SOLAS Protocol of 1978

The SOLAS Protocol of 1978 was adopted alongside the MARPOL Protocol of 1978 at the IMO Conference on Tanker Safety and Pollution Prevention in February 1978. It added tanker safety measures to SOLAS 1974: inert gas systems on new tankers above 20,000 dwt and on specified existing tankers, duplicated steering-gear arrangements, additional radar and collision-avoidance equipment, and stricter survey and certification rules. It entered into force on 1 May 1981. It is separate from the SOLAS Protocol of 1988, which later introduced the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification. The parent SOLAS Convention, 1974, entered into force on 25 May 1980.