First SOLAS Convention

The convention required lifeboat or life raft places for everyone on board, regular boat drills, continuous radio watches on certain ships, and set up the North Atlantic ice patrol. It was due to take effect in July 1915 but never entered into force because of World War I. Its rules were carried into later versions adopted in 1929, 1948 and 1960. SOLAS 1974, in force since 1980 and amended many times, is the current treaty, including the 2016 container weight verification rule.

SOLAS is the umbrella safety treaty behind rules shippers follow today, so its origins matter to anyone exporting by sea. The current version requires verified container weights and makes the IMDG Code mandatory for dangerous goods. For example, a fulfillment center shipping export containers of lithium battery products must comply with IMDG requirements and declare an accurate container weight, both enforced through SOLAS. The 1914 convention started that system of international ship and cargo safety rules.

• Lithium Battery ShippingShipping batteries under dangerous goods rules
• Hazardous Materials ShippinghazmatRegulated shipping of dangerous goods

• IMDG Code1965, mandatory since 2004 · IMO code for shipping dangerous goods by sea
• Merchant Shipping Act 18761876 · UK law that made the Plimsoll load line compulsory
• International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC)1972, in force 1977 · Treaty requiring safety approval of shipping containers

1. International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, IMO imo.org