This International Standard specifies performance and testing requirements for the gas inflation systems 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), adopted by IMO Resolution MSC.48(66).
For the purposes of this International Standard, the gas inflation system consists of inflation gas, cylinder valve, cylinder operating head, high-pressure hoses, and pressure-relief, inflate/deflate, non-return and transfer valves. This International Standard addresses only systems in which compressed inflation gas in cylinders is used as the inflation medium.
Because national requirements for qualification, use, and testing of gas-cylinders vary widely, requirements for gas-cylinders are not addressed in this International Standard, but should meet the requirements of the applicable regulatory bodies. The systems addressed in this International Standard are of the type generally used in primary 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 elsewhere.