Safety of Life, Emergency Procedures and Firefighting
Safety of life, emergency procedures and firefighting tests whether you can prevent an accident and, if it happens, act in the right order without losing people.
Equipment and drills
- Lifejackets for every person plus children's sizes, lifebuoys with light and line, rescue boat or dinghy where required, throw line, first-aid kit and stretcher; keep drill records.
- Fire classes: A solids, B liquids, C gases, D metals. Engine-room fuel fires are class B - foam, CO2 or powder, never a water jet.
- Fixed engine-room system (CO2, aerosol or water mist), quick-closing fuel valves, ventilator dampers, fire detection and alarm, escape routes kept clear.
Emergency sequence: engine-room fire
- Raise the alarm, stop engines, close the fuel quick-closing valve, stop ventilation.
- Account for everyone; do not open the engine-room door to look - fresh air causes flashover.
- Release the fixed system only when all persons are out, then boundary-cool the casing.
- Send MAYDAY on VHF with position by kilometre mark and bank, and head for the nearest landing.
Other emergencies
Man overboard: shout, throw a lifebuoy, helm toward the person's side, engines out of gear, recover from downwind. Flooding: find the leak, close watertight openings, use pumps and collision mat, beach if necessary. Abandon ship only as a last resort.
Worked example
A fire alarm sounds in the engine room while you are alone in the wheelhouse. Correct order: stop engines, close the fuel valve, stop the fans, check by intercom whether anyone is below, then release the fixed system. Opening the door first is the classic fatal mistake.
Traps
Water on a fuel fire; re-entering a CO2-flooded space without breathing apparatus; forgetting to count persons; breathing dry-powder residue in a small enclosed space.