The company will prepare a drill schedule for all statutory and other safety/security related drills which must be completed on the vessel throughout the year. This schedule may be in paper or electronic form.It is the responsibility of the Master to ensure that all drill required by the company are completed prior to the date they become due.

When planning and executing a Drill, Refer to B08 Emergency Preparedness & Response for drill procedure.

Drill Schedule and Records are also to be maintained onboard the ship in order to demonstrate to auditors/inspectors that the required drills have been carried out successfully. Generally, the Company drill report form (or layout) must be used for this purpose.

As a minimum, drills must be carried out onboard at the intervals indicated here:

1. Safety Drills

Weekly:
- Fire, Lifeboat & Abandon Ship Drill

Monthly:
- Rescue Boat Lowered to Water and Run

3-Monthly:
- Emergency Steering Gear
- Breathing Apparatus
- Use of Immersion Suits
- Entering and Rescue from an Enclosed Space (other than a tank)*
- Entering and Rescue from an Enclosed Tank
- Response to a Pollution Incident
- Use of EEBD's
- Simulated Lifeboat Launch - Boat lowered and run in water
- Use of Line Throwing Equipment

6-Monthly:
- Failure of the Main Engine
- Failure of Electrical Power (Blackout)
- Man Overboard
- Launch of the Freefall Lifeboat an Operation in Water with Operating Crew
- Release of CO2
- Medical Drill/ Rescue of a Person

Annual:
- Flooding
- Grounding
- Collision
- Cargo Shift


2. Security Drills
A security drill is to be carried out every month, and each of the following situations are to be thoroughly covered:
- Pirate Attack
- Access Control Measures at Level 2
- Securing the Ship at Level 3
- Bomb Threat and Search
- Crowd Control
- Stowaway Search
- Communicating with the Port Facility Security Officer
- Activating the SSAS
- Preparing to Leave Port on Short Notice


3. Ship-Shore Drill
A ship-shore safety drill is to be carried out every year.
A ship-shore security drill is to be carried out every year. 

Effective drill planning is essential to ensuring that it is a worthwhile exercise, covering key areas and ensuring that all participants get the most from it. Remember, a drill is designed to ensure that in the event of a real emergency, everyone knows what to do right away.

The Master is responsible for drill planning. This does not mean that the Master must plan all drills personally, however they must ensure that drills are properly planned in advance. Drills planned at the last minute are unlikely to achieve their aims.

To support drill planning, the Company has provided a SafetyCulture form which must be submitted by the ship at least three days in advance of any drill. When this report is submitted, the Master and Ship Management Team will receive a copy.

It can be hard for those participating in a drill to assess how effectively it is being carried out. It is human nature to see our own performance in a positive light.

To counter this, the Master is to select at least one Officer to act as an Observer of every drill. The Officer should be rotated every time, so that the same person is not always in this role. In some cases, it may be appropriate for more than one observer to be appointed. 

This has the added benefit of taking a key person out of the response.

The Observer is to:
- Not directly participate in the drill
- Monitor the response to the situation, and observer how well procedures are followed
- Take note of any short-comings, or possible improvements

Unless they observe safety issues, the Observer should not stop or interfere in the drill. They should take notes, and report their findings during the debriefing.

It is not mandatory to appoint an observer for drills carried out for external inspectors.

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.

The debriefing should include all (as as many as possible) participants.

For these purposes the Safety Officer should use the reporting format available in SafetyCulture. If for whatever reason, a Safety Culture report is not possible, the paper form FS08 Drill Report is to be completed and handed to the Master. The Master must pass the form to the Company.

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

On completion of every drill a report summarizing the key details of the drill and evaluating how it was carried out must be prepared. 

Two forms are provided for this purpose:
- Drill Report Form in SMMS
- Drill Evaluation Form in SafetyCulture

The Drill Report Form is to be completed by an Officer, and provides facts and details of the drill. It is to be submitted with the drill record in SMMS.

The Drill Evaluation Form is to be completed by the Master, and is used to assess how well the drill achieved its goals and aims, and what improvements could be made either in future drills or in the Management System.