Safety and

Emergencies

SAFETY
Safety is important in every aspect of running a ship.
Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against
physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological,
educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm
or any other event which could be considered non-desirable. Safety can also be
defined to be the control of recognized hazards to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
This can take the form of being protected from the event or from exposure to
something that causes health or economical losses. It can include protection of people
or of possessions.

Although there are many aspect ways to create a safe

and working environment at sea.

SAFETY ON BOARD
The health of the crew, shipboard safety and
the prevention of accident are matters of top
priority.
Safety covers all of the vessels activities
including navigation, cargo operations,
mooring and unmooring, vessels maintenance
and cleanliness, machinery operations etc.

SAFETY ON BOARD cont.

Seafarers are subjected to various hazards
such as:
1.vessel rolling and pitching under heavy weather.
2. operation of machinery and equipment under
heavy weather.
3. cargo danger
4. fire and explosion and
5. navigational hazards

SAFETY TRAINING
Safety must be learned by a combination
of experience, training and persuasion.
Although experience only comes with
time, the quality of such can be improved
with good training and exposure to provide
solid evidence about the importance of
safety.

TOOLS OF SAFETY TRAINING

1. Visual aids
2. Notices
3. Fire patrols
4. Accident records
5. Permit to work system
6. Safety bulletin
7. Poster
8. Marine safety cards
9. Maintenance of safety
equipment's
10. Informal talk

ACCIDENT PREVENTION
Shipboard accident are attributed to the
following:
1. Lack of training
2. Lack of concentration/ inattention
3. Lack of Communication
4. Unsafe/ Unobservant procedure
5. Lack of work planning

Prevention of accidents on board ship

1. Improve/correct procedures and/or
methods of shipboard operations
2. Improve the training of the ships
personnel and;
3. Strengthen the TEAMWORK

MUSTER LIST or
STATION BILL

a list of the crew and

their duties in case
of fire and other
emergencies that is
posted in the crew's
quarters or another
conspicuous place
on a ship

EMERGENCIES
An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to
health, life, property or environment. Most emergencies require
urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation,
although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible
and agencies may only be able to offer palliative care for the
aftermath.
While some emergencies are self-evident (such as a natural
disaster that threatens many lives), many smaller incidents
require the subjective opinion of an observer (or affected party)
in order to decide whether it qualifies as an emergency.

SHIPBOARD EMERGENCY
RESPONSE PLAN (ERP)
In any emergency situation onboard a vessel,
a prompt, organized and well rehearsed
response must go into immediate action and
must be standard for all vessels in a fleet
The basis of the ERP is that small and well
trained teams would tackle any emergency
that may arise

Emergencies that may occur

Fire
Explosion
Grounding
Collision
Pollution etc.

Team Effectiveness
The Success of each team is
dependent upon varying skills and
attributes of individual team
members as well as upon the
degree of effectiveness in
harnessing such skills through
realistic simulation of all forms of
emergency.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

Fire fighting (all members)

Enclosed space entry
Search and rescue techniques
Observant and able to communicate
Electrical skill
Mechanical skill
Seamanship skills
First Aid skill
Survival skill
Knowledge of the ship and its
equipment
Damage control
Physical fitness
Self-disciplined
Team spirit

THE VESSEL IS THE SAFEST REFUGE

Sources of guidance to safety for the information of the vessels officer can also be found in
the following useful aids:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Machinery and equipment instruction manuals

Pain and coating manuals
Drum Labels
Cargo shippers instruction
Navigational Notices, publications and radio
message
6. Port Regulations relevant instructions
7. Medical Guide

DRILLS

FIRE DRILL
1. All fire extinguishing means should be properly placed and the responsible officers
(deck and engine) should take care of their correct maintenance:
2. Fire extinguishers should always be kept in full. This means that as
soon as fire extinguishers are emptied, they are immediately be
refilled. Consequently, adequate space charges should be
provided on board.
Fire hoses are used only for fire drills. Their use for any other purpose is prohibited.
Nozzles are always coupled to the hoses for immediate use.
The fixed fire-extinguishing system of each vessel is to be maintained in good
condition and ready for immediate use.
All fire hydrant valves are to be clearly labeled.
1. All officers are to be fully aware of the operation of the auxiliary fire pump which is to
be tested once a week.

Abandonship Training and Drills

1. A training manual complying with Chapter III Regulation 51 of the
SOLAS Convention shall be provided in each messroom and
recreation room or in each crew cabin.
2. Each member of the crew shall participate in at least one
abandonship drill and one fire drill every month.
3. On ship engaged in domestic voyage, a muster of the passengers
shall take place within 24 hours of their embarkation.
4. In ship engaged in short international voyages, a muster of the
passengers shall be held upon departure, otherwise, the attention
of the passengers shall be drawn to the emergency instructions.
5. required by SOLAS Chapter III, Regulation 8.2 and 8.4.

Survival Craft Drills

1. Arrangements for drills should taken into account of prevailing weather conditions.
2. Crew members taking part in life raft drills should master wearing warm outer clothing and
lifejackets.
3. Whenever appropriate, the lowering gear and chocks should be inspected and a check
made to ensure that all working parts are well lubricated.
4. When turning out davits or when bringing boats or rafts inboard under power, seamen
should always keep clear of any moving parts.
5. The engines on motor lifeboats should be started and run ahead and astern. Care should
be taken to avoid overheating the engine and propelle, shafts stern gland. All personnel
should be familiar with the engine starting procedure.
6. Hand-operated mechanical propelling gear, if any, should be examined and similarly
tested.
7. Radio equipment should be examined and tested, with the aerial erected by the Radio
Officer or another trained person and the crew instructed in its use.

