The Full Form of SOLAS is Safety of Life at Sea.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards.

SOLAS, in its successive forms, is generally regarded as the most important international treaty concerning the safety of merchant ships. The first version was adopted in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster, the second in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in 1960. The latest SOLAS Convention in force was adopted on November 1, 1974 and entered into force May 25, 1980. The latest amendment adopted safety measures for ships operating in polar waters which came into force on January 1, 2017.

The main objective of SOLAS is to specify minimum safety standards for the construction, equipment, and operation of ships. Flag States are responsible for ensuring that ships under their flag comply with its requirements through inspections and surveys of ships, and a number of certificates are prescribed by SOLAS to be issued as proof of compliance. Governments that have signed onto the convention have the right to inspect ships of other nations calling at its ports; this is known as Port State control.