This document specifies performance and testing requirements for gas inflation systems for inflatable life-saving appliances.
NOTE It is suitable for inflatable life-saving appliances complying with the requirements of the 1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS 74), as amended, and the IMO International Life-Saving Appliance Code (LSA Code) as amended, adopted by IMO Resolution MSC.48(66).
This document applies to gas inflation systems which consist of an inflation gas, a gas cylinder valve, a gas cylinder operating head, high-pressure hoses, and pressure-relief/transfer, inflate/deflate and non-return valves. This document addresses only systems in which compressed inflation gas in cylinders is used as the inflation medium.
National requirements for qualification, use, and testing of gas cylinders vary widely. Such requirements for gas cylinders are not addressed in this document, but it is presupposed that gas cylinders meet the requirements of the applicable regulatory bodies. The systems addressed in this document are of the type generally used in life-saving appliances, such as survival craft, marine evacuation systems, and means of rescue. Systems used in personal life-saving appliances, such as inflatable lifejackets, are addressed in ISO 12402-7.