The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has published an amended MGN 548 that details how SOLAS-certificated life-saving appliance servicing stations can gain the necessary approval from the UK Secretary of State to act as a UK Approved Service Station. It also provides some essential considerations for vessel owners.
Before submitting a SOLAS-certificated inflatable life-saving appliance (LSA) to a service station, owners, masters, or skippers of UK-registered ships, fishing vessels, and small commercial vessels, should check that the station is a UK-Approved Service Station and, therefore, is capable of servicing the particular make and model of equipment.
Where a UK ship, fishing vessel, small commercial vessel, or pleasure vessel is carrying SOLAS-certificated inflatable LSA which needs servicing in a country other than the UK, the MCA will also accept service stations which are accredited by the relevant OEM and have been approved by the relevant maritime Administration of that country in accordance with IMO Resolution A.761(18), as amended. In such cases it remains the responsibility of the owner, master, or skipper to ensure that any service station used to service a SOLAS-certificated inflatable LSA meets these criteria.
If a product was manufactured by a company for which there is no UK-based Approved Service Station, it is the responsibility of the owner, master, skipper or agent to contact the OEM and request details on the location of manufacturer Approved Service Stations for the specific equipment. In all cases, only a service station accredited by the relevant OEM and approved by a Maritime Administration in accordance with IMO resolution A.761(18) may be used.
