Overview
ISO 13122:2011 - Ships and marine technology - Launching appliances for davit-launched liferafts - specifies requirements for the performance, design, construction, operation, safety, inspection, maintenance, testing and acceptance of launching appliances used to stow, turn out, lower and recover davit-launched liferafts on seagoing ships. The standard provides practical guidance aligned with SOLAS and IMO resolutions and forms a common basis for shipowners, shipbuilders and approving authorities.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Performance requirements
- Launching appliances must operate using manpower, gravity or stored mechanical power independent of the ship’s power.
- Designed to function with ship trim up to 10° and list up to 20° either way.
- Controlled lowering speeds: S = 0.4 + 0.02H (m/s) where H is davit head to waterline; limits specified (typical maximum 1.0 m/s unless authority permits up to 1.3 m/s; non-loaded lower limit 0.1 m/s).
- Structural strength & safety factors
- Davit arm/frame must resist dynamic load = 1.1 × maximum working load and static load = 2.2 × maximum working load in worst-case conditions.
- Minimum safety factors: loose gears, falls, release hook = 6; davit/frame = 4.5; winch/turning device = 4.5.
- Materials and construction
- Materials must withstand -30 °C to +65 °C and resist corrosion; major structural thickness commonly ≥ 6 mm unless stainless with suitable corrosion resistance.
- Falls (wire ropes) must be rotation-resistant and corrosion-protected; at least three dead turns must remain on the winch drum after lowering.
- Sheave sizing: diameter ≥ 12 × falls diameter; groove depth ≥ 1.5 × falls diameter.
- Winch & braking
- Winches can be manual, electric, hydraulic or pneumatic; brakes must hold static 1.5 × maximum working load and withstand dynamic braking at 1.1 × maximum working load.
- Manual winch handle limits and enclosure protection per referenced electrical/pressure standards.
- Operation, inspection & testing
- Requirements for manual recovery, rapid recovery for multiple liferaft systems, icing performance, accessibility for maintenance, plus prototype and production acceptance testing and marking.
Applications and users
ISO 13122:2011 is used by:
- Shipowners, shipbuilders and marine designers specifying safe liferaft launching systems.
- Equipment manufacturers and suppliers of davits, winches, falls and release hooks.
- Classification societies, flag states and surveyors for type approval, acceptance testing and statutory compliance with SOLAS/IMO requirements.
- Shipboard crews and maintenance teams for operation, inspection and maintenance regimes.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO 13122:2011, launching appliances, davit-launched liferafts, davit, winch, automatic release hook, maritime safety, SOLAS, liferaft testing, ship inspection.