🔍 Key Concepts

• Totally enclosed lifeboat air systems and why they are fitted • How overpressure can protect against smoke, gas, and water entering the craft • The difference between what is required by design versus what might change with speed or motion

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: What is the main safety purpose of having an independent air supply in an enclosed lifeboat—comfort, pressure balance, or protection from outside contamination? • If outside air is smoky or toxic, would it be safer for the pressure inside the lifeboat to be higher, lower, or the same as outside? Why? • Does the pressure relationship inside vs. outside need to depend on the lifeboat’s speed through the water, or should it be independent of speed?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify how SOLAS/LSA Code describes the purpose of an air supply system in totally enclosed lifeboats • Check whether the system is designed to create a slight overpressure or underpressure inside the craft for protection • Confirm that any statement tying pressure changes directly to speed of the craft makes physical and regulatory sense