Inflatable liferafts are required to be serviced 12 months (annually) from the date of last servicing (i.e., date that the raft was "packed"), in accordance with 46 CFR 160.151-57, but there are allowances for new liferafts or liferafts that are stored in a controlled environment after servicing in accordance with 46 CFR 151-57(n).
A new liferaft may go up to two years before first servicing, after the date it was first packed, if:
1) Dated survival equipment in the liferaft will not expire before the servicing sticker expiration date; and
2) The liferaft will not be installed on a vessel certificated under SOLAS.
The expiration date may be extended from the date a liferaft was serviced or first packed for a liferaft that has been stored indoors, under controlled temperatures (between 32°F and 113°F), up to the length of time that the liferaft remained in storage as follows:
1) Up to 6 months with no additional actions, provided the storage requirements were met.
2) Up to 12 months if the liferaft is opened, inspected, and repacked in an approved servicing facility. When the liferaft is opened, the condition of the liferaft must be visually checked and found to be satisfactory, the inflation cylinders must be checked and weighed, all expired survival equipment must be replaced and all undated batteries must be replaced.
Under normal circumstances there is no grace period for the servicing of liferafts. Liferafts have to be serviced by the last day of the month that is indicated on the servicing sticker attached to the liferaft container. While the servicing certificate issued by the servicing facility is required to include the date of servicing and repacking, it may or may not indicate the expiration date.
Liferaft servicing procedures can be found at 46 CFR 160.151-57. Excerpts related to marking, documentation and expiration are included below for ready reference.
Published 15Jun2020.
§160.151-57(m) The servicing facility must complete the following for each liferaft that passes these inspections and tests:
(1) Permanently mark the liferaft on its outside canopy, or on a servicing-record panel on an interior portion of one of its buoyancy tubes near an entrance, with—
(i) The date of the servicing;
(ii) The identification and location of the servicing facility; and
(iii) If applicable, an indication that the special fifth-year servicing was performed.
(2) Permanently and legibly mark on the identification device provided in accordance with §160.151-17(c), or on the outside canopy of the liferaft, the name, if known, of the vessel on which the raft will be installed or the name, if known, of the vessel owner.
(3) Affix an inspection sticker to the liferaft container or valise. The sticker must be of a type that will remain legible for at least 2 years when exposed to a marine environment, and that cannot be removed without being destroyed. The sticker must be about 100 mm × 150 mm (4 by 6 inches), with the last digit of the year of expiration superimposed over a background color that corresponds to the colors specified for the validation stickers for recreational-boat numbers in 33 CFR 174.15(c), and be marked with the Coast Guard identifying insignia in accordance with the requirements of 33 CFR 23.12. The sticker must also contain the following:
(i) The name of the manufacturer of the liferaft.
(ii) The year and month of expiration determined in accordance with paragraph (n) of this section.
(iii) Identification of the servicing facility, printed on the sticker or indicated on the sticker by punch using an approval code issued by the Commandant.
§160.151-57(n) The expiration date of the servicing sticker is 12 months after the date the liferaft was repacked, except that:
(1) For a new liferaft, the expiration date may be not more than two years after the date the liferaft was first packed, if—
(i) Dated survival equipment in the liferaft will not expire before the sticker expiration date; and
(ii) The liferaft will not be installed on a vessel certificated under SOLAS.
(2) For a liferaft stored indoors, under controlled temperatures (between 0 °C (32 °F) and 45 °C (113 °F)), for not more than 6 months from the date it was serviced or first packed, the expiration date may be extended up to the length of time the liferaft remained in storage.
(3) For a liferaft stored indoors, under controlled temperatures (between 0 °C (32 °F) and 45 °C (113 °F)), for not more than 12 months from the date it was serviced or first packed, the expiration date may be extended up to the length of time the liferaft remained in storage, if the liferaft is opened, inspected, and repacked in a servicing facility approved in accordance with §§160.151-49 and 160.151-51. When the liferaft is opened—
(i) The condition of the liferaft must be visually checked and found to be satisfactory;
(ii) The inflation cylinders must be checked and weighed in accordance with paragraph (b)(12) of this section;
(iii) All survival equipment whose expiration date has passed must be replaced; and
(iv) All undated batteries must be replaced.
§160.151-57(p) The servicing facility must issue a certificate to the liferaft owner or owner's agent for each liferaft it services. The certificate must include—
(1) The name of the manufacturer of the liferaft;
(2) The serial number of the liferaft;
(3) The date of servicing and repacking;
(4) A record of the fifth-year gas-inflation test required in paragraph (g) of this section, whenever that test is performed;
(5) A record of the hydrostatic test of each inflation cylinder required in paragraph (e) of this section, whenever that test is performed;
(6) A record of any deviation from the procedures of the manufacturer's servicing manual authorized by the OCMI in accordance with §160.151-53(d);
(7) The identification of the servicing facility, including its name, address, and the approval code assigned by the Commandant in accordance with §160.151-51;
(8) The name, if known, of the vessel or vessel owner receiving the liferaft; and
(9) The date the liferaft is returned to the owner or owner's agent.