If you are a cadet officer or a deck officer and you desire to refresh what is the lsa code, you are in the right place; consider that this article is made to help all the officers and deck cadet, that need to know what is the purpose of it, and more importantly what is the content of it.
What is the lsa code? The lsa code is a code adopted by IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee in June 1966. It provides international requirements for:
Page Contents
1-life-saving appliances:
- lifebuoys, lifejackets
- immersion suits
- anti-exposure suits
- thermal protective aids
2-visual aids:
- parachute flares,
- hand flares
- buoyant smoke signals
3-survival craft
- Liferaft
- Lifeboats
- Rescue boets
- Launching and embarkation appliances
- Marine evacuation systems
And general alarm and public address system.
If you are still curious to know more about the lsa code, keep reading.
When the Lsa code entered in force?
The code entered in force on 1 July 1998.
How many chapters the Lsa code has?
The lsa code has 7 chapters plus one chapter dedicated to Testing and evaluating life-saving appliances code.
Chapter 1 Lsa code
The chapter is about the general definitions, what convention means, and other technique terminology that a reader should read to understand the meaning.
In that part, we also found the requirements for the life-saving appliances, for example:
- the resistance temperature of a lifeboat
- Resistance to deterioration
- It says that it should be fitted with retro-reflective material
What is chapter 2 of lsa code?
Chapter 2 of the code of the life-saving appliance is about :
- Lifebuoys
- Lifejackets
- Immersion suits
- Anti-exposure suits
- Thermal protective aids
Chapter 3 of lsa code
The main subject for chapter 3 is Visual signals more specific it five requirements:
- Rocket parachute flares
- Hand flares
- Buoyant smoke signals
- General requirements for liferafts
Chapter 4 lsa code
Chapter 4 is regarding the Survival craft:
- Inflatable liferafts
- Rigid liferafts
- General requirements for lifeboats
- Partially enclosed lifeboats
- Free-fall lifeboats
- Lifeboats with a self-contained air support system
- Fire-protection lifeboats
Chapter 5 lsa code
All this part is dedicated to the rescue boat
Chapter 6 lsa code
- Launching and embarkation appliances
- Marine evacuation system
Chapter 7 lsa code
Other life-saving appliances as;
- Line-Throwing appliances
- General alarm and public address system
The last part of the code is regarding Testing and evaluation of life-saving appliances.
Conclusion
Use that article when you need to refresh the lsa code or need it for a fast reference. I tried to do it more intuitively because, as seafarers, I believe that the need to have immediate access to what we need and know what and where to find the difference between being a professional officer.
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