- What if a ship collision happened? What needs to be done?
- Actions to be taken in case of ship grounding
- Fire onboard
- Always be prepared for a heavy weather phenomenon
- What to do in case of hull failure
- The importance of understanding ship stability
- The case of ship flooding
- How to act during a cargo shifting
- Main engine failure can lead to accident
- Steering failure is more common than we think
- Necessary steps required in case of power failure
- "Man overboard"
- How Search And Rescue works
- Personnel injuries and illness when onboard
- Rescue from Enclosed Space
- Helicopter Operations
- Marine salvage operations
- Oil pollution
- What can make towing dangerous
- Actions required in case of machinery spaces casualty
Reasons of falling overboard
Accidental reasons
- slippery deck
- working overside
- during drills on deck etc.
On purpose reasons
- suicide attempt
- criminal act
Real life "man overboard" incident
An incident has been reported, during which a man fell overboard while involved in mooring operations. The crewman who was assisted an operation was retrieving the forward mooring rope from the sea when suddenly lost his balance and fell overboard. He recovered successfully and unharmed. Following investigation showed that even though a tool box meeting had been held the previous day, there was not any specific tool box talk before the mooring and unmooring operations start. Additionally, the mooring operation had not been risk assessed, as required.
Such situations are calling for right and fast manipulations as it is very possible the person to be lost. By the time a person falls into the water, recovery procedures it is important to be followed. The recovery process is consisted of two stages:
- Bringing people to the side of the ship
- Getting them onboard
Actions to be taken in case of a "man overboard" incident
- Release lifebuoy and maneuver to pick up man, always with respect to the man
- Call the master
- Sound alarm and commence Williamson turn
- Stop engines and place them on stand by
- Alert by radio vessels in vicinity
When the person is successfully picked up from water responsible crew members should undertake first aid actions in order to help the person recover. Subsequently, vessel’s crew should inform the office about the incident and ask for medical assistance if needed.
Emergency actions are listed in the following checklist, provided by SQE Marine emergency situations. More information on how to approach “Man overboard” emergency situations, can be found in the related Ship Manual “Persons Recovery from Water”.
