine answer, and it is not the same for every fleet. Going direct to the manufacturer gives the tightest authorisation chain, since the manufacturer is by definition authorised for its own equipment, and it usually means the most current technical bulletins and parts. The cost is flexibility: a fleet running equipment from four manufacturers now manages four relationships, and manufacturers rarely have servicing capacity in every port their customers call at.
Working through a properly authorised supplier or servicing company can be the better answer for a mixed fleet, because a single provider holding authorisations across several manufacturers can service more of your equipment in more locations under one commercial arrangement. The risk is that authorisation is claimed more broadly than it is held, which is why the make and model check matters more than the company’s general reputation.
For most operators the deciding factor is fleet composition and trading pattern rather than principle. A single-manufacturer fleet on a fixed route often does best direct. A mixed fleet trading across a wide region usually needs an authorised multi-brand provider with real geographic coverage, and should verify authorisation brand by brand rather than accepting a blanket claim.
Coverage Is a Compliance Issue, Not Just Convenience
Servicing intervals do not pause for logistics. Inflatable liferafts, inflatable lifejackets, and marine evacuation systems must be serviced at intervals not exceeding twelve months, with any extension being a documented flag State decision rather than an operator’s choice. That means the provider’s network has to align with where your ships actually are when equipment falls due.
A provider who cannot reach your vessel in the month the service falls due is not a cheaper option. They are a detention risk with an invoice attached.
The practical test when evaluating a provider is to lay their servicing locations over your trading pattern and look for months where a due date lands somewhere they cannot cover. Exchange capability matters here too. Most operators avoid losing survival capacity by landing rafts and receiving serviced units of the same approved type, which requires the provider to hold appropriate stock of your models, not merely the ability to service them eventually.
What to Ask Before You Sign
Procurement conversations about life-saving appliances servicing tend to focus on price per unit, which is the least informative number available. These questions surface the things that actually determine whether the arrangement holds up.
The Records Are Part of the Service
One thing separates providers who cause problems from those who prevent them: the quality of what they hand back. A service is only useful at inspection if the documentation proves what was done, to which unit, by whom, and under what authorisation. Records should tie to raft serial numbers matching the units physically aboard, show the station’s approval, and confirm the pack contents were checked, since rations, pyrotechnics, and batteries expire on schedules of their own.
Poor providers return a dated stamp and little else, which passes casual review and unravels under a thorough one. Good providers return documentation an inspector can follow without asking questions, and they flag equipment approaching end of life rather than servicing it one more time and leaving the problem for next year. In a port state control environment where life-saving appliances remain among the most frequently cited categories, that difference is worth more than a modest saving on unit price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to buy life-saving appliances from a supplier or direct from the manufacturer?
It depends on fleet composition and trading pattern. Buying direct gives the tightest authorisation chain and the most current technical support, which suits fleets standardised on one manufacturer. A properly authorised multi-brand supplier can be better for mixed fleets trading widely, because one relationship can cover more equipment in more ports. In either case, verify authorisation for each specific make and model rather than accepting a general claim.
How do I verify that a servicing provider is genuinely authorised?
Ask for four things: written manufacturer authorisation covering your specific makes and models, the Administration approval certificate for the servicing station with its scope and expiry, confirmation that your flag State accepts that approval, and evidence that the individual technicians are certified for the equipment. A company being well established is not the same as being authorised for your equipment.
Can any competent workshop service liferafts and lifeboat release gear?
No. Under IMO Resolution MSC.402(96), maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, and overhaul of lifeboats, launching appliances, and release gear must be performed by the manufacturer or a specifically authorised and certified service provider. Inflatable liferaft servicing stations are approved under the framework in IMO Resolution A.761(18). Work outside that chain does not satisfy the requirement even if it is technically well done.
What happens if a provider is approved by a different flag State than my vessel’s?
Acceptance is not automatically universal. A servicing station approved by one Administration may or may not be accepted by yours, so this should be confirmed with your flag State before work is carried out rather than assumed afterwards. Discovering the mismatch at an inspection is considerably more expensive than checking beforehand.
Sources: IMO Resolution MSC.402(96), Requirements for maintenance, thorough examination, operational testing, overhaul and repair of lifeboats and rescue boats, launching appliances and release gear · IMO Resolution A.761(18), Recommendation on conditions for the approval of servicing stations for inflatable liferafts · IMO SOLAS Chapter III, Regulation 20, Operational readiness, maintenance and inspections · IMO International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code
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