Tag: life-saving equipment

What are the consequences? Reference is made to the revised LSA Code, applicable from 1 January 2012, where the person weight for the design and testing of liferafts has been increased from 75 to 82.5 kg.Until further notice, the following preliminary IACS position shall be DNV practice:All ships constructed (keel laid) on or after 1 January 2012 should carry liferafts approved on the basis of an average person mass of occupants of 82.5kg. The SWL of any davits installed for launching these liferafts should be approved on the basis of an average person mass of occupants of 82.5kg.All ships constructed before 1 January 2012 may continue to use inflatable liferafts approved on the basis of an average person mass of occupants of 75kg unless such rafts are "replaced". Replaced liferafts do not include rafts which are "exchanged" for servicing, in cases where Owners have made arrangements with service firms to exchange such liferafts. As such, "82.5kg inflatable liferafts" are only required when "75kg inflatable liferafts" are "replaced" due to damage, upgrade of equipment, etc.On passenger ships constructed before 1 January 2012, MSC.1/Circ.1347 permits the determination of the required SWL of a liferaft launching appliance to continue to be based on ...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands issues Marine Notice- updated The Republic of the Marshall Islands issues Marine Notice providing up-to-date information regarding Life-Saving Appliances and Equipment as follows:This Notice addresses a number of recent issues and requests involving Life-Saving Appliances aboard Marshall Islands Flag vessels that have been presented to the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator (the "Administrator") for interpretation and clarification of its policy.For more information, click here.Source: The Republic of trhe Marshall Islands

Covering multi-brand servicing and the re-hooking of lifeboats Lifeboat manufacturer and service provider Schat-Harding has widened the range of its global service network to cover multi-brand servicing and the re-hooking of lifeboats.For the first time, shipowners will be able to obtain most of their lifeboats, hooks, winches and davits serviced by a trained engineer working to the highest global standards, backed by a global service network. They will also be able to use Schat-Harding's range of modern hooks to replace older models, which may no longer meet IMO standards.Birger Grathen, CEO, Schat-Harding Service, said, "This is a major step forward for shipowners. They don't have to risk using small and unauthorised lifeboat service and testing stations, or hooks from companies with no track record."Our global network of service stations and partners is now authorised to service over 500 lifesaving products made by other OEMs, on top of all the products delivered by the 15 major brands we own," he said.Source: Schat-Harding

Crew members calmed panicking passengers and guided hundreds onto lifeboats When the Costa Concordia was listing heavily on its starboard side, Ciro Iosso and other crew members calmed panicking passengers and guided hundreds onto lifeboats even after the captain had abandoned ship.Below, as the engine room flooded in minutes, third officer Andrea Carollo saw that nothing could be done there and rushed to help passengers waiting to get off the cruise liner, holed on a rock on an Italian island.Anxious to show that they at least had done their duty, mariners distanced themselves from criticism, directed particularly at their captain, that followed the night rescue."I could have saved myself and not done my duty, but I didn't. I waited and helped get at least 300 people on lifeboats," said Iosso, an electrician on the doomed ship."I'm very proud, and above all, I have a clear conscience," he said as he waited for a train ticket to take him home to his wife and five-year-old son in Torre del Greco, near Naples.The crew's story has been overshadowed by passenger complaints of chaos and poor communication during the evacuation and above all by the mistakes and alleged cowardice of Captain Francesco Schettino, ...

This tradition begun when the HMS Birkenhead sank in 1852 Anybody who has seen James Cameron's Titanic, about the 1912 sinking of the eponymous ocean liner knows that when a ship is sinking, women and children have first dibs on the lifeboats. The recent capsizing of a cruise ship off the coast of Italy, which killed at least 11 passengers, has inspired many to ask if "women and children first" is an official rule or just a popular convention. Here's the scoop.During an evacuation, men may choose to give up their seats on lifeboats to women and children, but there is no official maritime rule that mandates they must do so. An article from the BBC helps explain the process that crews follow when a ship is in danger of sinking.Upon boarding, all passengers are assigned a lifeboat based on the location of their cabins. If an accident should occur, it is the captain's decision whether or not to evacuate the vessel. The BBC quotes Rob Ashdown, operations director at the European Cruise Council, who says men on a sinking ship have no legal obligation to step aside.The tradition, as an explainer from Slate speculates, may have begun when the ...

