Monthly abandon-ship drill in port: marginal launch, missing immersion suits and a panicking swimmer
At 10:00 in port, the master schedules the monthly abandon-ship drill. Three of the 20 crew joined yesterday and have not completed familiarisation. The starboard lifeboat is to be launched with four crew for a boat-handling demonstration; the wind is 22 knots and there is a 1.5 m swell inside the harbour. The bosun tells the four to 'skip the immersion suits, it's only 20 minutes' because the suits are stowed in a locked locker two decks away. One new joiner says he cannot swim. During the drill, a crew member in the water (voluntarily, wearing a lifejacket) begins to thrash and shout that he cannot breathe. The rescue boat is manned but its engine is not started.
1. Do you launch the lifeboat? What PPE is required, and what must the three new joiners actually practise?
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I would not launch for a demonstration in 22 knots and a 1.5 m swell with crew who joined yesterday, unless there is an experienced coxswain and the releasing gear and brake have been checked that morning. The purpose of the drill is familiarisation and confidence, not proving the boat can be launched in marginal conditions; a damaged boat or a man overboard in harbour destroys the training value and may close the drill programme.
PPE is not optional because it is only 20 minutes. Lifejackets for everyone in the boat, helmets for the boat's crew, and immersion suits where the risk assessment requires them or the water is cold. The suits being locked two decks away is itself a finding: drill PPE must be available at the muster point. The non-swimmer can muster, don a suit and lifejacket, and act as communicator or headcount recorder - he must not be required to enter the water, and that restriction goes in the record.
2. The man in the water is thrashing and says he cannot breathe. What is your differential and your immediate action?
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Treat it as real until proven otherwise. Differentials: panic, cold shock on entry, a lifejacket riding up over the face because the crotch strap is not fastened, or actual water inhalation.
Action: get the rescue boat started and closed up before anyone else enters the water. Call to him calmly and tell him to float on his back with his chin up; throw a lifebuoy; bring the boat alongside and lift him, not drag him by the jacket. Check the jacket fit and clear the airway. If he has inhaled water and becomes unresponsive, start with 5 rescue breaths and then CPR - drowning casualties need ventilation early.
The judgement is not to jump in after him: a panicking casualty can drown the rescuer, and the rescue boat is the right tool if it is started now rather than after the shouting starts.
3. What must be recorded after this drill, and which training rules drive the follow-up for the new joiners?
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Record the date, duration, crew present, what was practised, and every defect found: the brake condition, the locked immersion-suit locker, lifejacket fit, the unstarted rescue boat engine. Each finding needs an owner and a corrective action, not just a note.
Rules driving follow-up: every crew member participates in at least one abandon-ship drill each month, and must be familiarised within 24 hours of joining. The three joiners therefore need lifejacket and immersion-suit donning practised and recorded before they can be counted as ready, not merely mustered. A drill must also be planned and briefed so that it does not endanger the ship or people - which is why the marginal launch decision and the PPE shortcuts are drill-record items, not small informalities.