What safety equipment is mandatory on board a boat?

For recreational boating at sea on a boat with a hull length of 24 metres or less, the official logic is simple: the equipment carried depends on the distance from a shelter. This criterion determines whether your boat falls under basic, coastal, semi-offshore or offshore equipment requirements. In other words, there is not a single list that applies to all boaters: the farther you go, the more extensive the required equipment becomes.

The most useful way to read the rules is therefore to start from your actual use. A fishing trip or a short outing close to the coast does not involve the same obligations as a more committed cruise. This is also why older general checklists should be treated carefully, since they sometimes mix several navigation levels.

What mandatory equipment must you carry within 2 nautical miles of a shelter?

Within 2 nautical miles of a shelter, you are in basic navigation. This is the first regulatory level, but it should not be confused with a simple “no-constraint outing”. Even at short distance, a boat must carry minimum equipment consistent with its size, layout and propulsion type.

The basic set includes at least the following items:

• one personal flotation device per person, or in certain cases a suit worn permanently that meets the requirements set out in the regulations;
• one lighting device, collective or individual, waterproof and with at least 6 hours of autonomy;
• one or more portable firefighting devices;
• a manual bailing device for boats that are not self-draining or that include at least one habitable space;
• a towing device;
• an anchor line, except for certain exceptions provided for some small boats and PWCs;
• a way to know the day’s tide times and coefficients for the area concerned, except in the Mediterranean;
• the national flag outside territorial waters.

On outboard motorboats with tiller or remote steering, as well as personal watercraft when fitted with one, the kill switch is also part of the operational obligations. It must be worn from engine start-up, without improvised extensions, and a second wired kill switch must remain quickly accessible on board.

For fire protection, avoid assuming one extinguisher size fits all. The regulations refer to the owner’s manual or, failing that, to the annex to Division 240. In practice, this means that a portable extinguisher may be suitable in some cases, but its relevance must always be checked against your boat.

The manual bailing device should not be treated lightly either. On a small open boat, a scoop or suitable bucket may be enough; on a more technical boat, it is often wise to complement the mandatory equipment with a suitable bilge pump, while remembering that it does not automatically replace the obligation to carry a manual device. To choose a model consistent with your bilge volume and installation, you can also read how to choose a bilge pump.

What mandatory equipment must you carry between 2 and 6 nautical miles from a shelter?

Between 2 and 6 nautical miles from a shelter, you move into coastal navigation. The regulatory logic is cumulative: you keep all the basic equipment, then add several items aimed at improving recovery, navigation and man overboard response.

In addition to the basic set, coastal equipment includes in particular:

• a man overboard location and assistance device, such as a horseshoe buoy or a life ring;
• personal flotation devices suited to the coastal level;
• 3 red hand flares;
• a compliant magnetic compass;
• the official nautical charts covering the area sailed;
• the COLREGs, that is the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea;
• a document describing the buoyage system for the area sailed.

In real life, this is often the stage where omissions begin: expired flares, missing compass, navigation documents unavailable or poorly stored. A distress flare kit matching this equipment level can be useful, provided of course that its expiry date is monitored. As for the compass, do not rely on approximation: in coastal navigation, you need equipment that is genuinely suited, like the products found in the compasses and navigation instruments category.

This zone is also where many boaters realise that regulations are not limited to carrying objects. The COLREGs, charts and buoyage system are part of onboard safety just as much as the equipment itself. If you want to refresh your knowledge before the season, the rules for navigating at sea and mandatory navigation lights are useful complements.

What mandatory equipment must you carry between 6 and 60 nautical miles from a shelter?

Between 6 and 60 nautical miles from a shelter, you enter semi-offshore navigation. The level of requirement rises significantly because you are farther from a refuge that can be reached quickly. The regulations no longer stop at flotation, recovery and coastal navigation: they add communication, survival and onboard management equipment.

For semi-offshore navigation, you must carry the coastal equipment plus several major additions:

• 150 N personal flotation devices for the people on board;
• a compliant fixed VHF radio;
• one or more inflatable liferafts suited to the number of people on board and the navigation undertaken;
• equipment allowing you to determine position, plot and follow a course;
• the light list;
• a properly kept logbook;
• a means of receiving marine weather forecasts;
• a safety harness and tether, required per vessel for non-sailing boats and per person on board for sailing boats;
• a compliant first-aid kit;
• a searchlight suitable for locating a person overboard at night.

