The MCA introduces MGN 558 Amendment 1 on Marine Evacuation Systems (MES) servicing and deployments

Published on: 17 June 2021

Marine Guidance Note (MGN) 558 amendment 1 clarifies the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) interpretation of requirements for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter III/20.8.2: rotational deployments of Marine Evacuation Systems (MES) with respect to the roles that different parties should play, and the pass criteria for the deployment.

It also recommends the expansion of rotational deployment requirements to cover MES that do not fall within the scope of SOLAS but are permitted under carriage provisions in UK Statutory Instruments. This note also explains the position of the MCA with respect to the provision of SOLAS Chapter III/20.8.1.1 to extend MES service intervals, the MCA encourages ship specific training for the use of MES by taking advantage of the rotational deployment as a training opportunity.

The MCA has reformed the reporting structure and its data collation on the success rate of six yearly rotational deployments with the aim of making informed future policy decisions with respect to MES.

MGN 558 can be downloaded here.

British Marine members can contact [email protected] for further information or guidance.

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