46 CFR § 131.545 - Maintenance in general.

(a) For each lifesaving appliance, the manufacturer's instructions for maintenance of the appliances aboard must be aboard and must include the following:

(1) Checklists for use in the inspections required by § 131.565(a) of this subpart.

(2) Instructions for maintenance and repair.

(3) A schedule of periodic maintenance.

(4) A diagram of lubrication points with the recommended lubricants.

(5) A list of replaceable parts.

(6) A list of sources of spare parts.

(7) A log for records of inspections, maintenance, and repair.

(b) The master shall ensure that maintenance is carried out to comply with the instructions required by paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) For lifesaving appliances constructed on or before July 1, 1986, paragraph (a) of this section need be complied with only to the extent that appliances' manufacturers' instructions are available.

(d) The cognizant OCMI may accept, instead of the instructions required by paragraph (a) of this section, a program for planned shipboard maintenance that includes the items listed in that paragraph.

(e) If lifeboats and rigid liferafts are maintained and repaired on the vessel while the vessel is under way, there must be enough lifeboats and liferafts available for use on the vessel to accommodate each person aboard the vessel.

(f) Except in an emergency, no extensive repairs or alterations may be made to any lifesaving appliance without advance notice to the cognizant OCMI. As far as possible, each repair or alteration must be made to comply with the requirements for the appliance in subchapter Q of this chapter. This OCMI may require each appliance that has been extensively repaired or in any way altered to undergo each pertinent test in subchapter Q of this chapter.

(g) The master shall report each emergency repair or alteration to a lifesaving appliance, as soon as practicable, either to the OCMI in the next port in the United States where the vessel calls or, if the vessel does not regularly call at ports in the United States, to the OCMI responsible for the next foreign port where the vessel calls.

(h) No lifeboat or rigid liferaft may be repaired or reconditioned for use on a vessel other than the one it was originally built for, unless specifically permitted by the cognizant OCMI. The lifeboat or rigid liferaft must be so repaired or reconditioned under the supervision of this OCMI, unless he or she specifically allows otherwise.