What else might you need to know about

abandon ship drill?

by Alex Pipchenko | 16-Jan-2018

inShare
SOLAS regulation, which says “…every crew member shall participate in at least one
abandon ship drill and one fire drill every month…” is widely known. However, not
every training with survival crafts is done monthly and to make it even more
complicated there are certain variations on the lowering, launching and
maneuvering frequencies depending on the type of ship’s equipment. This post
idea is to bring some extra light on the subject of abandon ship drills.
How often abandon ship drill has to be carried out?

It is the very first question to ask, after asking “WHY they have to carried out?”
Answer is easy. Because abandon ship is not something that happens to crew on a
daily basis. Nevertheless, in the ocean there is no emergency service to come and
save our lives. So crew has to know what and how to do, and not less important
to be able to communicate efficiently and work as a team in case of
emergency.

Frequency of drills itself is clearly stated in SOLAS Ch. III/19.3 Drills:

3.2 Every crew member shall participate in at least one abandon ship drill and one
fire drill  every month. 

The drills of the crew shall take place  within 24 h of the ship leaving a port  if
more than  25%  of the crew have not participated in abandon ship and fire drills on
board that particular ship in the previous month. 

When a ship enters service for the first time, after modification of a major character
or when a  new crew is engaged, these drills shall be held  before sailing.
On  passenger ships, an abandon ship drill and fire drill shall take place  weekly.
The entire crew need not be involved in every drill, but each crew member must
participate in an abandon ship drill and a fire drill each month as required in
regulation 19.3.2. Passengers shall be strongly encouraged to attend these drills.
But that’s not all. According to SOLAS Ch. III/19.4 each crewmember “as soon as
possible but not later than  two weeks  after joining the ship” has to be given an on-
board training in the use of the ship's life-saving appliances, including survival craft
equipment, and in the use of the ship's fire-extinguishing appliances. ALL the ship's
life-saving and fire-extinguishing appliances shall be covered within any period
of two months.

What if you work 4/4 or 5/5 weeks on the same ship? Then “such training shall be
given not later than two weeks after the time of first joining the ship.”

What shall abandon ship drill include?

As per SOLAS Ch. III/19.3.4.1:

.1 summoning of passengers and crew to muster stations with the alarm required
by regulation 6.4.2 (general alarm: 7 short and one prolonged blasts) followed
by drill announcement on the public address or other communication system and
ensuring that they are made aware of the order to abandon ship;

.2 reporting to stations and preparing for the duties described in the muster list;

.3 checking that passengers and crew are suitably dressed;

.4 checking that lifejackets are correctly donned;

.5 lowering of at least one lifeboat after any necessary preparation for launching;

.6 starting and operating the lifeboat engine;

.7 operation of davits used for launching liferafts;

.8 a mock search and rescue of passengers trapped in their staterooms; and

.9 instruction in the use of radio life-saving appliances;

and…

a training in the use of the ship's life-saving appliances as described above;

and…
3.4.9 Emergency lighting for mustering and abandonment shall be tested at each
abandon ship drill.

What are the safety precautions for lifeboats lowering by means of

falls?

First of all, there is a difference between lowering and launching of the

boat. Lowering is actually means to bring the boat secured on hooks to about 1
meter above the water level and then to put it back in stowed
position. Launchingmeans further disconnection from the hooks and maneuvering.
That’s why lowering by means of falls (!not a free fall) shall be done monthly.
Launching, on the other hand, done as SOLAS Ch. III/19.3.4.3:
…each lifeboat shall be launched, and manoeuvred in the water by its assigned
operating crew,  at least once every three months  during an abandon ship drill.

3.4.5 The Administration may allow ships operating on short international

voyages  not to launch the lifeboats on one side  if their berthing arrangements in
port and their trading patterns do not permit launching of lifeboats on that side.
However, all such lifeboats shall be  lowered at least once every three months and
launched at least annually.

3.4.6 As far as is reasonable and practicable,  rescue boats other than lifeboats
which are also rescue boats, shall be launched  each month  with their assigned
crew aboard and manoeuvred in the water. In all cases this requirement shall be
complied with at least once every three months. 

3.4.7 If lifeboat and rescue boat launching drills are carried out with the  ship
making headway, such drills shall, because of the dangers involved, be practised in
sheltered waters only and under the supervision of an officer experienced in such
drills.
There are also additional precautions mentioned in IMO MSC.1/Circ. 1578
Guidelines on safety during abandon ship drills using lifeboats:
1.5 Planning and organizing drills
1.5.4 The lowering of a boat with its  full complement of persons  is an example of
an element of a drill that may, depending on the circumstances, involve
an  unnecessary risk. Such drills should only be carried out if special precautions are
observed.
2.3 Lifeboats lowered by means of falls
2.3.2 When drills are to be performed with persons on board the lifeboat, it is
recommended that the boat be  lowered and recovered without any persons on
board first  to ascertain that the arrangement functions correctly. In this case, the
boat should then be lowered into the water with  only the number of persons on
board necessary to operate the boat 

2.3.3 To prevent lashings or gripes from getting entangled, proper release should be
checked before swinging out the davit.

