International Regulations - SOLAS — Most Asked Questions
20 questions asked about international regulations - solas across the General and Fn 3 papers, heaviest first.
Learn the system first
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1 Chapters of solas
Answer
SOLAS runs fourteen chapters from surveys to polar waters: I general, II-1 construction and machinery, II-2 fire, III life-saving, IV radio, V navigation — then cargoes to new codes.
- Chapter I: general provisions — surveys, certificates, port and flag state control.
- Chapter II-1: stability, subdivision, machinery, electrical and goal-based standards; II-2: fire protection with FSS and FTP codes.
- Chapter III: life-saving appliances; IV: radio and GMDSS; V: safety of navigation, voyage planning and manning.
- VI: carriage of cargoes; VII: dangerous goods; VIII: nuclear ships; IX: ISM; X: high-speed craft; XI-1 and XI-2: special measures and ISPS security; XII: bulk carriers; XIII and XIV: verification and polar waters.
Surveyor follow-up: fire patrol on a cargo ship — which chapter, and which code backs it?
Full theory: Maritime Codes & Conventions: The Complete List -
2 Statutory and mandatory certificate?
Also asked: “What is stutory and mandatory certificates”, “Statuatory and mandatory certificates”
Answer
Statutory certificates prove the ship meets the conventions; mandatory means port state will ask for them before anything else.
- SOLAS safety set: passenger ship safety or the cargo trio of construction, equipment and radio certificates, plus exemptions.
- Load line, tonnage, registry and classification prove identity, strength and allowed draft.
- Company and crew side: safety management, safe manning, seafarer competency and medical fitness documents.
- Trading extras surveyors check next: oil pollution prevention, sewage, air pollution, anti-fouling and ballast water certificates.
Surveyor follow-up: which certificate proves the load line, and which one proves the crew may legally sail her?
Full theory: Maritime Codes & Conventions: The Complete List -
3 All solas chapter name?
Answer
Fourteen chapters from keel to polar waters: general, construction, fire, life-saving, radio, navigation, cargoes and the management codes.
- I: general provisions and surveys; II-1: construction, subdivision, stability and machinery; II-2: fire protection.
- III: life-saving; IV: radio communications and GMDSS; V: navigation safety; VI: cargo carriage.
- VII: dangerous goods; VIII: nuclear ships; IX: ISM management; X: high-speed craft.
- XI-1 and XI-2: special measures and ISPS security; XII: bulk carriers; XIII and XIV: verification and polar waters.
Surveyor follow-up: carriage of grain in bulk — which chapter, and which code backs it?
Full theory: Maritime Codes & Conventions: The Complete List -
4 Solas chapter 12?
Answer
Chapter XII is the bulk-carrier chapter: survivability, surveys and hatch strength after the big losses of the nineties.
- Extra damage-stability and structural rules for bulk carriers over 150 metres.
- Enhanced survey programme with close-up hatch, hold and side-shell checks on schedule.
- Double-side and longitudinal strength standards so one flooded hold does not break the ship.
- Hatch covers, coamings and securing proved weathertight — the chapter that fails rusty ships.
Surveyor follow-up: bulk carrier with wasted hatch coamings offers to sail in ballast — which chapter stops her?
Full theory: SOLAS Chapter XII — Additional Safety Measures for Bulk Carriers -
5 specify the SOLAS chapter under which these requirements are covered
Answer
Name the chapter by the subject: construction, fire, life-saving, radio, navigation and cargoes each own one.
- Construction and machinery live in II-1, fire protection in II-2 with the FSS and FTP codes.
- Life-saving in III, radio and GMDSS in IV, navigation safety in V.
- Cargoes split VI for carriage, VII for dangerous goods, XII for bulk carriers on top.
- Management and security close the book: IX for ISM, X for high-speed craft, XI for ISPS, XIII and XIV for verification and polar waters.
Surveyor follow-up: fixed CO2 in the engine room — which chapter, and which code sizes it?
