International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)

IMO convention establishing minimum safety standards for ship construction, equipment, and operation including fire protection and life-saving appliances. Applies to all passenger and cargo ships on international voyages.

12

Rules extracted

192

Obligations decomposed

16.0x

Avg obligations per rule

🌐 International

Jurisdiction

About this regulation

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is the most important international treaty concerning the safety of merchant ships. SOLAS specifies minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships, including structural subdivision and stability, fire protection and detection, life-saving appliances, radio communications, safety of navigation, carriage of cargoes, dangerous goods, nuclear ships, the ISM Code for safety management, the ISPS Code for maritime security, high-speed craft, and verification of compliance. SOLAS applies to ships engaged on international voyages.

What AuditDSS covers

Source

1

Regulation

Extracted

12

Rules

Decomposed

192

Obligations

16.0x

Decomposition ratio

Each rule is decomposed into an average of 16.0 atomic obligations — the smallest testable units that can be independently violated.

Fully extracted & scored

All 192 obligations have been decomposed, titled, risk-scored, and embedded for semantic matching.

Risk scoring

Every obligation in IMO-SOLAS is scored across independent risk dimensions:

W

Obligation Weight

How critical within the regulatory framework

L

Violation Likelihood

How often breached in practice

E

Enforcement Evidence

Regulator enforcement history and penalties

C

Cascade Dependency

How many obligations depend on this one

Regulatory details

Full title
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
Regulatory body
International Maritime Organization
Jurisdiction
🌐 International
Document type
convention
Effective date
January 1, 2025
Issuing authority
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Official source
View source document ↗

Who this applies to

Key requirements

  • Chapter II-1 — Construction: Subdivision and Stability
  • Chapter II-2 — Fire Protection, Detection and Extinction
  • Chapter III — Life-Saving Appliances and Arrangements
  • Chapter IV — Radio Communications
  • Chapter V — Safety of Navigation
  • Chapter VI — Carriage of Cargoes and Oil Fuels
  • Chapter VII — Carriage of Dangerous Goods
  • Chapter VIII — Nuclear Ships
  • Chapter IX — ISM Code: Management for Safe Operation
  • Chapter XI-2 — ISPS Code: Maritime Security
  • Chapter X — Safety of High-Speed Craft
  • Chapter XI-1 — Verification of Compliance

Frequently asked questions about IMO-SOLAS

What is IMO-SOLAS?

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is the most important international treaty concerning the safety of merchant ships. SOLAS specifies minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships, including structural subdivision and stability, fire protection and detection, life-saving appliances, radio communications, safety of navigation, carriage of cargoes, dangerous goods, nuclear ships, the ISM Code for safety management, the ISPS Code for maritime security, high-speed craft, and verification of compliance. SOLAS applies to ships engaged on international voyages.

Who does IMO-SOLAS apply to?

IMO-SOLAS applies to .

How many obligations does IMO-SOLAS contain?

AuditDSS has decomposed IMO-SOLAS into 192 atomic obligations from 12 rules. Each obligation is independently testable and risk-scored.

What are the key requirements of IMO-SOLAS?

The key requirements include: Chapter II-1 — Construction: Subdivision and Stability, Chapter II-2 — Fire Protection, Detection and Extinction, Chapter III — Life-Saving Appliances and Arrangements, Chapter IV — Radio Communications, Chapter V — Safety of Navigation, Chapter VI — Carriage of Cargoes and Oil Fuels, Chapter VII — Carriage of Dangerous Goods, Chapter VIII — Nuclear Ships, Chapter IX — ISM Code: Management for Safe Operation, Chapter XI-2 — ISPS Code: Maritime Security, Chapter X — Safety of High-Speed Craft, Chapter XI-1 — Verification of Compliance.

How can I assess my IMO-SOLAS compliance?

Upload your compliance policy to AuditDSS. The platform maps your document against all 192 IMO-SOLAS obligations using deterministic AI scoring — not checklists or LLM summaries. You get a risk-scored gap analysis showing exactly which obligations are covered, partially covered, or missing.

Which jurisdiction enforces IMO-SOLAS?

IMO-SOLAS is enforced in International by International Maritime Organization.

When did IMO-SOLAS come into effect?

IMO-SOLAS became effective on January 1, 2025.

What industry does IMO-SOLAS apply to?

IMO-SOLAS is primarily relevant to the Maritime & Shipping industry. AuditDSS covers 66 regulations in this industry sector.

Build a IMO-SOLAS compliance pack

Don't have a compliance policy yet? AuditDSS generates a complete compliance pack for IMO-SOLAS — alone or combined with other regulations your business needs. Every clause is mapped to specific obligations.

Policy

High-level commitments and governance framework covering IMO-SOLAS requirements.

Procedures

Step-by-step operational procedures to implement each policy commitment.

Forms & checklists

Ready-to-use forms, registers, and checklists for day-to-day compliance operations.

Multi-regulation

Combine IMO-SOLAS with other regulations into a single unified compliance pack for your business.

Already have a policy? Assess it against IMO-SOLAS

1

Upload your document

Upload your compliance policy, program manual, or operational document. AuditDSS accepts any text-based document.

2

AI maps against 192 obligations

Your document is scored against every obligation in IMO-SOLAS. Each claim is mapped to the obligation tree and evaluated for coverage.

3

Risk-scored gap report

Receive every gap ranked by risk priority with remediation guidance, enforcement evidence, and cascade impact analysis.

Related regulations in Maritime & Shipping

Assess your IMO-SOLAS compliance

Upload your document and get a risk-scored gap analysis against 192 IMO-SOLAS obligations in under 5 minutes.