However, there is even further clarification, which is quite obscured, because you

may not find a reference to it in SOLAS directly. IMO MSC.1/Circ. 1326
Clarification of SOLAS regulation III/19:
2 SOLAS regulation III/19.3.3.3 requires each lifeboat to be launched, and
manoeuvred in the water by its assigned operating crew, at least once every three
months during an abandon ship drill. However, the regulation, whilst requiring each
lifeboat to be manoeuvred in the water by its assigned operating crew,  does not
require the assigned operating crew to be on board when the lifeboat is
launched. 

3 The Committee, therefore, agreed that the assigned operating crew should not be
required to be on board lifeboats during launching, unless the master, within the
authority conferred to him by paragraph 5.5 of the ISM Code, considered, taking into
account all safety aspects, that the lifeboat should be launched with the assigned
operating crew on board.

What are the regulations for free-fall lifeboats?

Certainly the regulations for davit-launched lifeboats cannot apply to free fall
lifeboats. In this case crew shall refer to SOLAS Ch. III/19.3.4.4:
…  at least once every three months  during an abandon ship drill the crew shall
board the lifeboat, properly secure themselves in their seats and commence launch
procedures up to but  not including the actual release of the lifeboat(i.e., the
release hook shall not be released). 

The lifeboat shall then either be  free-fall launched  with only the required operating
crew on board, or  lowered  into the water by means of the secondary means of
launching with or without the operating crew on board. In both cases the lifeboat
shall thereafter be manoeuvred in the water by the operating crew. 
At intervals of  not more than six months, the lifeboat shall either be  launched by
free-fall  with only the operating crew on board, or  simulated launching  shall be
carried out in accordance with  the guidelines developed by the Organization.
As per latest IMO circular MSC.1-Circ.1578 simulated launching is a means of
training the crew in the free-fall release procedure of free-fall lifeboats without the
physical activation of release mechanism. The last statement means that you may
never launch this kind of lifeboat by means of free fall.

Another thing to remember is the difference in use of lifejackets with different

types of lifeboats. For the lifeboats launched by falls LSA code 4.4.2.1.1 states:
The number of persons which a lifeboat to be launched by falls shall be permitted to
accommodate shall be equal to the lesser of the number of persons having an
average mass of 75 kg …,  all wearing lifejackets, that can be seated in a normal
position without interfering with the means of propulsion or the operation of any of
the lifeboat's equipment; or
Which literally means that you can embark a lifeboat in a rigid lifejacket.
However, this is not the case of free fall lifeboats. In fact, launching a free fall
lifeboat with crew in rigid lifejackets may lead to the worst possible consequences.
A common practise is to use inflatable life vests or just to take rigid life jackets
inside a free fall lifeboat without putting them on.

Is that all?

Not yet. If the vessel equipped with davit operated life rafts, there is one more
thing to do as per SOLAS Ch. III/19.4.3:
On-board training in the use of davit-launched liferafts shall take place at intervals
of  not more than four months...

Whenever practicable this shall include the inflation and lowering of a liferaft. This
liferaft may be a special liferaft intended for training purposes only, which is not part
of the ship's life-saving equipment; such a special liferaft shall be conspicuously
marked.
What are the time criteria for preparation and launching of survival
crafts?

First of all lets refer to SOLAS Ch. III/13-14:

Each survival craft shall be stowed in a state of continuous readiness so that  two
crew members  can carry out preparations for embarkation and launching  in less
than 5 min.
Additionally, Resolution A.1052(27) Procedures for port state control,
APPENDIX 7 states:
Each survival craft should be stowed in a state of continuous readiness so that two
crew members can carry out preparations for embarking and launching in  less than
five minutes.

On passenger ships, it is required that lifeboats and davit-launched liferafts are

capable of being launched  within a period of 30 min  after all persons have been
assembled with lifejackets donned. 

On cargo ships, it is required that lifeboats and davit launched liferafts are capable of
being launched  within a period of 10 min.
Record keeping

All drills and trainings activities have to be duly recorded in the ship’s logbook. If
the vessel has a deck logbook and an additional flag logbook, then all drills shall
also be recorded in the later one as well. If a full muster, drill or training session is
not held at the appointed time, an entry shall be made in the log-book stating the
circumstances and the extent of the muster, drill or training session held.

Also details of drills shall be filled in company’s SMS drill reports. Details of any
tests or malfunctions have to be reflected in ship’s PMS (preventive maintenance
system).

Hopefully, this material provides you with more or less full scope of drills, trainings
and launchings that have to be carried out with survival crafts on board.

To summarize, whatever the training requirement arise at the moment,

occupational safety shall be always in the first place. Be safe!

Best regards, 

Aleksandr Pipchenko
Useful links:

Extracts from SOLAS regarding drills and trainings frequency.

IMO MSC.1/Circ. 1578. Guidelines on safety during abandon ship drills using
lifeboats, 2017

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