Full theory: Maritime Codes & Conventions: The Complete List -
6 All statutory certificate
Also asked: “All statutory cert”
Answer
Statutory certificates prove every convention on board: SOLAS trio, load line, tonnage, pollution, crew and class.
- SOLAS safety construction, equipment and radio — or one combined cargo-ship safety certificate — with exemptions.
- Registry, classification, tonnage and load-line certificates with stability booklet and safe-manning document.
- Pollution set: oil prevention, sewage, air, anti-fouling and ballast-water certificates with record books.
- All originals with surveys in date — an expired endorsement fails as hard as a missing certificate.
Surveyor follow-up: which three prove the ship herself is safe, and which one proves she may float at this draft?
Full theory: Major Certificates & Documents to Carry On Board -
7 Every ship shall be manned by enough crew to ensure the safety and security of the ship and its personnel, in accordance with the minimum safe manning document. complaint redressal system onboard
Also asked: “• Every ship shall be manned by enough crew to ensure the safety and security of the ship and its personnel, in accordance with the minimum safe manning document. complaint redressal system onboard”
Answer
Safe manning plus fair hearing: enough qualified crew per the manning document with a complaint route that cannot punish the complainant.
- Manning document states numbers, ranks and certificates for safe and secure operation — sail short and she is unseaworthy.
- Watchkeeping, language and familiarity rules sit behind the numbers with drills proving them.
- Complaints run HOD to master to company, flag and port state with representation and records at each step.
- No victimisation for good-faith complaints — the log and the manning document prove both halves.
Surveyor follow-up: one hand short with the document requiring him — sail, replace or reissue, and who decides?
Full theory: STCW: The Convention & Its Eight Chapters -
8 Solas training manual
Answer
The training manual teaches survival on paper: muster, fire, lifesaving and signals posted where the crew lives.
- Stowed in cabins and messes in working language with donning, muster and emergency instructions.
- Covers lifejackets, lifebuoys, boats, rafts, extinguishers and alarm signals with illustrations.
- Muster list beside it names stations, duties and substitutes with the master’s signature.
- Surveyors check presence, language and wear — a pristine manual means nobody opened it.
Surveyor follow-up: manual in English only with a mixed crew — compliant or not, and what fixes it tonight?
Full theory: SOLAS Chapter III — Life-Saving Appliances & Arrangements -
9 Solas chap name randomly nd which code comes under it
Answer
Name chapters with their codes: construction, fire, life-saving, radio, navigation, cargoes, management and security each own one.
- Construction and machinery in II-1, fire in II-2 with FSS and FTP codes.
- Life-saving in III, radio and GMDSS in IV, navigation in V.
- Cargoes across VI, VII and XII with ISM in IX, high-speed craft in X and ISPS in XI.
- Answer random chapters by subject first, code second — surveyors forgive order, never blanks.
Surveyor follow-up: fixed CO2 in the engine room — which chapter, and which code sizes it?
Full theory: Maritime Codes & Conventions: The Complete List -
10 Chapter 9? Explain chapter 9 in detail××
Answer
SOLAS Chapter IX makes the ISM Code law: the company runs a safety system, the flag proves it with DOC and SMC.
- Owners or managers as Company own the system with named responsibility, authority and shore support.
- Objectives are safety at sea, injury prevention and pollution avoidance through procedures, not slogans.
- DOC certifies the company office for five years; SMC certifies each ship — copies aboard for port-state proof.
- Maintain the system by audits and corrective action; major non-conformity withdraws the certificates together.
Surveyor follow-up: SMC valid with the DOC withdrawn ashore — sail, stay or re-certify, and who decides?
Full theory: SOLAS Chapter IX — ISM Code & Safety Management Systems -
11 Regualtion for emergency gen acc to solas
Answer
SOLAS parks the emergency set outside the engine room: above the top deck, aft of collision, auto-starting to full load in 45 seconds.
