Ship Emergency Lighting System: How to Ensure Crucial Visibility during Emergencies

What is Ship Emergency Lighting?

Ship Emergency Lighting refers to safety lights and signs that remain visible during emergencies, ensuring safe evacuation. A correct Ship Emergency Lighting System is crucial for the safety of both crew and passengers. In an emergency, proper lighting helps people navigate safely. Without it, disorientation and confusion can delay evacuations and increase the risk of injuries.

Emergency lighting and escape route signs must be clearly visible and work even during power failures. This is why reliable, SOLAS-compliant emergency lighting is a must for every vessel.

Common Challenges in Ship Emergency Lighting

Ensuring effective Ship Emergency Lighting comes with a few challenges. These include:

• Proper Placement – Electrical Escape Signs, Safety Signs and Low Location Lighting must be positioned so they are visible to everyone.
• Integration with Safety Systems – Electrical Escape Signs and other illuminated safety signs must work together seamlessly to ensure clear and effective evacuation guidance.
• Power Failures – Lights must remain operational even during a power failure, such as through photoluminescent technology.

To face these challenges, T-ISS offers Emergency LED Escape Ceiling Signs that provide high visibility. Our Emergency LED Escape Signs even include photoluminescent properties. This means that even if the LED system fails during a power-outage, the signs continue to glow, ensuring critical visibility during an emergency.

In addition, Low Location Lighting (LLL) offers continuous illuminated guidance along escape routes. Available in photoluminescent or electric versions, Low Location Lighting ensures safe passage to Assembly Stations or Embarkation Stations, even in total darkness or smoke-filled conditions.

To further enhance visibility, photoluminescent PETX Safety Signs provide long-lasting glow-in-the-dark guidance, reinforcing escape routes and safety instructions. Together, these elements create a complete and effective Ship Emergency Lighting System, ensuring safe evacuations and compliance with maritime regulations.

Ship Emergency Lighting Regulations

It is mandatory for ships and vessels to have a fully operational Emergency Lighting System that complies with international maritime regulations. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) outlines specific requirements to ensure the safety of passengers and crew during emergencies.

Key Requirements Include:

• Emergency Lighting Duration: SOLAS mandates that emergency lighting at muster and embarkation stations, as well as over the sides, must operate for a period of 3 hours when all other sources of electrical power have failed. ​

• Supplementary Lighting: All passenger public spaces and alleyways are required to have supplementary electric lighting capable of operating for at least 3 hours under any condition of heel, ensuring that the approach to means of escape can be readily seen. ​
• Low-Location Lighting (LLL): To enhance evacuation safety, regulations stipulate that means of escape, including stairways and exits, should be marked by lighting or photoluminescent strip indicators placed not more than 300 mm above the deck at all points of the escape route.

At T-ISS, we ensure that our Ship Emergency Lighting Systems meet the highest international safety standards and fully complying with SOLAS, IMO, and ISO regulations to guarantee visibility during emergencies:

• Emergency LED Escape Signs: These signs combine LED technology with photoluminescent properties, ensuring visibility even if power fails. Our signs maintain 22 mcd/m² brightness after 3 hours, exceeding SOLAS requirements for emergency lighting. They comply with IMO Resolution A.752(18), ISO 15370, and SOLAS regulation III/24 for escape symbols.

• Low Location Lighting (LLL): Our photoluminescent or electric LLL ensures clear escape routes, even in total darkness or smoke. As required by SOLAS, our LLL is always installed 30 cm above the deck, providing optimal guidance during evacuations. It meets IMO Resolution A.752(18) and ISO 15370 standards.

Why is Low Location Lighting important?

Low Location Lighting is a system installed close to the ground (low) to clearly mark escape routes and emergency exits or assembly points. Low Location Lighting Systems are made from photoluminescent materials that absorb and store ambient light. In the event of a power outage or low-light conditions, these materials emit a bright, visible glow to clearly mark escape routes and exits.

How often should Emergency Lighting Systems be inspected?

Ship Emergency Lighting must be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure they function correctly during an emergency. According to SOLAS regulations, Low Location Lighting (LLL) systems must undergo a luminance test at least once every five years to verify they meet visibility standards. Additionally, routine checks should be performed to ensure all emergency lighting, including LED Escape Signs and photoluminescent Safety Signs, remain operational and compliant. Regular maintenance helps prevent failures, ensuring escape routes stay illuminated and fully functional when needed most.

Why Choose T-ISS for Ship Emergency Lighting?

T-ISS is a trusted leader in the marine Safety Industry. We stand out in the market because our high quality products that comply with international regulations, are available all over the world through our dealers.

We offer a complete range of Emergency Lighting solutions for ships and vessels:

1. Emergency LED Escape Signs
   – Provide clear evacuation guidance.
   – Stay visible for over 3 hours even if LED power fails.

2. Low Location Lighting
   – Ensures escape routes are always visible.
   – Available in both self-charging photoluminescent and electric versions.

3. Photoluminescent PET X Escape Route Signs
   – ‘Glow in the dark’ for continuous visibility.
   – Essential for guiding passengers and crew to safety.

Contact us

Investing in Ship Emergency Lighting is not just about compliance. It’s about ensuring the safety of everyone on board. At T-ISS, we provide quality Emergency Lighting solutions that meet industry standards and offer worldwide availability.

Want to improve safety on your vessel? Contact T-ISS today to learn more about our SOLAS-compliant Emergency Lighting Systems!