The crew are now on their way to the rescue stations the ladder which
will later be used to get down to the raft is here paid out and secured by two
members of the crew
when the painter line of the life raft has been properly secured on board and
the order given the lashing holding the raft is released and the raft is eased
over the side when the remainder of the painter line has been pulled out of the
container the raft is inflated by a firm tug on the line the raft will be fully
inflated in the course of about 60 seconds with minor variations depending
on the actual temperature at the time as can be seen here the raft is equipped
with an automatically deployable see angle which is released when the raft is
being inflated and therefore contributes to the stability of the raft at an early
stage in the launching procedure the raft is now maneuvered to the matter
which is already hanging at the side of the ship
the whistling noise we can hear is quite normal and comes from the safety valves
on the raft blowing off excess co2 this always happens in connection with the
inflation of a life raft
the position of light on top of the raft which has a built-in blink has already
been activated during inflation of the raft but should be switched off when not
needed the crew now enter the raft with great care despite the fact that they
are wearing immersion suits it can often be very difficult to rescue people out
of the water under the sort of weather conditions normally encountered in a
distressed situation at sea
when all our safety on board the painter line is cuts and the knife replaced in
the holder provided
it is now a question of getting away from the sinking ship as quickly as
possible using the paddles supplied in the raft in some situations it might be
advisable to haul in the sea anchor while paddling if it is difficult to get
away from the side of the ship for example in a hectic emergency situation
it could happen that some of those on board ship might not manage to get down
to the life raft before it is cut adrift the men we see here are wearing their
immersion suits and have therefore greatly increased their chances of
survival the crew in the life raft are well aware of the importance of keeping
a sharp lookout for survivors in this phase of the operation and have in fact
already spotted the two men left behind on the sinking ship the light on the
immersion suit should of course be switched on if this ability is low
to the survival suit is also attached a so called body line so that several
survivors can link themselves together in the water this can be especially
valuable if an exhausted person has to be towed along in the water
in the meantime the crew in the life raft have hauled in the CI a-- gun and
are paddling the raft towards the two men in the water the raft is equipped
with a rescue line with quite here being thrown out to those in the water one of
those in the water gets hold of the quote and pulls it up around his upper
arm the line can now be hauled into the raft those in the water must be got onto
the raft as quickly and as securely as possible the sea anchor is now deployed
again to stabilize the raft and minimize drift away from the position of the
wreck the entrance to the raft is closed and a lookout posted keeping a sharp
lookout is vitally important for a successful rescue operation so that the
exact position of the raft can be signaled if a plane or ship comes into
the vicinity this are a similar instruction chart concerning the
operation of the life raft well as we have said be included in the compulsory
training manuals on the ship here for example we see an American training
manual
this instruction book is published by the Danish Association of shipowners
and among the contents are a section on lifejackets a section on lifeboats and
life rafts how to enter the life raft
what to do if you have to jump overboard wearing a lifejacket nowadays approve
life rafts ought to be fitted with a hydrostatic release unit the purpose of
this unit is to release the raft if the ship sinks so quickly that there is no
time to release it manually this Pelican hook is used in connection with manual
operation of the raft if the ship should sink without a lying time for manual
launching water will enter the release unit through the holes shown here when
the release unit is about three metres underwater it will be activated by water
pressure releasing the raft the raft container which is sufficiently buoyant
to float to the surface is now only connected to the ship via the painter
line of the raft and the so called weak link the weak link is strong enough to
release the raft if the water at the scene of the shipwreck is deeper than
the length of the painter line and weak enough in this situation to be snapped
as the inflated raft surfaces
as mentioned earlier some rafts are equipped with automatically deployable
CE angles in accordance with some national regulations whether the sea
anchor is automatic or not it is very important during the first phase of the
evacuation and the raft is close to the sinking ship that the anchor does not
foul some part of the ship in the event of this happening anyway the raft is
equipped depending on size with one or two knives which can be used to cut
loose the sea anchor note that the raft is also equipped with the reserved sea
anchor the knife position shown here is primarily used to cut the painter line
of the raft that is the line connecting it to the sinking ship in order to avoid
damage to the raft the knife should be returned after used to the sheath
providing
if the raft at some point should capsize it can be fairly easily write it if the
correct procedure is followed the raft should be climbed onto from the water on
the side where the co2 bottle is placed by using the runt of the ladder which is
about 40 centimeters under the surface and getting hold of the right link strap
you can hold yourself onto the upturned raft the raft is righted by standing on
the cylinder bag heaving on the line and leaning backwards the raft can be much
more easily righted if it can be turned into the wind after writing the raft is
best entered on the side where the boarding ramp is situated other people
who might be in the water in the vicinity of the raft should be helped on
board the emergency kit on board the raft contains equipment which can be a
great help to victims of a shipwreck the thermal protective aids can be used to
help people who have lost a lot of body heat to do two immersion in cold water
the suit is lined on the inside with a material that reflects the body heat of
the person in distress greatly reducing the danger of further loss of heat
seasick tablets should be taken as soon as possible because those on board a
life raft will almost without exception suffer from seasickness with the
consequent loss of natural reactions and powers of judgment the signalling
equipment available in the raft so vital for the final stages of a rescue
operation is as follows
parachute rockets hand flares smoke signals signaling mirror signaling lamp
and a signaling whistle instructions for the use of this signaling equipment are
found on board the raft as well as in the general instruction manuals on the
ship the raft also carries one or two Baylor's depending on the size of the
raft sponges for soaking up moisture and condensation medicine kits one and a
half litres of drinking water per person 500 grams emergency rations per person
and fishing tackle the top of the raft has trucks to collect rainwater
there is also an emergency repair kit to facilitate basic repairs in the case of
acute damage to the raft it is quite normal today that rafts are equipped
with an emergency transmitter instructions for use are of course also
included no matter what the make of the transmitter the type of emergency
equipment found in a raft is now established by international agreements
based on a wide range of experience
the raft is fitted with a double floor which can be inflated by using the
bellows provided in the raft something which has unfortunately often been
forgotten in connection with shipwrecks over the last few years we would like to
make the point very clear an inflated double floor offering greater insulation
and the majority of sea conditions who make a stay in the raft are much more
comfortable experience now back to the rescue action at sea the lookout in the
raft has heard the rotor noise of the helicopter and it is now vitally
important to signal the position of the raft this can be done as here by firing
a parachute rocket
in clear weather lighting a hand flare as we can see here and will make the
raft more visible to rescue vessels the orange smoke signals also found in the
raft are also visible over long distances in daylight in addition they
are a great help to a rescue helicopter trying to determine the best angle of
approach to the world