INTER-GLOBAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.

Brgy. Bocohan, Lucena City

Registration No.16Q13029

COURSE MODULE
(Paper-Based)

STUDENT’S COPY

I. NAME OF PROGRAM Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation (BSMT)

COURSE CODE
II. COURSE DESCRIPTIVE
Ship Handling and Maneuvering
TITLE / CODE
Seam 5

COURSE CREDIT UNIT

IV. PRE-REQUISITE / CO-
DW 1
REQUISITE / CREDIT UNIT 3

VI. COURSE DESCRIPTION Ship Handling and Maneuvering

Maneuvers and procedures for the rescue of MODULE NUMBER

VII. MODULE TITLE/ NUMBER
person overboard.
6

IX. INCLUSIVE WEEK Week Number 6

Perform appropriate maneuvers and procedures to rescue person overboard using

X. COURSE OUTCOME
simulator.

Learning Outcome: At the end of the modules, the students should be able to:
1. Distinguish between “immediate action”, ”delayed action ”and “person missing” situations.
2. Describe the single turn, Williamson turn and Scharnow turn maneuvers.
3. Explain states that the standard maneuvers are not guaranteed to return a ship into its wake because of the effects of particular ship characteristics
and environmental conditions on the ship and the person in the water.
4. List the sequence of actions to take when a person is seen to fall overboard.
5. Demonstrate the ability to maneuver the vessel for the rescue of a person overboard.
6. List the shallow water effects such as:
6.1 increased directional stability
6.2 a large increase in turning radius
6.3 the ship carrying her way longer and responding slowly to changes in engine speed..
6.4 speed falling less during turns.
6.5 squat ncreasing
6.6 trim changing usually by the head for full form

A. STCW Competence Addressed by the Course Module :

 A-II/1 F1.C5: Respond to Emergencies

B. STCW KUP Addressed by the Course Module:

 A-II/1 F1.C5. KUP1: Emergency procedures

XI. MODULE RESOURCES

MINIMUM READING MATERIAL/ONLINE RESOURCES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE FACULTY; IT CAN BE
IN PDF / WORD FILE / INTERNET LINKS / ETC. AND ITS MHEIs DISCRETION BASED ON THEIR
RESOURCES / CAPABILITY

A. IMO IMDG.1: International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (Volume 1)

[https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/ibr/004/imo.imdg.1.2006.pdf]
B. Dangerous Goods Management Manual
[http://www.mrcmekong.org/assets/Publications/basin-reports/Dangerious-Goods-MM-
Sept2013.pdf]
C. An Introduction to the IMDG Code [http://www.imdgsupport.com/Free%20IMDG%20Code
%20introduction%2037-14.pdf]
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INTER-GLOBAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.

INTRODUCTION:

LESSON MAP:

Shout

Throw

Point
Brgy. Bocohan, Lucena City

Man Overboard (MOB) is an extremely serious and potentially fatal event that

Initiate turn

Press MOB button on GPS

Transmit distress call by

VHF

Assess, approach, and brief

& delegate crew on
appropriate actions for
recovery
Registration No.16Q13029

every CRV crew could experience at least once in their career. A well-trained Skipper and
crew have a far greater chance of succeeding at recovering the person alive.

It is vital that drills are conducted frequently with regular crew members. It is
a legal requirement for the Skipper or designated crew member to brief any new crew or
passengers on the procedure, and as with other emergency procedures to record
training drills in the vessel log / SSM manual.
 INTER-GLOBAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
Brgy. Bocohan, Lucena City
Registration No.16Q13029