- Self-contained set above the uppermost continuous deck, reachable from open deck with its boards in the same space.
- Auto-starts on blackout inside 45 seconds at rated load, starting at 22.5° list with heating for cold.
- Two independent starting energies with fuel flash above 43°C kept for the emergency load hours.
- Cargo-ship Regulation 43 and passenger-ship Regulation 42 set the same spirit — quote your ship’s regulation by type.
Surveyor follow-up: emergency set cranking past 45 seconds with fuel proved warm — starting energy, load or governor first?
Full theory: The Emergency Generator — Location, Starting, Fuel and the Emergency Board -
12 Solas total chap
Answer
Name SOLAS by its fourteen chapters: construction through polar waters — never “about twelve” in the oral.
- Chapters I and IX–XI carry survey, ISM, ISPS and special measures with II-1 and II-2 on construction and fire.
- Chapters III–VIII carry life-saving, radio, navigation, cargoes, dangerous goods and nuclear ships.
- Chapters XII–XIV close with bulk carriers, high-speed craft and polar waters.
- Answer with your ship’s certificates mapped to chapters — construction, equipment, radio and security each in hand.
Surveyor follow-up: name the fire, LSA and radio chapters with the certificate each earns — II-2, III, IV or guess?
Full theory: Maritime Codes & Conventions: The Complete List -
13 Statutory certificates carried on board? (i told around 14
Answer
Lay fourteen-plus originals: registry, class, tonnage, load line, stability, manning with SOLAS safety trio and MARPOL set.
- Identity and class lead: registry, classification, tonnage, load-line pair, stability book and safe-manning document.
- SOLAS safety trio follows: construction, equipment and radio with exemptions where granted.
- MARPOL and security close: oil record book, sewage, garbage and air papers with ISSC and CSR.
- Flag expiry and endorsement pages out — the surveyor counts gaps, and fourteen claimed means fourteen shown.
Surveyor follow-up: construction certificate current with the equipment certificate a month expired — sail, renew or exempt?
Full theory: Maritime Codes & Conventions: The Complete List -
14 Chapter no 2 explain
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15 ISPS Code (chapter, what it is about, SSP
Answer
ISPS is SOLAS Chapter XI-2: every ship and company must run an approved security plan, proved by the ISSC and the CSR.
- Chapter XI-2 sets the obligations of contracting governments, the requirements for companies and ships, and the certification regime.
- The Ship Security Plan is the working document — the SSP — with security levels, duties, drills and the ship’s own arrangements.
- The company security officer and the ship security officer are named and responsible, with the master owning the ship’s security.
- Proved by the International Ship Security Certificate, the Continuous Synopsis Record, and the drills the surveyor witnesses.
Surveyor follow-up: SSP on board but the drill records missing for two quarters — is the plan working or filed?
Full theory: SOLAS Chapter XI — ISPS Code & Maritime Security -
16 Life saving appliances
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17 Solas ch14 name
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18 Solas which chapter is 11-2, 9, what comes under this in details
Answer
Chapter IX is safety management, Chapter XI-2 is maritime security — together they cover how the ship is run, not how it floats.
- Chapter IX carries the ISM Code: safety management objectives, the company’s system, the DOC and the SMC.
- Chapter XI carries safety and security of ships generally, with XI-2 the special measures to enhance maritime security — the ISPS regime.
- XI-2 gives the government obligations, the company and ship requirements, certification and the continuous synopsis record.
- Answer the pair as run and protect: Chapter IX says how the ship is managed safely, Chapter XI-2 says how it is protected.
Surveyor follow-up: SMC cited under Chapter XI-2 and the ISSC under Chapter IX — which chapter is which, and what proves it?
Full theory: Maritime Codes & Conventions: The Complete List -
19 Statutory certificates carried
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20 chp 12 of SOLAS
Source: 123 written papers and surveyor oral banks, 24,613 entries, merged into 17,210 topics. Ticks are stored on this device only.