Deck Equipment Inspection Software for Offshore Fleets
An offshore crane fails its annual thorough examination. The wire rope shows 14 broken wires in one lay length—two more than the discard threshold. The cargo gear book hasn't been updated since the last quinquennial load test, and the inspector finds no documented maintenance regime from the manufacturer. That single crane now triggers an expanded inspection of every lifting appliance onboard. The new SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-13, effective January 2026, has expanded inspection scope beyond ILO 152 to include provision cranes, engine room cranes, and all lifting appliances handling cargo—with mandatory annual thorough examinations and five-year load testing. For offshore fleets managing dozens of cranes, winches, and lifting gear across multiple vessels, tracking these requirements on spreadsheets or paper cargo gear books is no longer viable. Marine Inspection software gives offshore operators a centralized platform to manage every deck equipment inspection, load test, and certification across your entire fleet—so when a surveyor opens your cargo gear book, every entry is current, documented, and audit-ready.
Deck Equipment Inspection: The Compliance Landscape
2026
New SOLAS Lifting Appliance Requirements
Extended scope now covers all onboard lifting appliances, not just cargo gear
Annual
Thorough Examination Required
Every lifting appliance must undergo annual examination by qualified surveyor
5-Year
Load Testing Cycle
Quinquennial load test mandatory for all cranes and lifting appliances
Deck Equipment Categories Offshore Fleets Must Track
Offshore vessels carry a wider range of deck equipment than standard cargo ships, and each category has its own inspection frequency, certification requirements, and failure modes. Marine Inspection organizes all deck equipment into trackable categories with individual inspection schedules, SWL records, and certification histories—so nothing falls through the cracks during fleet-wide compliance management.
Managing these categories across an offshore fleet means tracking hundreds of individual equipment items, each with unique SWL ratings, certification dates, and manufacturer maintenance requirements. Marine Inspection creates a single register for every piece of deck equipment across every vessel—schedule a demo to see how fleet-wide equipment tracking works and how your team can manage all inspection schedules from one dashboard.
What the New SOLAS Regulation Means for Your Fleet
SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-13, effective from the first renewal survey after January 1, 2026, significantly expands the scope of lifting appliance requirements. This isn't a minor update—it changes what gets inspected, how it's documented, and what happens if you're not ready.
SOLAS II-1/3-13: Key Changes for Offshore Fleets
Swipe left to see full comparison
Before 2026
After 2026
ILO 152 scope: only cargo-handling lifting appliances required certification
All lifting appliances including provision cranes, engine room cranes, stores cranes, hose handling cranes
Cargo gear book covered limited equipment types
Electronic cargo gear book must state compliance with both IMO and ILO 152 requirements
Anchor handling winch inspection was class-specific
Mandatory annual function test and five-yearly operational test witnessed by Flag/RO for all AH winches
Existing uncertified appliances could operate without formal documentation
Existing appliances require factual statement or certification, SWL marking, and documentary evidence by first renewal survey
Maintenance records kept in any convenient form
Records must be clearly legible, authenticated by responsible person, based on manufacturer manuals
Get Your Fleet SOLAS-Ready Before 2026 Renewal Surveys
Marine Inspection's deck equipment module tracks every lifting appliance, winch, and piece of loose gear across your fleet—with automated inspection scheduling, SWL documentation, and electronic cargo gear book management.
How Marine Inspection Manages Deck Equipment Across Offshore Fleets
Offshore fleet managers need more than a checklist—they need a system that connects equipment identity, inspection history, certification status, and maintenance actions across every vessel in the fleet. Marine Inspection provides exactly this, purpose-built for the complexity of offshore deck equipment management.
Marine Inspection Deck Equipment Workflow
Register Equipment
Add every crane, winch, and lifting appliance with SWL, manufacturer, serial number, installation date, and certification status. Import existing registers or build from scratch.
Schedule Inspections
Automated inspection calendars based on equipment type: daily pre-use checks, monthly maintenance, annual thorough exams, and five-year load tests. Alerts sent 90/60/30 days before due dates.
Conduct & Document
Mobile-ready inspection forms for each equipment type. Capture findings with photos, measurements, and condition ratings. Auto-timestamped entries authenticated by responsible person.
Track Findings & Repairs
Deficiencies generate corrective action workflows with assigned owners, deadlines, and closure verification. Wire rope discard criteria, seal replacements, and hydraulic oil analysis results all tracked to resolution.
