Person Overboard at Night in the North Atlantic
At 0240 UTC your 15-knot general cargo ship is in the North Atlantic, position 48°30′N 030°15′W, wind NW 25 knots, sea state 5, water temperature 12°C, air temperature 8°C, visibility 3 NM in rain showers. A deckhand is reported missing; the last positive sighting was 7 minutes ago on the port side near frame 60. The ship is on course 090° and has not yet altered. The 2nd officer is on the bridge with a lookout; the master is en route. The vessel is equipped with a GMDSS MF/HF DSC, VHF DSC, two SARTs, AIS, and a MOB button that has not been pressed. The engine room reports 2 minutes to full ahead from 15 knots; the ship is 180 m LOA with a turning circle of 0.8 NM at 15 knots.
1. State your immediate actions and choose the turn. Justify the choice using the 7-minute delay and the vessel's turning circle.
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Immediate actions: press the MOB button, announce 'man overboard, port side' on the PA, order the helm hard-a-port, ring the general alarm, post lookouts with binoculars and searchlights, and release a lifebuoy with light/smoke. The ship is making 15 knots; in 7 minutes she has run about 1.75 NM. The last sighting is near frame 60 on the port side, so the turn must keep the stern and propeller away from that side.
With a 7-minute delay and no confirmed position, I would use a Williamson turn: hard-a-port, then hard-a-starboard when the heading is about 60° off the original course, and steady on the reciprocal course (270°). This brings the ship back along her track, which is where the person is most likely to be, and it is more accurate than an Anderson turn when the casualty is not in sight. The Anderson turn is faster and would be preferred if the person were continuously visible, but here it could put the search on the wrong side of the track. Increase to full ahead only if it does not compromise the search and recovery; the engine room already needs 2 minutes, so the turn should start immediately. Rig the rescue boat and prepare recovery equipment.
2. Draft the distress/urgency communications. State whether you would send MAYDAY or PAN PAN and why, and what information you would include.
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Send a MAYDAY, not a PAN PAN. A person in 12°C water is in grave and imminent danger, and immediate assistance is required to save life; the fact that the ship itself is not in distress does not change that. On the MF/HF or VHF DSC, transmit the distress alert with the ship's position, time, nature of distress (person overboard), course and speed, weather, and the number of persons in the water. Follow with a MAYDAY voice call on the associated distress frequency or channel 16, including the same information, the last sighting time, and the search action being taken. Notify the MRCC and any vessels in the area; use AIS and, if fitted, an AIS MOB device or SART only in the appropriate survival-craft context. Keep a listening watch and cancel the distress only when the person is recovered or the search is taken over by the MRCC.
3. Describe the search pattern, leeway calculation, and hypothermia management while approaching the casualty.
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Search datum: the ship's position at the time of the loss, adjusted 1.75 NM back along the track (roughly 270° from the 0240 position), then allowed to drift downwind/downcurrent. With NW 25 knots and sea state 5, leeway will be significant; use the last sighting, the turn track and the lifebuoy position to refine the datum. An expanding-square search from the datum is appropriate for a single small object; a sector search is better if the datum is precise and the search area small. Assign searchlights and thermal imaging, keep speed low, and use the rescue boat when the person is sighted.
For hypothermia: 12°C water gives a short survival time. Recover the person horizontally, avoid sudden movements, remove wet clothing, insulate and warm slowly, and do not rub the limbs or give alcohol. Check breathing and pulse; start CPR if needed, using a hypothermia-aware approach, and arrange medical advice/medevac. The ship's hospital should be ready before the person is brought aboard.