The safety of the ship, crew and passengers
In order to keep the passengers and crew members safe during the voyage, the ship’s captain or master should act in accordance with the ship management system and the safety management system plan that are developed and approved by the ship authorities.Introduction to passenger safetyProviding safety to the passengers is a matter of great priority. Even though the whole responsibility of carrying passengers and crew lies in the hands of the Master, all the people related to the ship operation also hold some role in fulfilling its safety. The responsibilities that are divided by the Master among the managerial persons in different areas like catering, hospitality management, etc. should be conveyed to all the employees. This should be a part of the Ship Operators Policy. Concerned people under the ship operation should be well acquainted with the underlying system processes and by executing these procedures they will be able to analyze the possibilities of risk. So instead of just walking by, they should practice and learn from their mistakes and unexpected outcomes. A large part of marine hazards occurred mainly due to the human error. So in order to minimize the potential threats and vulnerabilities, ship operating companies should provide proper acknowledgement and training. For reducing the chances of making inappropriate decisions during critical situations, detailed instructions and sample drills should be carried out in the training session. Also proper acquaintance with the safety equipment, emergency response techniques and accepted methods for work safety, etc. should be provided. The gadgets like mobile phones, laptops and other electrical equipment may divert the navigator’s attention. So their usage is allowed only in the approved areas of the ship marked with proper signage. Captain and the Crew should be able to have ample communication through all the possible means, whenever needed.
Briefing the crew before start of the day’s workThe Master or his or her representative should quickly give instructions to all the crew members regarding their roles and responsibilities towards the start of the every day’s work. This briefing is particularly important for the catering, hospitality and entertainment crew.
The briefing should contain the following information:
- Assigning the duties and responsibilities to each identified crew members
- A complete plan of travel for the day or watch including the route, expected timings and itinerary
- Information regarding the place where safety equipment will be operated, in case of emergency
- Introducing the emergency organization that is on-board for planning, locating, organizing and responding to an unexpected emergency situation and also their specific pathways for rescue
- Specifying the duties of the crew under emergency
- Highlighting the importance of being vigilant in observing their surroundings and for spotting if any suspicious activities take place around them
Passenger ManagementSafety Briefing: Before takeoff, the Master or his or her representative should give brief information regarding the safety and emergency procedures adopted by the ship. This should include the measures for preventing fire, protecting limbs, balancing the passenger movements and other stability problems. Such safety instructions given to the passengers should include verbal explanation and practical illustration of the safety techniques and precautions to be taken during an emergency. Also the passengers should be informed about the location of life jackets close to their seats and the survival crafts like lifeboats or life rafts to be boarded in order to leave the ship. Generally it is advisable to give written message or prerecorded message for public addressing, as otherwise; it may distract the Captain or the person responsible for ship navigation. Also the passengers should be compulsorily notified about the location of personal protective equipment, ship safety equipment and distress equipment. In order to support the illustration, information cards or posters can also be used. But verbal briefing cannot be replaced by any other way. The public addressing system should spread to all the areas allotted to passenger and crew, rescue pathways and at the boarding place of the survival crafts. Pictorial information of the ship by marking its various emergency exits, rescue routes, life-saving and emergency equipment should be given to the passengers for reference.
Other supporting factors for safety briefing: Passengers should be kept safe by keeping them posted about the following information:1. Signs for muster stations and the routes to muster station. The purpose of muster stations is to provide the passengers and crew a muster drill on the safety and emergency techniques on the ship.2. Signs of Exit and Emergency pathways3. Notification of emergency information for the passengers4. Public addressing systems5. Ask passengers to be attentive while announcing the emergency instructions.
Passenger safety: Once the passengers have boarded the ship, the ship’s specifically designed characteristics like built-in buoyancy, advisory notification regarding safe routes and safety equipment will make the passengers safe. The entry ports and the areas where public access is restricted should be properly secured by the crew. Crew members should closely keep an eye on each passenger in order to immediately stop them from doing any thoughtless or hazardous act.
The Master should approve and acknowledge before embarking and disembarking of the passengers from the ship. Generally, the whole process of transferring the passengers should be supervised. He or she should be able to communicate with the crew at the entry point if he is occupied with some other work by then. During the transfer of passengers, the entry point should be secured by assigning at least one crew member in proper uniform there. All the members of the crew should be made aware of the possible risks passengers may face. During the boarding and leaving procedures, the correct number of Persons Onboard (POB) should be documented in the Automatic Identification System (AIS) or can be directly send to the Vessel Traffic System (VTS) by communicating through the marine VHF radio. The VTS will coordinate and closely monitor the POB details, vessel traffic, etc., and gives timely information, helps in organizing the emergency situations and give assistance to navigation.
In the case of an emergency like a man going overboard during passenger transfer, proper emergency measures should be taken in order to rescue the man and to prevent the occurrence of further unexpected events.
They are: 1. Cease the event of passenger transfer.2. Close or latch the piers, vessel gates and boarding doors.3. Control and prevent the other passengers from attempting a rescue. A previous incident of man overboard shows that it may have resulted in further casualties due to weak passenger control.4. Passengers should be advised to take more care during the freezing cold or humid weather conditions.5. Crew members should always pay more attention to the old and sick people, physically disabled persons and the passengers under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
Crew Safety: It is the ship owner’s responsibility to analyze the ship’s operability for the overall comfort of the people onboard and for ensuring the safety of the crew during their critical operations. The crew should be well trained in adopting proper health and safety measures while working on accident prevention. While carrying out the deck operations and passenger transfer the crew members should always wear proper personal protective equipment like life jackets, safety foot wears having firm grip, etc. The Master and crew members should take controlled breaks or resting hours.
Ship Safety: According to the relevant legislation, the ship owner or operator should ensure proper maintenance and the availability of professionally qualified people under ship operation. Also the ship’s operating policies have to be thoroughly analyzed and necessary actions should be taken in order to minimize the threats found. The ship’s machinery, design and structure should to be supervised, maintained and serviced in order to make the overall ship operations reliable and safe. In addition to this, the DSMC and ISM method of coding and other relevant regulations should be followed for retaining the statutory confirmation.
