IMO/MED Certification for Marine Flooring

IMO certification confirms that a floor covering meets the fire test procedures defined by the International Maritime Organization in the 2010 FTP Code. For flooring this primarily means Part 2 (surface flammability — low flame spread, low smoke, low toxic gases) and Part 5 (primary deck coverings — flammability and ignitability of the deck build-up). A product can only be used on a SOLAS-regulated vessel if the relevant parts of the FTP Code have been passed at a recognised laboratory.

IMO certification refers to the global fire-test standards in the 2010 FTP Code. MED certification refers to the European Union’s Marine Equipment Directive 2014/90/EU, which is the legal mechanism that makes those IMO tests mandatory on EU-flagged vessels. A MED-certified product carries the EU “wheelmark” logo and a Notified Body number. In practice almost all serious marine flooring carries both — IMO defines the test, MED makes it law in the EU.

The wheelmark is the conformity mark printed on every product that has passed the EU Marine Equipment Directive process. It is a small ship’s-wheel logo accompanied by the four-digit number of the Notified Body that issued the certificate — for example wheelmark/0062 for Bureau Veritas Marine, wheelmark/0098 for DNV, wheelmark/0038 for Lloyd’s Register. On flooring it usually appears on the back of the roll, on the box label and in the product datasheet. See our dedicated Wheelmark explainer for verification steps.

Part 2 of the 2010 FTP Code is the test for surface flammability of bulkhead, ceiling and deck finish materials. It uses the LIFT apparatus (ISO 5658-2) to measure flame spread, plus separate measurements for smoke production (ISO 5659-2) and toxic gas emission — CO, HCN, HCl, HBr, HF, NOx and SO2. A floor covering must pass all three to be usable in accommodation and service spaces. Roughly equivalent to a Bfl-s1 EN rating with added toxicity limits.

Part 5 governs primary deck coverings — the floor build-up rather than just the visible finish. It tests the flammability and ignitability of the complete deck construction (substrate + adhesive + covering) and is required for any floor system installed directly onto a steel deck on a SOLAS vessel. Part 5 is what makes a system approval different from a single-product test — and why you cannot just bond a Part 2 approved vinyl onto any random subfloor.

All commercial vessels subject to SOLAS need IMO-compliant flooring in regulated spaces — practically every passenger ship, ferry, cruise ship, RoPax, offshore platform and naval support vessel above a certain size. Pleasure yachts under 24 m are usually outside SOLAS, but superyacht builders specify MED-certified materials anyway because Lloyd’s, DNV and most flag-state requirements demand it. If in doubt, check the vessel’s classification rules.

MED uses conformity modules based on the EU New Approach framework. The most common pairing for marine flooring is Module B (EU Type Examination — the Notified Body witnesses the lab tests on a sample product) combined with Module D (production quality assurance — the Notified Body audits the factory annually to confirm every roll leaving the line matches the approved type). The combination guarantees that what was tested is what is actually being made. Module B+E and Module H are alternatives used by some manufacturers.

The major Notified Bodies for marine equipment include Bureau Veritas Marine (0062), DNV (0098), Lloyd’s Register (0038), RINA (0474) and Polski Rejestr Statków (1463). The four-digit number that follows the wheelmark logo identifies which body issued the certificate. The full current list is published in the EU NANDO database — search “marine equipment directive” to filter.

Each shipment should include the MED EU Declaration of Conformity (referencing the wheelmark certificate number and the Notified Body), the IMO FTP test reports (Part 2 and/or Part 5), the current wheelmark Type Examination Certificate and the manufacturer’s product datasheet. For high-stakes projects (newbuild outfitting, classification society review) you should also receive a copy of the Module D factory-audit certificate. Trivaro supplies all five as standard with every marine order.

MED Type Examination certificates (Module B) are issued for a defined period — typically up to five years — and are renewed via repeat testing. Module D production-control certificates are audited annually. If a product’s wheelmark certificate has expired or been withdrawn, classification societies will not accept it on a vessel — so always verify the current status of the certificate referenced in the datasheet. Notified Bodies publish their active certificates online.