"Women and children first!" It's been suggested women and children were not given priority for lifeboats when the Costa Concordia capsized. But are there rules governing who leaves a sinking ship first?It's a famous moment in the Titanic story. "Women and children first!" went the cry.It's too early to know exactly what happened in the final hours of the Costa Concordia. The captain has already had to deny allegations he left the ship before everyone had been evacuated.And it has been reported that some male passengers ignored informal injunctions to wait until women and children had made it into the lifeboats.How did the priority rule begin? This protocol started when HMS Birkenhead sank in 1852 "Women and children first" phrase coined in 1860 RMS Titanic disaster in 1912 popularised the rule Only 20% of men on board Titanic were saved It is not a part of international maritime lawEdwin Gurd, a retired police chief, told the Times. "We were keen for women and children to go first, and men if they had babies or families. A lot of men regardless of that were trying to save themselves."But is the traditional maxim of women and children going first really part of ...

The survivors from the Costa Concordia came from many different countries including Britain, France, South Africa and the USA.

Preventing accidents caused by the failure of on-load release hooks during lifeboat drills In recent years there have been a number of accidents caused by the failure of on-load release hooks during lifeboat drills, which have resulted in seafarers being seriously injured and even killed. IMO has therefore been developing measures to prevent accidents with lifeboats.The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has been following the IMO discussions through the Industry Lifeboat Group (ILG), which is made up of a wide range of shipping industry organisations and is co-ordinated by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and IMCA has now published an information note (IMCA M 20/11) on the subject, which is available to members on the 'members-only' website.The information note explains that earlier in 2011, after lengthy deliberations, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted new design requirements for on-load release hooks for lifeboats. On-load release mechanisms must be evaluated against the new requirements by 1 July 2013, and any non-compliant hooks must be replaced no later than the first scheduled dry docking of the ship after 1 July 2014 but, in any case, not later than 1 July 2019.The requirements will apply to new and existing on-load release hook designs ...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands issues Marine Notice The Republic of the Marshall Islands issues Marine Notice regarding Life Boat Equipment Requirements, Maintenance, and Servicing as follows:Due to the extent of issues and recent regulatory developments relating to lifeboats and on-load release hooks, this Notice has been developed to specifically address these issues and requests presented to the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator (the "Administrator") for interpretation and clarification of policy. Sections of Marshall Islands Marine Notice 2-011-5 (reference (c) above) related to lifeboat servicing, lifeboat damage, falls and equipment dispensations have been relocated to this Notice accordinglyFor more information, click hereSource: The Republic of the Marshall Islands

Fatal accidents have occurred as a result of lifeboat on-load release mechanisms Ireland adopts SOLAS amendments to replace non-compliant lifeboat on-load release mechanisms and has issued a Marine Notice no 54 of 2011.This is a useful reminder of the numerous fatal accidents that have occurred as a result of lifeboat on-load release mechanisms and that the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), at its eighty-ninth session held May 2011, adopted, by resolution MSC.317(89), the new SOLAS regulation III/1.5 and, by resolution MSC.320(89), related amendments to chapter IV of the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code, both of which are expected to enter into force on 1st January 2013The SOLAS amendment requires lifeboat on-load release mechanisms, not complying with the new LSA Code requirements, to be replaced no later than the first scheduled dry-docking of the ship after 1st July 2014 but, in any case, not later than 1st July 2019.The amendment is intended to establish new, stricter, safety standards for lifeboat release and retrieval systems, aimed at preventing accidents during lifeboat launching, and will require the assessment and possible replacement of a large number of lifeboat release hooks.The MSC also approved associated "Guidelines for Evaluation and Replacement ...