Expert Review: Why Digital Equipment Management Is Now Essential
Industry Analysis
The new SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-13 represents the most significant change to lifting appliance requirements in decades. By expanding scope beyond ILO 152 to cover all onboard lifting appliances—including provision cranes, stores cranes, and engine room cranes that many operators haven't been formally tracking—the regulation creates an immediate documentation gap for fleets that rely on paper cargo gear books or basic spreadsheets.
DNV has already begun implementing electronic IMO cargo gear books that distinguish between certified and existing non-certified lifting appliances. Classification societies are building digital survey schemes in fleet management portals. The industry direction is clear: equipment inspection records must be electronic, authenticated, and continuously maintained—not compiled for surveys.
For offshore fleets specifically, the challenge is compounded by equipment diversity. A single offshore supply vessel may carry pedestal cranes, anchor handling winches, towing winches, multiple sets of loose gear, and hydraulic systems—each with different inspection intervals, manufacturer maintenance requirements, and certification bodies. Managing this complexity across a fleet of 10, 20, or 50 vessels requires purpose-built software. A 20-minute demo shows how Marine Inspection handles multi-vessel equipment tracking with the compliance intelligence offshore operators need to stay ahead of the 2026 transition.
Conclusion
Deck equipment inspection for offshore fleets isn't getting simpler. The SOLAS 2026 expansion, stricter documentation standards, and the shift toward electronic cargo gear books mean that offshore operators need digital systems that track every crane, winch, and piece of lifting gear across every vessel—with inspection schedules, certification histories, findings management, and fleet-wide compliance dashboards built in. Marine Inspection delivers exactly this: a centralized platform where equipment registration, inspection documentation, corrective action tracking, and shore-to-ship compliance visibility work together to keep your fleet audit-ready at all times. Create your free account today and start building the digital equipment management system your fleet needs before your next renewal survey.
Manage Every Crane, Winch, and Lifting Appliance in One Platform
Marine Inspection tracks deck equipment inspections, load tests, certification renewals, and corrective actions across your entire offshore fleet—with automated scheduling and real-time compliance dashboards.
What deck equipment does SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-13 now cover?
The new regulation extends beyond the previous ILO 152 scope to cover all lifting appliances used for cargo loading, transfer, or discharge, as well as hatch covers, moveable bulkheads, engine room cranes, stores cranes, hose handling cranes, personnel handling cranes, and tender boat launch and recovery systems. Anchor handling winches and associated equipment have separate but parallel requirements under the same regulation. Marine Inspection tracks all these equipment categories with individual inspection schedules, SWL records, and certification management.
How often must offshore cranes be inspected under the new requirements?
Lifting appliances require annual thorough examination by a qualified surveyor and load testing at least every five years. Occasional load tests are also required after major repairs, modifications, or alterations. Daily pre-use visual checks and manufacturer-specified maintenance should be performed between formal examinations. Marine Inspection automates this multi-tier inspection schedule and sends advance alerts for upcoming examinations, so no inspection falls overdue.
What happens to existing lifting appliances installed before January 2026?
Existing non-certified lifting appliances installed before January 1, 2026 may be covered by a "factual statement" rather than full design certification. However, they still require load testing, thorough examination, permanent SWL marking, and documentary evidence—all completed no later than the first Safety Construction Renewal Survey after January 2026. Marine Inspection helps operators identify which existing equipment needs factual statements versus full certification and tracks the transition timeline for each item.
How does Marine Inspection handle wire rope inspection and discard criteria?
Marine Inspection tracks wire rope condition against manufacturer-specified discard criteria, including broken wire counts per lay length, diameter reduction, corrosion levels, and deformation. Inspection entries capture quantitative measurements alongside photographs, and the system flags when any rope approaches discard thresholds. For offshore cranes, this includes drum condition assessment and spooling arrangement checks—critical failure points that cause crane shutdowns during operations.
Can Marine Inspection manage deck equipment across a multi-vessel offshore fleet?
Yes. Marine Inspection is built for fleet-wide management. Shore-based managers see every vessel's deck equipment status from a single dashboard—upcoming examinations, overdue items, open findings, and certification validity across all vessels. Equipment can be filtered by type, vessel, inspection status, or due date. When loose gear or lifting appliances are transferred between vessels, the system maintains the complete inspection history and certification chain with the equipment, not just with the vessel.