Maneuvers and Procedures for the Rescue of Persons Overboard

In a person overboard (POB) emergency, a passenger or a crew member on the ship has fallen to
the water. The situation is especially dangerous in cold waters since hypothermia can lead to
unconsciousness and death within few minutes. In consequence, if a POB emergency occurs, accurate
and reliable maneuver instructions should be provided. Nowadays, vessels are increasingly equipped
with integrated navigation systems, which can be used to provide quick decision making in such
situations and assist the crew in the rescue procedure.
In terms of risk to human life, POB emergencies are quite severe because it is estimated that
only in around 25% cases the victim survives from the incident [3]. There are numerous issues that
make the rescue operation difficult. First, the location of the victim is constantly moving due to waves,
current and wind, which makes locating the person challenging. Moreover, the person overboard
accidents tend to occur during nights, while the visibility is poor, which further contributes to the
challenge of detecting the victim. Furthermore, the accidents are often discovered with a delay, thus
adding uncertainty to the person's location. Lastly, even the fall from the ship by itself is dangerous
and people have experienced serious injuries or been knocked unconscious from colliding into the
surface. Fortunately, however, POB accidents are relatively rare maritime emergencies compared to,
for example, groundings and collisions.
The procedure of recovering the person back onboard is not straightforward, due to the fact that
rescue boats cannot be launched safely while the vessel is travelling at high speed, which means the
vessel will have to decelerate significantly. On the other hand, the deceleration distance of a large
vessel is extremely long so once the velocity would be appropriate to launch a rescue boat, the
distance to the victim will be huge and locating the with the rescue boat person would be a challenging
task. In consequence, the most common response to a POB emergency is to perform such a rescue
maneuver that the whole vessel returns to the person.
Primary Actions
The immediate response taken by the crew member witnessing a MOB or realizing that a crew
member is missing:

 Shout
 Throw
 Point

SHOUT
Shout “Man overboard”. This will alert all crew to the emergency situation.

THROW
Deploy a ‘Dan buoy’, life ring or similar to provide a floating datum. It does not
matter if the person is visible at this time or not. The person in the water may
see the flotation device / marker and be able to get to it, if not it serves as a
reference point for maneuvering the boat back to the MOB.
 INTER-GLOBAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
Brgy. Bocohan, Lucena City
Registration No.16Q13029

CRV crew wear lifejackets at all times while underway, so the primary function of any equipment
thrown in a MOB situation is not necessarily additional flotation, but as a reference day or night.
Highly visible (brightly coloured /
reflective tape / flag attached)

Have a light/strobe attached

The equipment thrown should be

Be able to be deployed quickly

Be affected as little as possible by the

wind

The same equipment would be suitable for use as a floating datum in any subsequent search.

POINT
The crewmember who shouted the alert now points continuously with outstretched arm at the
MOB (if still visible) or Dan buoy/marker, ensuring that visual contact is maintained. This will
also indicate the MOB’s location to the Skipper / helm. It is imperative that this crew member
does this and nothing else until relieved from this duty by the Skipper.

Secondary Actions

 Initiate turn
 Press MOB button on GPS
 Transmit distress call by VHF
 Assess, approach, and brief & delegate crew on appropriate actions for recovery

INITIATE TURN
In large vessels a common practice is for the initial turn to be made towards the side which the
MOB fell from, to reduce the chances of the vessels propellers striking the MOB. The size of most
CRV’s means that the crew member on the helm is unlikely to respond quickly enough for this to
be relevant. Given is action time of 3seconds from the person falling overboard to the helm being
put over:
 At 6kts the vessel will have travelled 9m
 At 12kts the vessel will have travelled 18m

Initiating an immediate turn to avoid ‘propeller strike’ is not only irrelevant for most CRV’s, but a
potential hazard-risking injury too their crew or even a second MOB.
 INTER-GLOBAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
Brgy. Bocohan, Lucena City
Registration No.16Q13029

There are different methods that can be employed to turn the CRV back towards the MOB.
Regardless of which method is employed one thing that the crew member on the helm must be able to
establish is the reciprocal course. The reciprocal of any course is found by adding or subtracting 180°.
 For courses less than 180° add 180°
 For courses more than 180° subtract180°
For example:
 Course 050° reciprocal is 050°+180°=230°
 Course 315° reciprocal is 315°-180°=135°
The design of many marine compasses allows the helms man to see the course the vessel is on,
and the reciprocal at the same time. Another useful aid is a reciprocal table displayed by the helm
position.

