Under the Solas regulations, for instance, passengers grouped at their muster stations must be able to evacuate on lifeboats within 30 minutes of an evacuation alarm.
With the high court case on foot, the government then removed nine adults and two children from the main group on the customs vessel, and told them they would be put on lifeboats in the middle of the ocean.
All 154 holidaymakers and staff on board, including 23 Britons, escaped on lifeboats and endured five hours in sub-zero temperatures before being rescued by the Norwegian vessel Nordnorge, which took them to two nearby military bases on King George Island.
A luxury cruise ship has run aground off the coast of Tuscany, gashing open the hull and forcing some 4,200 people aboard to evacuate on lifeboats to a nearby island.
He said children and women were given priority when it came to allocating places on lifeboats, but the system proved to be difficult to implement because many men "weren't accepting this" because they wanted to remain together as a family, prompting "huge confusion".
Very quickly, the ship broke into two, which prevented any time to escape on lifeboats.
"You can't evacuate people on lifeboats and then, if the ship doesn't sink, say it was a joke.
Originally ratified in response to the sinking of the RMS Titanic, SOLAS sets regulations on lifeboats, emergency equipment and safety procedures, including continuous radio watches.
In the fall of 2015, it seemed the whole world was descending on Lesbos to help the hundreds of Syrians, Afghans, and others who arrived each day on lifeboats.
