Asbestos on board ships

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974

The December 2000 amendments
Adoption: 6 December 2000
Entry into force: 1 July 2002

The new regulation in SOLAS Chapter II-1 (Construction - Structure, subdivision and stability, machinery and electrical installations) prohibits the new installation of materials which contain asbestos on all ships.

Regulation 3-5 New installation of materials containing asbestos states that the regulation shall apply to materials used for the structure, machinery, electrical installations and equipment covered by the SOLAS Convention.

For all ships, new installation of materials which contain asbestos shall be prohibited except for:

• vanes used in rotary vane compressors and rotary vane vacuum pumps;
• watertight joints and linings used for the circulation of fluids when, at high temperature (in excess of 350ºC) or pressure (in excess of 7 x 106 Pa), there is a risk of fire, corrosion or toxicity; and
• supple and flexible thermal insulation assemblies used for temperatures above 1000ºC.