Methods for Turning

This module describes three commonly used methods that can be used to turn a vessel back
towards a MOB.
 Williamson Turn
 Simple Turn
 Stop/ Slow & Turn

Williamson Turn
The Williamson Turn was developed primarily for large vessels,
whose turning circle was such that the MOB would almost
certainly be out of sight by the time the vessel had turned around.
The size of the turning circle also meant that merely turning 180
might put the vessel on a reciprocal course, but it would be
nowhere near its reciprocal water track.

EXECUTION

 The same speed is maintained throughout the manoeuvre until the vessel is on its
reciprocal course.
 Vessel is first turned until the heading is approx 60°-70° from the original
course.
 The helm is then reversed with the same amount of helm applied the opposite
way as was used in the initial turn, (for example one full turn of the wheel to
starboard then back to mid ships and one full turn of the wheel to port) until the
vessel is on the reciprocal of the original course.
 INTER-GLOBAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
Brgy. Bocohan, Lucena City
Registration No.16Q13029

 The vessel turns and initially describes ¼ of a circle, when the helm is reversed
it then describes ¾ of an identical sized circle.

What needs to be known for this method to be fully

effective is at what point on the initial turn is the helm
reversed? This can only be established through
practice and training.

Simple Turn
While simpler than a Williamson turn, this method depends
heavily on the wake and/ or floating datum being visible. Both
may be rapidly lost from sight in bad weather especially at night
or in poor visibility.
The size of the turning circle will determine at which point the
vessel returns to cross its original water track. With a large
turning circle there is a small, but potential risk of running over
the floating datum or even MOB if reference to either is lost during the turn. The need to keep a visual
reference on the floating datum or wake means that this method needs a relatively small turning circle
to be effective.

EXECUTION

 Maintain or reduce speed

 Turn the vessel around
 Use the still visible wake/ floating datum to turn on to the reciprocal
water track

Stop/Slow and Turn

The manoeuvrability of most CRV’s means they can be turned
in little more than about length. As the vessel was slowed
down without altering course, the wake will be clearly visible
off the stern (lining up the centre of the residual wake and the
floating datum means there isn’t a need to calculate a
reciprocal heading).
Whatever method is used in a MOB situation the helms man must alert the other crew members prior
to any manoeuvre. Any manoeuvre should be preceded by a loud and clear warning from the
helmsman.
For example; ‘Turning starboard!’ Followed by a pause of 1-2 seconds before initiating the
manoeuvre. This is practice which should be a Standard Operating Procedure at all times, not just in
an MOB.
 INTER-GLOBAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
Brgy. Bocohan, Lucena City
Registration No.16Q13029

EXECUTION

Unlike the previous two methods the first step is to slow down to a near or full
stop, then;
 Turn short around.
 Motor ahead on the reciprocal course

MOB BUTTON
The MOB function on the CRV’s GPS should be activated at the first opportunity; this will provide a
backup to the floating datum, and automatically displays bearing and distance to the MOB way point.

DISTRESS CALL
Sending out a distress call will ensure that assistance will be available if it becomes necessary. It canal
ways be cancelled should the situation be resolved. Whether the Distress call is sent immediately or at
a later stage is at the discretion of the Skipper.

The average CRV carries four crew as its normal complement; and in the event of a MOB there will
be two crew needed to help in the recovery of the MOB, and one on the helm. While turning around,
sighting the Mob, then preparing to approach and recover, sending a Distress Call may be an
unwarranted distraction.
In the event of an unwitnessed MOB, or where the CRV fails to locate the MOB at then Distress Call
must be made. If the MOB is lost from sight, a structured search must be initiated. Being unable to
locate a fellow crew member will be highly stressful for all aboard. For the search to be successful
correct procedures must be followed.

CREW TASKS
Having sighted the MOB and assessed the situation, the Skipper or crew in charge (Skippers are not
immune to falling overboard) will allocate positions to the crew and brief the man appropriate
recovery actions.

POST RESCUE
The following points must be considered after rescuing the MOB:
Cancel any Distress Call
Continue to monitor the patient’s condition– ABCs and treat for shock as
required
Complete the necessary Unit and Maritime NZ forms as required for a MOB
incident