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Abandon Ship + Search and Rescue Operations

The document discusses procedures for abandoning a ship in an emergency and survival afterwards. It explains that the decision to abandon is made by the master if the ship is flooding, on fire, or sinking and crew cannot safely control it. Crew should don lifejackets and clothing and gather survival equipment before boarding lifeboats or liferafts. After abandoning, survivors should stay near crafts, remain calm, and use signals only when vessels are near to increase chances of rescue. Search and rescue operations follow standardized communication and search patterns coordinated by maritime rescue coordination centers.

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Eduard Gabriel
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489 views

Abandon Ship + Search and Rescue Operations

The document discusses procedures for abandoning a ship in an emergency and survival afterwards. It explains that the decision to abandon is made by the master if the ship is flooding, on fire, or sinking and crew cannot safely control it. Crew should don lifejackets and clothing and gather survival equipment before boarding lifeboats or liferafts. After abandoning, survivors should stay near crafts, remain calm, and use signals only when vessels are near to increase chances of rescue. Search and rescue operations follow standardized communication and search patterns coordinated by maritime rescue coordination centers.

Uploaded by

Eduard Gabriel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Abandon ship

In this section, we will learn about:


 The decision to abandon ship.
 Action in case of abandoning ship.
 Survival crafts
 Equipment to be taken
 Survival after abandoning.

Decision of abandoning ship


If the ship is flooding or is on fire and sinking, and the crew cannot control the situation safely, the vessel
may need to be abandoned.
The decision to abandon ship is taken by the Master. Upon deciding that the emergency is sufficiently
severe and that no further action by the crew will improve the situation, the Master announces "Abandon
Ship" on the PA system.

Action in case of abandon ship


Before abandoning ship, all persons onboard should:
 Put on warm clothing.
 Put on a lifejacket and proceed to their muster station.
 Assist children and those in need of help.

Survival craft
Ships are equipped with 2 types of survival craft:
 Lifeboats
 Liferafts
Every craft is pre-equipped with rations and various equipment designed to aid survival at sea.
The Master will decide the number and location of the survival crafts to be launched, depending on the
number of personnel and the nature of the emergency.

Equipment
The ship's muster list details the duties and responsibilities of each crew member in the event of the need
to abandon ship.
Personnel are also assigned to carry :
 Extra food and rations.
 Distress pyrotechnics
 Walkie-talkies.
 An emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).
 Search and rescue transponders (SART).
Further equipment and rations should only be collected if time and safety permit.

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Search action plan
A search mission co-ordinator (SMC) makes a search action plan based on
the:
 Number of units assisting in the search and rescue.
 The last known position of the ship in distress and the time elapsed.
 Weather conditions.
 The nature of the search (whether it is for a ship, lifeboats or person
in the water).
 Datum (the reference points for the search calculated on the basis of
the last known position and the state of the weather).

Search pattern
The search is conducted in accordance with established patterns. The various search patterns used are:
 An expanding square search.
 A sector search.
 A trackline search.
 Parallel sweep search.

osc
The SMC or MRCC appoints a rescue ship as on-scene co-ordinator (OSC) to
co-ordinate the search and rescue efforts at, or near, the distress position.
The OSC is usually the ship best equipped for rescue efforts or the first ship
to arrive on the scene.

Completion of search
These detailed procedures ensure that every effort is made to locate and rescue the persons in distress by
all available means.

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Survival
After abandoning the ship:
 All the survival crafts should keep close together.
 All personnel in the survival craft should remain calm.
 If necessary keep warm by huddling together.
 Do not drink seawater.
 Arrange lookout watches.
 Use flares only when there is a vessel in the vicinity.
 Fix the SART in a high position to increase chances of being spotted.

Search and rescue

All persons and vessels must assist others in distress at sea, whenever they can safely do so.
In this section we will learn about:
Communication procedures.
Search and rescue operations.
Completion of search.

Communication procedure
To co-ordinate a prompt and efficient rescue effort, proper procedures have to be followed.
These procedures include communication between:
 Ship to shore: Information about the incident.
 Shore to shore: Co-ordination between search and rescue authorities.
 Shore to ship: Instructions to the vessel in distress and the assisting ships.
 Ship to ship: Information exchange between ships in the vicinity and the vessel in distress.

Search and rescue operation


["he International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR Manual) provides
detailed guidelines for all authorities and ships that are likely to )e involved in a search and rescue (SAR)
mission at sea.
Here are various terms used during Search and Rescue operations:
 MRCC.
 Search action plan.
 Search pattern.
 OSC.

MRCC
Maritime rescue co-ordination centers (MRCC) are land-based authorities established
to efficiently organize and coordinate the conduct of search and rescue operations
within a region.
MRCCs acknowledge the distress alert in their specified areas and communicate with
the ship in distress to assess the situation.
An MRCC has the authority to summon all available resources to assist in the rescue
effort.

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