The Maritime Safety Committee, at its ninety-first session (26 to 30 November 2012), approved the MSC.1/Circ.1447 – Guidelines for the development of plans and procedures for recovery of persons from the water (click here), aiming at providing additional guidance on the application of the requirements in SOLAS regulation III/17-1.

These Guidelines should be read & developed in conjunction with the Guide to recovery techniques (MSC.1/Circ.1182) and the Guide for cold water survival (MSC.-CIRC. 1185-REV.1).

All ships are to be provided with plans and procedures for recovery of persons from the water. The plans and procedures (which do not need to be approved by the Administration) are to identify the equipment intended to be used for recovery purposes and measures to be taken to minimize the risk to shipboard personnel involved in recovery operations.

The plans and procedures should be considered as a part of the emergency preparedness plan required by paragraph 8 of part A of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code.

Ships constructed on/after 1 July 2014 are to comply at delivery.

Ships constructed before 1 July 2014 shall comply by the first intermediate or first renewal survey of the ship to be carried out after 1 July 2014, whichever comes first.

Ro‐ro passenger ships which are fitted with an approved marine evacuation system comply with this regulation.