One point deserves to be repeated, because it is still often mishandled in older content: in semi-offshore navigation, it is indeed the fixed VHF radio that is now part of the mandatory equipment. Older formulations based on “parachute flares or VHF” no longer properly reflect the most recent state of the rules. If you want to better understand the practical value of this equipment on board, you can read how a marine VHF radio works.

What mandatory equipment must you carry beyond 60 nautical miles from a shelter?

Beyond 60 nautical miles from a shelter, you are in offshore navigation. Here again, the logic is cumulative: you keep all the semi-offshore equipment, then add the items specific to significant distance offshore and the handling of a serious distress situation far from the coast.

For offshore navigation, the following are added in particular:

• an emergency position-indicating beacon;
• a waterproof handheld VHF radio;
• one or more inflatable liferafts compliant with offshore requirements.

At this stage, a purely regulatory approach is no longer really enough. In practice, the equipment must be considered as a coherent whole: communication, redundancy, energy, location, weather, clothing and crew preparation. In this context, a solution such as AIS, although it does not replace any regulatory requirement listed here, can still significantly improve safety and your understanding of surrounding traffic.

What does the list of mandatory equipment depend on?

The list of mandatory equipment does not depend only on the word “boat”. It depends on the navigation zone, therefore the distance from a shelter, but also on the type of craft and sometimes on certain technical characteristics of the vessel. This is exactly why two boaters may not have exactly the same equipment, even if both navigate at sea.

What is a shelter in regulatory terms?

A shelter is not simply a harbour shown on the chart. In regulatory terms, it is a place on the coast where the boat and its crew can reach safety by anchoring, landing or berthing, and then leave again without assistance. This notion takes into account the current weather conditions, but also the characteristics of your craft. A mooring that may theoretically be usable in calm weather is not necessarily a valid shelter if your boat, your crew or the sea state of the day do not allow it to be used safely.

This definition is essential, because it makes all the difference between genuinely basic navigation and navigation that already falls into the coastal category or beyond. In practice, a prudent skipper always reasons with a margin, not to the last decimal on the chart.

Do the obligations change depending on the type of boat?

Yes, some rules vary depending on the type of craft. On a sailing boat, for example, the requirement relating to the safety harness and tether is broader than on a non-sailing boat in semi-offshore and offshore navigation, because the logic is designed more for the full crew. For personal watercraft, the regulations provide specific provisions, including wearing the flotation device, a minimum 2 mm neoprene outfit and navigation from 2 to 6 nautical miles reserved for models designed to carry at least two people.

Tenders also follow a specific logic: their navigation is in principle limited to 300 metres from a shelter, with the parent vessel then considered a shelter. Craft propelled mainly by human power are also subject to specific provisions, with normally daytime navigation and possible extensions under certain conditions. In short, the right question is not only “what boat do you have?”, but “under which regulatory framework is your craft being used?”.

Can the weight, design or marking of the boat change the required equipment?

Yes, on certain specific points. The anchor line, for example, is subject to exceptions for some very light boats. The CE marking and the owner’s manual also play an important role, especially for firefighting equipment. This means that a generic checklist found online is not always enough: it must be checked against the actual characteristics of your boat.

On a CE-marked craft, the manufacturer’s manual remains a very practical reference. This is particularly true for the location, number or type of extinguishers, but also more broadly for the organisation of safety on board. If you maintain your boat yourself, you already know that technical choices are never made completely out of context. It is the same logic as for an engine suited to the boat or the choice between inboard and outboard: the right answer always depends on the craft and its boating plan.

Are the mandatory equipment rules the same for inland waterways navigation?

No. This article deals primarily with sea navigation, which falls under Division 240. For inland navigation, the rules are not exactly the same and are based on another regulatory framework. It is therefore better not to mix sea and inland requirements in a single checklist. A boater who navigates both at sea and on inland waterways should check their obligations separately, because the zone, the equipment logic and some thresholds are not identical.

How can you check that your equipment complies before departure?

