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Life jacket and lifebuoy lights: what SOLAS requires

A life jacket light must give 0.75 cd for 8 hours; a lifebuoy light 2 cd for 2 hours. The SOLAS rules for both, how they switch on, and MM’s two lights.

Post · · Figures reviewed

An MM lifebuoy light floating upright and lit on dark water
A generated illustration, made from MM’s photograph of the MMLBL lifebuoy light.

At night a person in the water is found by a light, and SOLAS asks for two kinds: one on the life jacket, and one on the lifebuoy thrown to them. They look alike and are tested to different rules. This post sets the two side by side.

Two lights, two rules

Life jacket lights: LSA Code 2.2.3. Lifebuoy self-igniting lights: LSA Code 2.1.2.
RequirementLife jacket lightLifebuoy light
Intensity, upper hemisphereAt least 0.75 cdAt least 2 cd
DurationAt least 8 hoursAt least 2 hours
ColourWhiteWhite
If flashing50 to 70 a minute50 to 70 a minute
Switching onA flashing light has a manual switchSelf-igniting: water switches it on

The difference makes sense: the lifebuoy light marks the spot from the first minutes after someone goes over, so it must be bright, survive the same drop as the ring and be impossible for water to put out; the life jacket light stays with the person through a long wait, so it must last.

How do they switch on?

A lifebuoy light has to be burning when it lands, so it is self-igniting: water switches it on. A life jacket light may be switched on by hand or by water; many are water-activated so that an unconscious or exhausted wearer does not have to find a switch. Both of MM’s lights are listed as water-activated.

MM’s two lights

The MMLJL is a water-activated LED light on a lanyard that fits and locks to the life jacket. The standards MM declares for each light are listed on its product page: the MMLJL and the MMLBL.

Life Jacket Light – MMLJL, as listed in MM’s catalogue data.
SpecificationValue
ActivationWater-activated LED, operates on contact with water
BatteryLithium, 8 hours
Luminous intensity0.75 cd
FitFits and locks to the life jacket
Lifebuoy Light (S.I. Light) – MMLBL, as listed in MM’s catalogue data.
SpecificationValue
ActivationWater-activated LED, operates on contact with water
BodyDurable plastic
BatteryLithium, 8 hours continuous
Luminous intensity2 cd
Flash rate70 flashes per minute
In waterPops up above the surface when immersed
The MM MMLJL water-activated life jacket light
MMLJL life jacket light. MM’s photograph.
The MM MMLBL lifebuoy self-igniting light
MMLBL lifebuoy light. MM’s photograph.

Smoke signals and how many lights a ship carries

Under SOLAS, at least half of a ship’s lifebuoys carry a self-igniting light, and at least two of those also carry a self-activating smoke signal that gives off highly visible smoke for at least 15 minutes. The lifebuoy post has the full fit-out and the numbers by ship length.

Checks for every light

  • The battery is inside the date printed on the light.
  • The lens is clean and uncracked, and the body is sound.
  • It is fixed where it belongs: locked to the jacket, or in the lifebuoy’s bracket so it goes overboard with the ring.
  • It is tested the way its instructions say, as part of the monthly check.

The whistle beside the jacket light

A SOLAS life jacket carries a whistle as well as a light; the SOLAS requirements post gives the rule. MM’s MMLJW life jacket whistle is non-corrosive, works either way up and sounds in air immediately after immersion, and a tether line attaches it to the jacket. MM lists it with IRS type approval as per the SOLAS LSA Code as amended, tested by an Indian Government approved laboratory, as stated by MM.

Every figure in the table is the LSA Code’s requirement; MM’s figures are its catalogue data. Approvals are as stated by MM Techno Plast; see what the approvals demand. Request a quote.

Request documents for the MMLBLView Life Saving Appliances
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