Being prepared to respond to an emergency situation quickly, effectively and in a controlled way can be the difference between a successful response and the emergency escalating.
This section provides guidance on how emergency situations are to be approached, how emergency response teams should be organised and how the ship should coordinate with the Company to support its response.
Drills and training are not covered by this section. Procedures on these are found in D02 Training & Familiarisation.
Important information:
This revision of MSMS A03 replaces a number of existing procedures. Sections A03, A04, A05 and B08 have all been combined into this section.
Where an emergency (or possible emergency) situation is identified, the response should be as rapid as possible, making use of all available resources to tackle the situation.
Anyone could identify an emergency situation - and everyone has a duty to raise the alarm if an emergency situation is found. Never ignore an emergency or assume someone else will act!
There will never be negative consequences for mistakenly activating an emergency response. Remember, speed of response can be the difference between control and disaster.
Our priorities in an an emergency are always the following:
1. Protect Life
2. Protect the Ship
3. Protect the Environment
IF YOU IDENTIFY AN EMERGENCY:
- Raise the alarm by any means possible (alarm button, radio, telephone, shouted alarm, etc.)
- Take steps to rescue anyone in the immediate vicinity
- Take steps to prevent the emergency spreading (eg. close doors, flaps, dampers)
- Take steps to keep anyone from accidentally entering a dangerous space
- Proceed to your Muster Station
ONCE THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ACTIVATED:
- The Master (or Senior Officer onboard) is responsible for the overall response
- The Emergency Response Checklists (Forms E) should be used to guide the response
- The response must continue until the Master orders it to stop
01 Muster List
The Muster List outlines the duties and responsibilities of all crew members in various emergency situations.
A Muster list is to be prepared by the Master and displayed in easily accessible locations by crew throughout the accommodation. If a crew member changes, the Muster List is to be updated as soon as possible.
In an emergency, the Master must utilise all available resources as deemed necessary to effectively manage the situation. However, for planning purposes he must designate an “Emergency Team” tasked to handle emergency situations.
The Emergency Team is to be supported by the following emergency teams:
• Bridge Team
• Engine Control Room Team
• Emergency Response Team
• Support team
The Master may also appoint other emergency response teams. In doing so he must consider the total number of crew onboard and how they can best be utilised.
The Master must ensure that all crewmembers understand their assigned duties in an emergency.
02 Fire & Safety Plans
Fire Plans or Fire and Safety Plans must be clear and prominently displayed in locations as required by flag and international regulations. As a minimum, they must be displayed in the following places:
• Bridge
• Engine Control Room
• Inside the accommodation
• At the gangway or other point of access to the vessel
The "Emergency Organisation" means all of the ship's Crew who are involved in dealing with an emergency. Usually all crew will have a role to play in responding to an emergency. Detailed roles are set out in the SERP Shipboard Emergency Response Plan and the Muster List.
The Emergency Organisation is under the command of the Master and is to do whatever is needed and possible to deal with an emergency using the Emergency Response Checklists (Forms E) as guidance.
During an emergency the Master may decide to order all non-essential personnel off the ship. In such situations the Master is to ensure there are means available for remaining personnel to evacuate the ship if they are unable to deal with the emergency.
In an emergency the Master and Chief Engineer must support one another and communicate closely to ensure the safety of the ship and those onboard.
The Shipboard Emergency Response is divided into a number of Emergency Teams who have specific duties in certain situations. The exact division of teams and responsibilities is set out in the SERP Shipboard Emergency Response Plan (FS20).
As a minimum, the following trams must be established:
Bridge Team
Responsible for coordinating the emergency. The OOW is responsible for external communications to and from the ship (this is to be clearly indicated in the muster list). The safe navigation of the vessel is a critical duty of this team.
Engine Control Room Team
Led by the Chief Engineer this team is responsible for the coordination of an engine room emergency or supporting the Master in any other emergency. This party will normally muster in the Engine room, but an alternative muster point must be identified in case the emergency is in the engine room itself.
Emergency Response Team(s)
Responsible for tacking the emergency as directed by the Master. The team is led by the Chief Officer in the event of a Deck emergency or the Second Engineer in the event of an engine-room emergency.
Support Team
Responsible for supporting in an Emergency as directed.
Refer to the Emergency Response Plan and the vessels Muster List (FS20) for more detailed information.
The "Company Emergency Team" means the shore-based team responsible for supporting the ship in the event of an emergency. These people are required to help the ship in any way they can, and will often be the link between the ship and other people or organisations who can assist.
The Company Emergency Team is made up of:
• Managing Director
• The Ship Management Team
The Company provides the ship with details of all members of the Company Emergency Team. This information is available in MSMS and also on the G01 Form provided to the vessel.
In an emergency, the Master's first responsibility is to protect the ship and the crew. When they are able, they should contact any member of the Company Emergency Team and tell them what the situation is and what, if any, help they can provide.
When a Company Emergency Team receives such a report, they must immediately contact the Managing Director, or their deputy when unavailable.
