Decide
For a locally flagged charter boat, whose basic equipment rules apply?
The lesson in plain words
- Who sets the list
- In most countries the flag state, the country whose flag the boat flies, sets its safety equipment requirements.
- Some also apply their list to foreign boats kept there by residents.
- Check the registration: a charter boat may fly a foreign flag.
- Its flag-state requirements and applicable coastal-state and charter rules matter.
- The list grows with distance
- Countries use navigation zones or bands.
- Spain has seven zones measured from the coast or a shelter.
- France measures from a shelter: <2 NM, 2–<6 NM, 6–<60 NM and ≥60 NM.
- Portugal and Italy also use distance.
- Stay within the equipped band and any national operating limits.
- Separately, keep within the boat's design limits for wind and waves.
- The common core
- Common essentials include a lifejacket for each person, an anchor with suitable chain or rope, a bailer (water-scooping container) or pump, and a light.
- Check the required navigation lights and sound signals too.
- Further-out equipment often includes flares, a lifebuoy (rescue ring), compass, charts, fixed VHF radio, liferaft and an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), a satellite distress beacon.
- These are common patterns, not one legal list; carriage rules vary by country.
- In date and in working order
- Keep gear in working order. Flares have expiry dates; inflatable lifejackets, liferafts and extinguishers may need inspection or servicing.
- Follow the applicable expiry, inspection and servicing requirements.
- Where in-date equipment is required, expired items do not satisfy the required inventory.
- Lifejackets in newtons
- Buoyancy is the upward force that helps keep you afloat.
- It is measured in newtons (N). 50 N is a buoyancy aid for good swimmers near help. 100 N suits sheltered waters. 150 N suits coastal and offshore use, but waterproof clothing can prevent face-up flotation. 275 N is for heavy clothing and offshore work.
- Children need jackets that fit their weight.
Key data
- Lifejacket levels
- 50 N aid · 100 N sheltered · 150 N coastal/offshore · 275 N heavy
- France: bands from a shelter
- <2 NM · 2–<6 NM · 6–<60 NM · ≥60 NM
- Spain: zones
- 1 (unlimited) to 7 (ports and sheltered bays)
- Usual offshore additions
- Liferaft, fixed VHF with DSC, EPIRB, more flares
Key points
- Check the boat's actual flag, its equipment rules and applicable coastal-state or charter requirements.
- The list grows with distance from the coast or a shelter, zone by zone.
- Legal lists vary. Carry suitable personal flotation for everyone and check the applicable equipment requirements.
- Follow applicable expiry, inspection and servicing rules. Expired items fail requirements for in-date equipment.
- 150 N lifejackets suit coastal and offshore use; children need their own size.
Check what you have read
Which item should you carry for each person on a coastal boat trip?
True or false?
Decide each statement before you see the answer.
One lifejacket size fits all, so adult jackets cover the children.
150 N lifejackets suit coastal and offshore use; children need their own size.
Follow applicable expiry, inspection and servicing rules. Expired items fail requirements for in-date equipment.
Legal lists vary. Carry suitable personal flotation for everyone and check the applicable equipment requirements.
Flares last as long as they stay dry.
Category B lets me go offshore without checking the equipment rules.
Practice case & exam keys
Situation
On a French-flagged boat, your route reaches 7 NM from the nearest usable shelter. You carry only the under-6-NM kit. The boat is design category B. Can you go as equipped?
Show the answer
No. At 7 NM you need the 6–<60 NM equipment, including a liferaft and fixed VHF. Category B describes wind and wave conditions, not a permitted distance. Fit the complete required kit or choose a route within your equipped band. Check national operating limits, licence privileges, expiry dates and servicing too.
Exam keys
- Flag state sets the gear; it grows with distance from the coast or a shelter.
- Carry a lifejacket per person; check offshore requirements for liferaft, fixed VHF and EPIRB.
- Follow applicable expiry, inspection and servicing requirements; required in-date gear must be in date.
- Lifejackets: 50 / 100 / 150 / 275 N; children need their own size.