Near-miss: Faulty lifebuoys discovered
- Safety Flash
- Published on 26 October 2012
- Generated on 15 February 2026
- IMCA SF 11/12
- 1 minute read
A Member has reported an incident in which defects were discovered on several lifebuoys aboard a company-owned vessel.
What happened?
During ‘routine’ life-saving appliance checks, it was noted the plug/stopper on one of the lifebuoys was missing. The position where the plug/stopper should have been is shown in the photographs below. These should have been put in place by the manufacturer. In this instance, the lack of the plug had resulted in one lifebuoy being full of water with a resultant loss of buoyancy. A further four lifebuoys were found to have the plugs missing.
The lifebuoy type was EVAL, E.G. Vallianatos S.P.A Greece, Code 559.
Members are recommended to conduct a visual check and, where necessary, a weight check on all lifebuoys onboard for this potential issue. It is recommended to amend onboard planned maintenance schedules such that that they include quality control checks and inspection of lifebuoys.
Lifebuoy plug/stopper insert location covered by retro-reflective tape
Lifebuoy plug/stopper insert location showing lack of plug when tape removed
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