Technical Requirements for National Reserve Light Lifeboats

Lightweight rafts must meet the technical requirements specified in the National Technical Regulation on manufacturing and inspecting lifesaving equipment for inland waterway vehicles (QCVN 85:2015/BGTVT) issued by the Ministry of Transport; specifically meeting the following requirements:

1. Material Requirements

- Buoyant materials are made of Polyurethane Foam.- The outer shell of the lightweight raft is made of high-density Polyethylene (HDPE) and is orange in color.

2. Structural Requirements

- Basic technical specifications:

- Contact rope: The lightweight raft is equipped with a polyester contact rope (floating rope) with a diameter of no less than 12 mm, tensile strength of no less than 8,000 N, arranged around and fixed to the raft in the form of hand grips equivalent to the number of people the raft is designed to hold. The attachment of the contact rope must ensure the ability to carry the raft and the hand grips must have flexibility for safe and efficient holding.

- Hand grips made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), with an outer diameter of 31 mm to 35 mm, inner diameter no more than 2 mm larger than the contact rope diameter; length from 150 mm to 200 mm, threaded and fixed according to the contact rope; the surface of the hand grips must be smooth to avoid injury and white in color; the number of hand grips for lightweight raft type 1 is 10, and for type 2 is 14.

- The interior of the lightweight raft has a polyester net; net thread diameter no less than 6 mm and tensile strength no less than 3,000 N; the area of each mesh should not exceed 10 cm².

- Reflective material: The lightweight raft must have reflective material attached at the midpoint of both the longer and shorter edges. The width of the reflective tape is no less than 100 mm and is attached around the transverse section of the raft body.

- Each lightweight raft must be equipped with a polyester rope with a diameter of no less than 12 mm, a length of no less than 15 m, and tensile strength of no less than 8,000 N. The rope must be fixed so that it can be used to lift and lower the raft.

3. Color Durability of the Raft Shell: Minimum level 4 after 200 hours of illumination

For more details, see Circular 03/2017/TT-BTC, effective from July 20, 2017.

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