46 CFR § 160.050-3 - Materials.
(a) General. All exposed materials must be resistant to oil or oil products, salt water and anticipated weather conditions encountered at sea. All components used in construction of buoys and life rings must meet the applicable requirements of subpart 164.019 of this chapter.
(b) Unicellular plastic. The unicellular plastic material used in fabrication of the buoy body shall meet the requirements of subpart 164.015 of this subchapter for Type C material. The buoy's body shall be finished with two coats of vinyl base paint. The ring life buoys shall be either international orange (Color No. 12197 of Federal Standard 595) or white in color and the colorfastness shall be rated “good” when tested in accordance with Federal Test Method Standard No. 191 Methods 5610, 5630, 5650, and 5660.
On vessels on an international voyage, all ring life buoys shall be international orange in color.)
(c) Grab line. The grab line shall be 3/8-inch diameter polyethylene, polypropylene, or other suitable buoyant type synthetic material having a minimum breaking strength of 1,350 pounds.
(d) Beckets. The beckets for securing the grab line shall be 2-inch polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, saran or other suitable synthetic material having a minimum breaking strength of 585 pounds. In addition, polyethylene and polypropylene shall be weather-resistant type which is stabilized as to heat, oxidation, and ultraviolet light degradation.
(e) Thread. Each thread must meet the requirements of subpart 164.023 of this chapter. Only one kind of thread may be used in each seam.