SOLAS Law and Legal Definition
SOLAS is the abbreviation for Safety of Life at Sea Treaty. It is an international treaty promoting the safety of life at sea. It is one of the most important of all international treaties affecting merchant shipping. This treaty represents a significant advance in the modernization of regulations for the shipping industry. Among other things it provides for traffic separation schemes and revisions to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
The first SOLAS convention was adopted in 1914 as a result of the Titanic disaster, and was followed by the second in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in 1960. In 1974, it was again amended to include all the amendments up to that time. The 1974 convention has also been amended several times.
