On-load release gear has to be opened, examined and load tested. The requirement is specific.

Lifeboat on-load release gear is subject to two separate regimes, and conflating them is a common source of trouble at survey.

Annually, the lifeboat, its launching appliance and its release gear get a thorough examination and operational test, normally within the vessel's annual survey window.

At five-yearly intervals, the requirement is heavier. The release gear must be subject to a thorough examination in which the hook mechanism is disassembled and examined internally, and an operational test is carried out at 1.1 times the total mass of the boat with its full complement and equipment, at the point when the release hook is overhauled.

The wording matters. A visual inspection of the assembled hook does not satisfy the five-yearly requirement, and neither does a static test at embarkation deck level in place of the overload test. The mechanism has to be opened, wear items replaced against the maker's manual, and the load applied.

The work has to be carried out by the manufacturer or by a service provider authorised by the flag administration for that make and type of equipment. Authorisation is specific — a provider approved for one maker's gear is not automatically approved for another's.

Davit wire falls sit alongside this on their own five-year renewal cycle, or earlier if condition requires. Falls past their renewal date are a routine PSC finding and one of the easier ones to plan around, since the date is known five years in advance.