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B08
Emergency Preparedness & Response

Version 03 - Issue Date: 17.10.2024

EMERGENCY RESPONSE CHECKLISTS

FORMS E
EMERGENCY CHECKLISTS

Regular safety and security drills must be carried out. The events at such exercises must be recorded in the Official Log Book and a record of drill must be completed.

At the start of every year, every ship will be issued with a schedule of drills to be carried out each. If, for any reason, the required drills are not completed in the month, the Master shall make an entry in the deck log book stating why the drill has not been completed, and the Ship Management Team must be informed. The drill is to be carried out as soon as possible.

The purpose of drills is to:
1. Improve awareness of the potential hazards facing personnel.
2. Improve the ships response to emergency situations
3. Help to identify risk to the ship, people and the environment.

At the end of each drill, a debriefing must be held to review the effectiveness of the drill. The Safety Officer must record the facts, analysis of the emergency responses, conclusions and any recommendations for improvement.

Any suggested improvements should be recorded and forwarded to the Company.

Drills should alternate between exercising the Emergency Organisation in simulated conditions, and training in the use and operation of systems and equipment. Drills should be planned with care, and repetitive routines avoided; the use of substitutes and reserves should be included from time to time. The regular viewing and discussion of items from the ship’s safety training program are to be encouraged and recorded as necessary.

Every 12 months there must be a joint exercise with the shore-based Company Emergency Team.  


Drill Procedure:

The company identifies emergency scenarios that are to be drilled, and issues a drill schedule to the ship. This must be followed. 

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities in an emergency are defined in A03 Emergency Organisation at Sea

Figure 4 - EMERGENCY PROCEDURE

The following general emergency procedure is a guide. It gives a visual overview of how to respond to a situation and to consider all relevant factors. It should be supplemented by the emergency checklists for specific situations found here.


 

Figure 5 - Company Emergency Team

The main role of the Company Emergency team is to support the ship in any way possible, and to act as a communication bridge between the ship and shore authorities.


 

Emergency Response Checklists are provided in Forms E for the following other emergency situations:

- FE01 Power Failure
- FE02 Main Engine Failure
- FE03 Steering Failure
- FE04 Man Overboard
- FE05Grounding
- FE06 Flooding 
- FE07 Serious Illness or Injury
- FE08 Enclosed Space Rescue
- Fe09 Fire (also note above)
- FE10 Pollution Incident
- FE11 Collision
- FE12 Cargo Shift
- FE13 Pirate Attack
- FE14 Abandon Ship (also note above)

These checklists are designed to assist the Master and the crew in handling an emergency situation. They are a guide, and should prompt certain key actions, but they cannot cover every scenario or response. Being able to respond effectively to an emergency requires a high level of situational awareness, good knowledge of the ship and regular well-organised training and drills.



 

 

EMERGENCY TOWING OF THE VESSEL

Should it become necessary in an emergency for the vessel to be towed, each situation will be different, depending on the vessel, the towing vessel, the weather and sea state, etc.

The ship is provided with an Emergency Towing Booklet which provides ship specific guidance, instructions and information. This should be referred to if emergency towing is needed. A copy must be located on the bridge and in the forecastle.

Possible considerations:

1. Rigging a tow
Ideally a bridle should be rigged from the vessels hawse pipes, with perhaps one leg of anchor cable, and the other leg made up of wires, (consider spare crane wires). However this is difficult to achieve as due to the flare of the bow - it is difficult to retrieve a messenger line lowered through the hawse pipe to bring back up to the forecastle.

2. Securing Lines
When securing the wires they should back up the set of bits being used by passing further aft to another set of bits.

3. Weight of the Tow
If anchor cable cannot be used and just wire is used it is important that a heavy weight be incorporated somewhere in the length to provide a catenary effect.

4. Avoid Chafing
Other considerations are to avoid chafe of wire ropes by all means available, e.g. hardwood blocks with grease, tyres etc.

5. Passing a Line to the Towing Vessel
If it is necessary to pass a line to the towing vessel, depending on the situation it may be advantageous to take the end of the line to the stern to pass across, so as the towing vessel steams slowly past from aft to forward they have time to secure the end before weight comes on it.

6. Protecting the Shaft and Engine
In conjunction with the Engine Room staff consideration should be given to locking the propeller shaft from turning, or running lube oil pumps so that the thrust bearing, shaft and main engine are lubricated as required.

7. Safety is Paramount
At all times in these scenarios the safety of personnel is paramount and steps must be taken to ensure no one can become entangled in the tow line or tail shaft.


**
Refer to the Guidelines for a structure of an integrated system of contingency planning for shipboard emergencies, adopted by the Organization by resolution A.852(20), as amended.

 

 

 

Every ship is required to be fitted with an emergency generator to operate critical systems in the event of a failure of the main power system.

Each emergency generator is different, and is operated differently.

The operation of the specific emergency generator on the vessel is not described here, however the Company requires that detailed operating instructions - for normal and emergency modes of operation - are in place at the emergency generator and that all Officers are familiar with these.

These instructions must be checked at least monthly by a responsible Engineer Officer.

 

Amendments

DATE DETAILS
04.02.2024Section B08.7 Emergency Generator added.
This section requires that operating instructions for the emergency generator are posted next to the emergency generator itself and that these are checked at least monthly by an Engineer Officer.
17.10.2024Sections B08.3, B08.4 and B08.5 removed.
Numbering corrected.
New section B08.4 Emergency Checklists added