The key role of the Company Emergency Team is to support the ship. To help them do this, they should try and obtain at least the following information:
• Position / time
• Course /speed
• Weather and sea conditions
• Nature of accident / incident
• Brief details, injuries, damage etc.
• Assistance required
• Whether Authorities have been informed
• Establish type of communications and reporting schedule
The Company Emergency Team is to consider how best to use this information to ease the workload of the ship during the emergency.
The Managing Director, or in their absence, their deputy will direct operations. This shall include advice, as appropriate, to effect damage repairs to hull and machinery, establish the availability of material and repair facilities and take such steps as required to provide urgent spares and equipment including marine contractors or work teams as required. The team will liaise with classification societies, coastal or port states and flag administrations as appropriate.
The Team must not hesitate to seek external advice at any time.
The Managing Director is responsible for advising and liaising with Owners, Insurers, P & I Club representative, cargo owners, as appropriate and any public relations or media releases.
The Team must also consider the impact the emergency may have on families of those onboard, and should develop a plan to keep them updated about the situation.
Vessel details and drawings are to be held by the Company Emergency in an appropriate form and must include the following:
• General Arrangement plan
• Safety plan
• Capacity plan
• Shell Expansion plan
• Piping & pumping diagrams
• Stability File
• Docking Plan
A ship-shore emergency drill must be held at least once every year, with the exact schedule defined in D02.03.02 Frequency of Drills.
Suitable locations are to be designated for the Emergency Teams to muster and these must be set out on the Emergency Response Plan and Muster List.
When deciding where these should be, the muster stations should have good access to:
• The Upper Deck
• The Accommodation
• The Machinery Spaces
On some vessels it may be convenient to have all teams muster at the same location. At any rate muster stations must be in locations where they are unlikely to be cut off by fire.
The Emergency Party is to muster in a location where emergency equipment is readily available.
If a muster station cannot be used for any reason, the team leader is to agree a new Muster location with the Master.
At every Muster Station there should be a simple way to quickly identify if everyone is present, or if people are missing.
The Boat Stations section of the Muster List must contain the name of every person in the ship.
Lifeboat crews should contain a mix of Officers and Ratings from various departments. An Officer or Rating holding a Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats qualification must be assigned to each boat.
An emergency in port will usually be handled differently to one at sea. Generally, the ship will be able to access shore-assistance. On the other hand, in port, there are often more people onboard who may be unfamiliar with the ship and its procedures, adding complexity to an emergency.
The Officer of the Watch must always know how many people are onboard at any time.
While the local Emergency Services will often take over the response to an emergency in port, the ship must lead the initial response and be prepared to continue responding even after the emergency services arrive. It is important to remember that not all Emergency Services teams will have experience dealing with an emergency on a ship.
IMPORTANT
When the Emergency Services arrive, the Master (or Senior Officer onboard) must explicitly clarify if they intend to take over the emergency response. In the absence of a clear statement that they are doing so, then the Master (or Senior Officer onboard) remains responsible for responding to the situation.
NEVER assume that the Emergency Services have taken over the emergency response.
Generally, the response to an emergency in port should be organised in the same way as an emergency at sea. There must always be enough people onboard the ship to form an emergency team. The exact number required is the Masters decision.
In an emergency while in port supernumeraries, visitors and shore labour are to be told to go ashore if safe to do so.
Even in an emergency in port, an emergency team is to be mustered. If the emergency is in the Engine Room, the Senior Engineer Officer is to direct operations. The Senior Deck Officer on board is to direct operations to deal with a situation outside the machinery spaces.
Where possible the Bridge is to be used as the main communications control position, and communications must be established with shore authorities. If the Bridge is inaccessible due to the emergency, the communication control position is to be relocated to a safe location.
The leader of the Emergency Response Team must keep the Bridge informed about the situation and that information is to be passed ashore. The Engineer OOW on duty is to ensure that water for fire fighting is provided, as well as electrical power as needed.
The Officer in charge of the Emergency Response Team must:
• Inform the Bridge about the emergency situation and available crew.
• Take action to contain the emergency.
• Pass the following information to the Senior Fire Service Officer (when they arrived): -
o Location and type of emergency
o Action taken
o Equipment and manpower available
o Details of stability
o Details of cargo
o Tank disposition
o Number of casualties (if any)
o Details of missing persons
Emergency Response Checklists are provided in Forms E for the following other emergency situations:
FORMS E Emergency Checklists
- 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
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.
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.
| DATE | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| 04.02.2024 | Section 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. |
| 17.10.2024 | Sections B08.3, B08.4 and B08.5 removed. Numbering corrected. New section B08.4 Emergency Checklists added |
| 01.04.2025 | MSMS A03 Renamed "Emergencies". Contents of MSMS A03, A04, A05, B08 integrated into this section (these old sections withdrawn). A03.02 updates guidance for responding to an emergency in general terms, adds company priorities (life, ship, environment). ERP Emergency Response Plan better integrated into this section. Emergency Contacts link added to this page. Information on drills removed from this section, instead reference to MSMS D02 added. |