Carrying equipment is not enough. The regulations also require that this equipment be suited to the vessel, maintained in good working order and ready for use in an emergency. This is a key point, because a theoretically complete set of equipment that is poorly stored, expired or unusable is still poor equipment.

Where and how should safety equipment be stored?

The equipment must be quickly accessible. A torch, handheld VHF, buoy, harness or hand flares are of no use if an entire locker has to be emptied to reach them. The regulations also remind us that safety equipment should not be kept in engine compartments, unless there is no alternative. In that case, it must be stored under good conditions, particularly outside the most exposed area, possibly in waterproof bags or boxes properly secured.

In practice, the best storage arrangement is the one that the whole crew immediately understands. Before departure, everyone should know where the lifejackets, signalling devices, VHF, first-aid kit and towing or bailing devices are located.

What should be checked before every outing?

The most useful check is often a very simple one: verify the overall condition, the expiry date when applicable, the actual presence of the equipment and its operation. Hand flares must not be expired, lifejackets must suit the people on board, the kill switch must be present and usable, extinguishers must match the boat’s configuration, and the compass must be readable from the helm position.

For the VHF, the key point is not only the installation. Once at sea, a vessel equipped with a fixed or handheld VHF must, whenever possible, keep watch on channel 16, in addition to visual and auditory watchkeeping. This rule is sometimes forgotten even though it is part of the overall safety logic.

If your boat goes out only occasionally or stays moored for long periods, a pre-departure check is even more important. It is the same preventive approach as with an engine failure, overheating or a fuel issue: it is better to fix the problem at the dock than to discover a weakness once at sea. On these subjects, an engine that will not start, engine overheating or a faulty fuel system are good reminders that a safe outing is always prepared in advance.

What equipment is recommended in addition to the legal minimum?

The ministry makes it clear: the equipment imposed by the regulations is often only a minimum. In other words, a boat may be perfectly “compliant” while still being a little under-equipped to deal calmly with a deteriorating situation. This is especially true when weather worsens, the trip becomes longer, the crew lacks experience or you are sailing solo.

Which additional items are really worth carrying on board?

Beyond the strict minimum, it is sensible to carry:

• a VHF radio, ideally with DSC when it makes sense for your boating plan;
• a knife and a few basic tools suited to the boat;
• a pair of gloves;
• a watch;
• a small box of spare parts, such as a fuel filter or bulbs;
• extra batteries for portable equipment;
• a survival blanket;
• a boat hook;
• an additional bailing means if the boat’s configuration justifies it.

In real life on board, these additions often make all the difference. An automatic bilge pump, for example, does not remove the obligation for a manual device when required, but it can offer very practical extra safety on a moored boat or in difficult conditions. Likewise, a well-understood and properly used VHF gives more than simple theoretical compliance.

What should you add depending on your boating plan?

If you mainly go out for day trips close to the coast, the priority is often to reinforce what is useful immediately: lifejackets that are actually worn, an individual lighting device, clear storage, a kill switch, suitable bailing means and up-to-date navigation documents. If you go farther offshore, safety relies more on redundancy: communication, power supply, weather, locating devices and onboard organisation.

A boater navigating in winter or out of season will not think in exactly the same way as someone making a few summer outings in flat calm seas. In the first case, thermal protection and the boat’s overall preparation become even more important. You can also complement this topic with winter navigation and boat winterising, which indirectly affect the real safety of both crew and equipment.

Which official sources should you consult to verify the regulations?

To avoid outdated lists or misleading simplifications, it is best to go back to the official texts and official summaries. These are the documents to keep as your basis when updating your boat safety equipment:

• the consolidated Division 240, which sets out the detailed rules applicable at sea;
• the decree of 11 October 2024, which introduced the latest notable clarifications to Division 240;
• the ministerial factsheet “Safety equipment for recreational craft”, dated March 2025, very useful for a concise reading;
• the ministry’s official page on safety and armament equipment, useful for placing the obligations in their overall logic;
• the official factsheet on inland navigation if you also navigate on inland waterways.

These sources make it possible to quickly verify whether information read elsewhere is still valid, especially regarding flotation devices, the kill switch, the magnetic compass, the fixed VHF in semi-offshore navigation or the particular rules applying to certain types of craft.

What should you remember at a glance?

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