SOLAS Convention

SOLAS Convention
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
Context	The sinking of the Titanic, 1912
Drafted	Initial version 1914;
Effective	26 May 1965 (1960 version); 25 May 1980 (current version SOLAS 1974);
Parties	167

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets out minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organization convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards.

Initially prompted by the sinking of the Titanic, the current version of SOLAS is the 1974 version, known as SOLAS 1974, which came into force on 25 May 1980,^[1] and has been amended several times. As of April 2022^[update], SOLAS 1974 has 167 contracting states,^[1] which flag about 99% of merchant ships around the world in terms of gross tonnage.^[1]

SOLAS in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.^[2]^[3]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Status of Conventions". IMO.org. International Maritime Organization. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
^ Cite error: The named reference IMO-1974 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Implications of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for the International Maritime Organization, Study by the Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (PDF), International Maritime Organization, 19 January 2012, p. 11, archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2015, retrieved 6 April 2013, As of December 2011, the three conventions that include the most comprehensive sets of rules and standards on safety, pollution prevention and training and certification of seafarers, namely, SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW, have been ratified by 159, 150 and 154 States, respectively (representing approximately 99% gross tonnage of the world's merchant fleet).

[IMO-Conventionstatus-1] "Status of Conventions". IMO.org. International Maritime Organization. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.

[IMO-1974-2] Cite error: The named reference IMO-1974 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[IMO-Implicatiins-3] Implications of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for the International Maritime Organization, Study by the Secretariat of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (PDF), International Maritime Organization, 19 January 2012, p. 11, archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2015, retrieved 6 April 2013, As of December 2011, the three conventions that include the most comprehensive sets of rules and standards on safety, pollution prevention and training and certification of seafarers, namely, SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW, have been ratified by 159, 150 and 154 States, respectively (representing approximately 99% gross tonnage of the world's merchant fleet).

[1]

[2]

[3]