This section will give a short introduction to types of emergencies
that may occur shipboard contingency plans for response to emergencies
emergency signals and specific duties allocated to crew members in the muster
list muster stations and the correct use of
personal safety equipment procedures for discovering potential emergencies
procedures for emergency alarm signals the value of training and drills escape
routes and internal communications and alarm system
SOLAS is M code and Marple contained rules and regulations regarding maritime
safety the most common maritime emergency situations are collision
grounding leakage fire engine breakdown blackout on the bridge
bad weather armed robbery piracy conflict on board epidemics the
causes of accidents from 1981 to 1998 are as follows individuals on board 37
percent conditions outside the ship 18.1%
technical failure of equipment or misuse 14 percent failure to follow up on
communication organization procedures and routines 12.5% treatment or securing
of cargo and bunker 2% ship construction 1.8% other causes fourteen point three
percent the rate and types of accidents from 1981 to 1998 are as follows
grounding 41.8% collision 16.7% personal injury or death 10 percent fire or
explosion 9.5 percent contact injury 5.6 percent pollution 3.7 percent capsize
stability failure 2.5 percent leakage 2.4 percent engine breakdown 2 percent
bad weather damage 1.3 percent other 4.4 percent all personnel must be familiar
with the vessels emergency plans and routines when they are signed on a
vessel it is important that you locate the different plans and learn your
duties in different emergency situations it is vital that everybody on board is
trained in alarm signals muster station when the general alarm sounds muster
station when the fire alarm sounds escape ways emergency exit the location
and use of firefighting and life-saving appliances personal duties when an
emergency situation occurs remember safety first there are various types of
contingency plans on board a vessel these plans are for assisting the
in preparing for emergencies so that they can perform the correct tasks and
procedures in a given emergency situation the contingency plans onboard
are the safety plan the emergency plan the fire plan the general arrangement
plan the man-overboard instruction the oil pollution emergency plan it is
important that you familiarize yourselves with where the plans are
located on board your vessel and what sort of information they contain the
safety plan illustrates the location and number of all safety equipment on board
for example equipment such as lifeboat life raft survival suit and life boys
the emergency plan illustrates and explains the alarm signals general
lifeboat instruction general fire instruction assignments for fire alarm
allocation of lifeboats the fire control plan illustrates the location and number
of all firefighting appliances and equipment on board the ship such as
alarm buttons fire dampers portable extinguisher and fire protective
clothing when the vessel is in port there should be a copy of the fire
control plan near the gangway the general arrangement plan illustrates
the structure of the ship such as decks compartments tanks and the location of
Derrick's masts and mooring equipment the Man Overboard instruction describes
the correct procedure in the event of a man falling overboard and covers the
individual assignments the crew have when the alarm signal sounds the oil
pollution emergency plan describes the individual assignments for all personnel
on board and illustrates where the oil pollution equipment is located and how
the oil pollution alarm signal sounds the alarm instruction contains the
various alarm signals you will find on board the signal may vary from vessel to
vessel make sure you are familiar with the signals on your vessel
safety and protection equipment are important factors in personal safety
here are some questions you should ask yourselves why do we use safety and
protection equipment how do we use this equipment correctly when should we use
this equipment does the person who is going to use the equipment know how to
use it do we use the correct safety and protection equipment information about
the various kinds of safety equipment you have available on board and their
correct use can be obtained from sources such as instruction manuals company
safety manuals solace training and drills Seagal's CBT and number three
safety equipment make sure you are familiar with your vessels safety and
protection equipment upon discovering an emergency situation you should
immediately raise the alarm depending on the emergency there are various types of
plans for procedures to follow upon discovering a potential emergency
activate the alarm signal upon detecting fires no matter how small the fire seems
to be try to extinguish small fires with extinguishers blankets etc if it is not
possible to put out the fire in its first few minutes close all the
ventilation to prevent air from reaching the fire do not open doors or hatches
from areas weather does not seem to be any smoke and less wearing fire
protection equipment and carrying fire extinguishing equipment keep in mind
that a smoldering fire may produce invisible toxic gas raise the alarm and
proceed to muster stations or do as ordered on the vessels communication
system follow orders and routines as practiced during drills and as indicated
in the contingency manual guidelines and so pep in the event that the emergency
alarm signal has been raised all personnel are to follow company
procedures and meet at them muster stations upon alarm it is important that
everybody muster as quickly as possible in order to find out if anybody is
missing report immediately if anyone is missing if the ship is in port
what call the local fire authorities immediately it is the duty of every
member of ships personnel to know the location of all equipment hand
extinguishers hoses and emergency exits all personnel are to meet at their
designated lifeboat wearing suitable warm clothing all personnel must wear
lifejackets prior to preparing lifeboats for launching report if anybody is
missing inform the boat commander when his orders have been carried out life
rafts must be prepared as in accordance to boat commanders orders different
types of training and drills are performed on board a vessel typical
examples of such training and drills are fire lifeboat and pollution drills the
Man Overboard exercise on-the-job training
training for higher rank computer-based training service logs and record books
instruction drills the responsibility for training on board rests primarily
with the captain and senior officers the captain will supervise all training
activities in accordance with directives laid down in guidelines such as each
company's shipboard management system and in flag state requirements the
captain is also encouraged to delegate training and instructing activities to
other members of his staff including junior and petty officers motivation
initiative evaluation and feedback are important factors in making the training
on board successful the officers on board should motivate the crew when they
participate in drills and other forms of training and credit individual
initiative among the crew evaluation feedback and follow-up are essential
during and after training and drills the officers in charge of the drills should
give both positive and negative feedback and they should allow the crew to
express their own thoughts and comments it is important that all personnel on
board become familiar with the escape ways or emergency exits immediately
after embarkation the emergency exits should be properly marked in such a way
that everyone on board regardless of nationality understands the markings and
symbols here are some examples of IMO symbols related to life-saving
appliances and arrangement during training of new personnel on
board it is important to know the internal communications and alarm
systems everybody on board should know how the systems work how to operate them
and where the different systems are located on board the ship