A marine crane is a load-path problem wrapped in a piece of machinery. The hook, wire rope, sheaves, boom, hydraulic system and foundation all share the same load, and the certificate that matters is the one showing the whole assembly has been designed, tested and examined against a recognized standard. For shipboard lifting appliances, that framework changed at the start of 2026, so buyers and operators now need a more explicit certification and inspection routine.
The new SOLAS baseline for lifting appliances
ABS reports that in June 2023 the IMO Maritime Safety Committee adopted Resolution MSC.532(107), which amends SOLAS by introducing new regulations II-1/2 and II-1/3-13 covering onboard lifting appliances and anchor handling winches. The associated Guidelines for Lifting Appliances (MSC.1/Circ.1663) and Guidelines for Anchor Handling Winches (MSC.1/Circ.1662) support implementation, and the regulations took effect on 1 January 2026 (ABS, SOLAS Requirements for Lifting Appliances and Anchor Handling Winches).
ABS notes that the decision was driven by increasing accidents involving lifting appliances and winches, following an analysis of maritime accident data and a review of instruments such as ILO Convention 152. The amendments address application, design, construction, operation, inspection, testing and maintenance, aimed at preventing harm to personnel, ships, cargo and the environment (ABS).
Certification and load testing
For appliances installed on or after 1 January 2026, the ABS summary of the guidelines states that lifting appliances should be designed, constructed and installed according to a recognized classification society or standards providing an equivalent level of safety. They should be load tested after installation and before initial use, and after major repairs or modifications, and retested at least once every five years. Thorough examinations should be conducted on completion of any load test and annually (ABS).
Compliance is not a single certificate. The guidance describes plan appraisal, material verification, survey, testing and examination during fabrication, verification of component certificates including loose gear, and onboard testing and thorough examination. Loose gear should have documentary evidence of a proof test, be permanently marked with a unique identification and safe working load, and be retested after major repairs or modifications. All certified appliances should be recorded in the Register of Ship’s Lifting Appliances and Cargo Handling Gear, with the certificate of test and thorough examination attached (ABS).
Existing appliances are not ignored. ABS notes that initial compliance for equipment installed before 2026 is required by the first renewal Cargo Ship Safety Construction survey, or the annual Passenger Ship Safety survey, and that equipment with valid certification under another international instrument issued before January 2026 can be treated as compliant (ABS).
Class societies and national requirements
Classification societies sit inside this framework but do not replace it. LR’s marine lifting appliances guidance notes that many countries have requirements about the design and ongoing inspection of marine and offshore cranes and lifting equipment. It also points to ILO Convention 152 and its register of lifting appliances and items of loose gear, noting ratification by 25 countries, and observes that lifting appliances on ships and offshore rigs are not automatically classed assets, although they can fall under optional class rules. Certification can be carried out against standards including API 2C, LAME and EN standards (LR, Marine Lifting Appliances).
That plurality is why the scope of certification has to be written down. A crane described as “certified” may have been certified for a rated capacity, a particular standard, a particular installation, or a combination of all three. The buyer’s question is not whether a certificate exists but what it covers and which edition of which standard it references.
Periodic inspection and thorough examination
The UK’s Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) provide a useful benchmark for what a periodic examination regime looks like, even though HSE notes that lifting equipment used on ships is generally excluded because merchant shipping legislation applies, with an HSE–MCA–MAIB agreement to coordinate enforcement (HSE, LOLER overview). LOLER requires equipment to be of adequate strength and stability, clearly marked with its safe working load, subject to thorough examination in defined situations, and supported by records and defect reporting.
HSE’s guidance for employers states that thorough examination is required, where appropriate, before first use and at periods specified in the regulations — at least six-monthly for accessories and equipment used for lifting people and at minimum annually for all other equipment, or at intervals set by an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person (HSE, Lifting equipment at work). The examination report must contain the items specified in Schedule 1 of LOLER, and where a defect is identified the equipment must not be used until it is remedied, with the defect confirmed in writing and reported to the enforcing authority (HSE, Thorough examination of lifting equipment).
For marine operators, the same logic appears in flag-state and class requirements: a defined scope, a competent person, a written report and a clear consequence when defects are found.
Wire ropes, hooks and loose gear
Wire rope is where degradation is easiest to miss. ISO 4309:2017 establishes general principles for the care, maintenance, inspection and discard of steel wire ropes used on cranes and hoists, including storage, handling, installation and maintenance, plus discard criteria for running ropes subject to multi-layer spooling where deterioration is significantly greater at crossover zones on the drum than elsewhere. It also provides criteria for diameter reduction and corrosion and a method for assessing the combined effect of deterioration at any position in the rope, and it applies to offshore cranes among other types (ISO 4309:2017).
Inspection itself is standardized too. ISO 9927-1:2013 specifies general requirements for inspections to be carried out on cranes, with additional requirements for particular crane types intended to be covered by the relevant parts of the standard (ISO 9927:2013). Hooks and other loose gear sit on the same inspection cycle: proof-test evidence, permanent identification and safe working load marking are the minimum documentation, and a major repair or modification should trigger retesting (ABS).
What to verify across the lifecycle
| Stage | Evidence to request |
|---|---|
| Design and fabrication | Plan appraisal, material certificates, survey and testing records, component certificates. |
| Installation | Load test report, thorough examination on completion, calibration records for test equipment. |
| Operation | Rated capacity and SWL marking, operating manual, maintenance schedule, loose gear identification. |
| Periodic survey | Annual thorough examination, five-yearly retest, register entries, wire-rope inspection and discard records. |
| Repair or modification | Re-test and re-examination before return to service, with updated register entries. |
Where to start
Buyers can compare equipment categories such as deck and mooring equipment and other marine equipment, and set out the lifting task, rated capacity, duty, installation environment and required certification standard in the inquiry form. Asking for the certificate scope, the standard edition and the examination regime at quotation stage avoids surprises when the equipment reaches the ship or the yard.
A crane is only as good as its weakest documented link. Load testing, thorough examination and wire-rope care are not overheads on the purchase; they are the evidence that the purchase is fit for its purpose.
Sources
- ABS — SOLAS Requirements for Lifting Appliances and Anchor Handling Winches
- LR — Marine Lifting Appliances
- HSE — Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)
- HSE — Lifting equipment at work: a brief guide (INDG290)
- HSE — Thorough examination of lifting equipment
- ISO 4309:2017 — Cranes — Wire ropes — Care and maintenance, inspection and discard (abstract)
- ISO 9927-1:2013 — Cranes: inspections (abstract)
