46 CFR 141.325: Survival craft equipment on towing vessels
Last reviewed: October 14, 2026
This section sets rules for equipment on survival craft on towing vessels. All items must be good quality, effective and secured to the craft. Lifeboats and life floats or rigid buoyant apparatus have additional equipment requirements.
Applies toTowing vessels, including those carrying a lifeboat, and their life floats and rigid buoyant apparatus.
What it says
Each item of survival craft equipment must be of good quality, effective for the purpose it is intended to serve, and secured to the craft.
46 CFR 141.325(a)“Each item of survival craft equipment must be of good quality, effective for the purpose it is intended to serve, and secured to the craft.”
Each towing vessel carrying a lifeboat must carry equipment in accordance with § 199.175 of this chapter.
46 CFR 141.325(b)“Each towing vessel carrying a lifeboat must carry equipment in accordance with § 199.175 of this chapter.”
Each life float and rigid buoyant apparatus must be fitted with a lifeline, pendants, a painter, and a floating electric water light approved under approval series 161.010.
46 CFR 141.325(c)“Each life float and rigid buoyant apparatus must be fitted with a lifeline, pendants, a painter, and floating electric water light approved under approval series 161.010.”
Common questions
What equipment must a towing vessel carry on its lifeboat?
A towing vessel carrying a lifeboat must carry equipment in accordance with § 199.175 of this chapter.
“Each towing vessel carrying a lifeboat must carry equipment in accordance with § 199.175 of this chapter.”
What must a life float or rigid buoyant apparatus be fitted with?
Each must be fitted with a lifeline, pendants, a painter, and a floating electric water light approved under approval series 161.010.
“Each life float and rigid buoyant apparatus must be fitted with a lifeline, pendants, a painter, and floating electric water light approved under approval series 161.010.”
What general standard applies to survival craft equipment?
Each item must be of good quality, effective for its intended purpose, and secured to the craft.
“Each item of survival craft equipment must be of good quality, effective for the purpose it is intended to serve, and secured to the craft.”
The text of 46 CFR 141.325
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), current as of April 16, 2026 · Read it on eCFR
Survival craft equipment
(a) Each item of survival craft equipment must be of good quality, effective for the purpose it is intended to serve, and secured to the craft.
(b) Each towing vessel carrying a lifeboat must carry equipment in accordance with § 199.175 of this chapter.
(c) Each life float and rigid buoyant apparatus must be fitted with a lifeline, pendants, a painter, and floating electric water light approved under approval series 161.010.
Sections it refers to
The plain-English explanation on this page was written with AI from the regulation text above and checked automatically before publishing: every quote appears in the text, every number comes from it, and a second model confirmed each statement adds nothing the text doesn't say. Regulation text current as of April 16, 2026. The regulation text governs. RegKnot is not affiliated with the U.S. Coast Guard.