Survival Craft Drills cont.

8. Water spray system, where fitted, should be tested in accordance with the lifeboat manufacturers instructor.
9. When a drill in held in port, as many lifeboats as possible should be cleared and swung out. Each lifeboat should
be launched and maneuvered in the water every month as far as it is reasonable and practicable. The interval
between such drills should not exceed three months. Where launching of free-fall lifeboats is impracticable, they
may be lowered into the water provided that they are free-fall launched of at least one every six months.
10. When rescue boats are carried and are not lifeboats, they should be launched and maneuvered in the water
every month as far as it is reasonable and practicable. The interval between such drills should not exceed three
months.
11. Where simultaneous off-load/on-load release arrangements are provided, great care should be exercised to
ensure that the hooks are fully engaged before the boat is recovered after it has been stowed prior to launching.
12. Where davit-launched life rafts are carried, then on-board training, including inflation must be carried out at
intervals not exceeding four months. Great care should be taken to ensure that the hooks are properly engaged
before taking the weight on the raft. The released mechanism should not be cocked until just prior to the landing
in the water. If the raft used for the inflation is part of the ships statutory equipment and not a special training raft,
then it MUST be repacked at an approved service station.
13. Where the handle of the lifeboat winch would rotate during the operation of the winch, it should be removed
before the boat is lowered on the brake or raised with an electric motor. If a handle cannot be removed, the
personnel should keep well clear of it.

Survival Craft Drills cont.

14. The personnel in a rescue boat of survival craft being lowered should remain seated, keeping their hands inside
the gunwale to avoid them from being crushed against the ships side. Lifejackets should be worn. In totally
enclosed lifeboats, seat should be secured. Only the launching crew should remain in a lifeboat being raised.
15. During drills, life buoys and lines should be readily available at the point of embarkation.
16. While crafts are in the water, the crews should practice maneuvering the vessel by oar, sail or power as
appropriate and should operate the water spray system where fitted on enclosed lifeboats.
17. Seamen should keep their fingers clear of the long-link when unhooking or securing blocks on to lifting hooks
while the boat is in the water, and particularly if there is a swell.
18. Before craft in gravity davits are recovered by power, the operation of the limit switches or similar devices should
be checked.
19. A portable hoist unit used to recover a craft should be provided with a crunch or have an attachment to resist the
torque. These should be checked. If neither device is available, the craft should be raised by hand.
20. Where life rafts are carried, instructions should be given to the ships personnel in their launching, handling and
operation. Methods of boarding them and the disposition of equipment and stored of them should be explained.
21. The statutory scale of lifesaving appliances must be maintained at all times. If the use of a life raft for practice
would bring equipment below the specified scale, a replacement must first be made available.

EMERGENCY STEERING DRILLS

Aside from the routine checks and tests prescribed in regulations

19-2 of SOLAS; Safety of Navigation, Emergency Steering Drills
shall take place at least once every three months in order to practice
emergency steering procedures. These drills shall include direct
control from within the steering drill compartment, the
communications procedures with the navigating bridge and, where
applicable, the operation of alternative power supply. The date upon
which the tests and details of emergency drills are carried out shall
be recorded in the official ships logbook.

Man-Overboard Maneuvers
Practice has shown that different man-overboard
maneuvers may be required depending upon the
prevailing situation and the type of ship involved.

The effectiveness of the maneuvers described below have been proven

in many man-overboard casualties, including the following situations:

1. Immediate action situation

2. Casualty is noticed on the bridge and action is
initiated immediately.
3. Delayed action situation
4. Casualty is reported to the bridge by an eye witness
and action is initiated with some delay.
5. Person missing situation
6. Person is reported to the bridge as missing

When a ship makes full speed ahead, the following

three standard maneuvers are used:
1. Single turn (270 maneuver)
a. Rudder hard over (in an immediate action situation, only to the side of the casualty).
b. After deviation from the original course by 250, rudder to midship position and stopping
maneuver are to be initiated.

2. Williamson turn
a. Rudder hard over (in an immediate action situation, only to the side of the casualty).
b. After deviation from the original course by 60 rudder hard over to the opposite side.
c. When heading 20 short of opposite course, rudder to midship position and ship to be turned
to the opposite course.

3. Scharnow turn (not to be used in an immediate action situation)

1. Rudder hard over.
2. After deviation course by 240, rudder hard over to the opposite side.
3. When heading 20 short of opposite course, rudder to midship position so that ship will turn
to opposite course.

Assessment of the maneuvers described under in

relation to the types of situation described under:
1. Immediate action situation
a. SINGLE TURN will take the ship back to the scene of the casualty most quickly.
b. WILLIAMSON TURN requires more time and will temporarily take the ship farther away from the scene of
the casualty.
c. SCHARNOW TURN is not appropriate.

2. Delayed action situation

a. WILLIAMSON TURN will take the ship to the scene of the casualty most surely. (When the ship has reached
the maneuver commencement point, search speed must be reduced so as to enable fast stopping.)
b. SCHARNOW TURN cannot be carried out effectively unless the time elapsed between the occurrence of the
casualty and the commencement of the maneuver is known.

3. Person mossing situation

Both WILLIAMSON TURN and SCHARNOW TURN will take the ship back into her wake. Less distance is
covered, and thus time is saved, when carrying out SCHARNOW TURN. When the ship is on opposite
course after carrying out SCHARNOW TURN, the maneuver commencement point will be some ships
lengths behind her stern. Depending on the type of ship involved, between one and two nautical miles may
be saved.

Report by:

Laquiores, Ginel
Dolendo, Jumar
Abrasosa, Niel
Guanga Ernie John
Reyes, Ronald L
Estrada, Henry
Colocar, Doane