Night Abandonment into a Liferaft: Signalling Discipline and a Deteriorating Survivor
MV Silver Fjord sank 40 minutes ago in the North Atlantic. Fourteen survivors are in a 20-person inflatable liferaft; an unknown number remain in the water and at least two were seen drifting away. Air temperature is 4 °C, water 7 °C, wind 25 knots from the north-west, sea 3 m, overcast, with darkness in about three hours. The raft carries one float-free EPIRB, which was manually activated and is now tethered outside the canopy; one hand-held SART; one GMDSS two-way VHF radio with a single battery pack; three red parachute flares, six hand flares and two buoyant smoke signals. The water container holds three days of ration at 0.5 L per person per day, but half the sealed sachets were punctured during inflation. One survivor has a suspected fractured rib, is shivering violently, confused, and has taken off his jacket.
1. Set out the signalling plan for the next six hours, including what to switch on, when, and what to conserve.
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The objective is to be detected by the first asset that comes within range, without spending all the batteries before anything is looking.
- EPIRB: leave it on. It is already activated and floating tethered outside the canopy. Its battery is sized for a long transmission and it is the single most valuable item on the raft, because it tells the rescue coordination centre where the raft is without anyone having to see a flare. Confirm it is upright, clear of the canopy and not being knocked by people moving about.
- SART: switch on when you believe a vessel or aircraft with radar is within range - not continuously from hour one. It responds only to interrogation by a radar, so it is silent and useless if nothing is near, and it burns its battery while doing so. Turn it on when a ship is sighted or a radar-equipped aircraft is heard, and expect the responder to appear on that vessel's display - remember the ship will see a line of dots and must be told by radio which one is the raft.
- VHF: monitor channel 16 in short, disciplined listening periods. It is the direct link to a rescuing ship or to a helicopter on scene. Do not transmit continuously; the battery is one pack and the radio is the only means of talking to your rescuer.
- Pyrotechnics: hold them until they can be seen. A flare fired at nothing is a flare wasted - the whole supply is six minutes of visibility. Fire a parachute flare when a ship or aircraft is in sight or when a light is heard, and keep the hand flares for the final approach when the rescuer is close but cannot see the raft. Smoke is for daylight; it is useless now.
Brief one person as signals custodian so that nobody else opens the container out of fear.
2. How do you manage water, the injured and hypothermic man, and the raft itself through the first night?
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Survival in a raft is mostly about not making things worse.
Water. The ration is 0.5 L per person per day and half the sachets are compromised - so the punctured ones are drunk first, tonight. No one drinks seawater, and nobody drinks urine. The confused, shivering man and anyone else who is cold or injured gets water first: dehydration accelerates cooling and confusion. Do not impose a total fast; small sips through the night, carefully rationed, is the correct balance. Collect rain if it comes, using the canopy and any clean container.
The injured man. He is showing the classic picture of moderate to severe hypothermia - violent shivering, confusion, and paradoxical undressing, which is why the jacket is off. Get him inside the canopy, out of the wind, horizontal, and insulated from the floor of the raft: survival bag or blanket, other survivors huddled around him. Handle him gently - rough movement of a cold, irritable heart can trigger ventricular fibrillation. Do not rub his limbs, do not give alcohol, and do not give him anything hot and stimulating. Keep his jacket on him, check breathing and responsiveness regularly, and be ready to start resuscitation if he deteriorates.
The raft. Stream the sea anchor to hold the drift and keep the entrance away from the sea; close the canopy; keep the floor inflated and bail any water; appoint a lookout rotation so that a light on the horizon is not missed; keep everyone as still and as dry as possible. Seasickness tablets for those who are vomiting, because vomiting is a fast route to dehydration and heat loss. A calm, briefed raft is warmer and more alert than a frightened one.
3. At 02:00 a ship's lights are seen about four miles away and closing slowly. What do you do, in what order, and what do you say on the radio?
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Four miles and closing slowly is a real rescue prospect, and the priority is to convert it into a detection before it passes.
- SART on now. With a vessel that close and her radar likely to be sweeping, the SART becomes the most precise cue available. Switch it on and keep it on; the ship should see a line of response dots and be able to read the range and bearing.
- Radio call on channel 16. A short, disciplined distress message: MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, this is liferaft of Silver Fjord, fourteen persons, position approximately [given as a bearing and distance from the vessel if known, otherwise the last known position], SART activated, EPIRB activated. Repeat at intervals rather than continuously, and listen afterwards - the reply is the point.
- Then the flare. Fire one parachute flare when the vessel is clearly within visual range and the flare will be seen against the sky, not lost in the sea clutter. One flare, not the whole set. Hold the rest for the final approach, when a hand flare at deck level tells the rescuer exactly where you are among the waves.
- Help them find you. Keep the SART on, put the best eyes on the bridge with a torch, use the radio to steer them - bearing and distance, which side of their bow you are on - and be ready to receive a line or a boat.
- Prepare to transfer. Secure loose gear, get the injured man ready to move first, brief everyone to follow instructions from the rescuing ship, and do not all stand up at once in the raft. A rescue at night in 3 m seas is a moment when people are lost through eagerness rather than through the sea.