Difference Between Lifeboats and Rescue Boats

Just as riding a motorbike is a big no without a helmet, ships are incomplete without lifeboats and rescue boats. Many of us, unknown of vessels and their various aspects, first became familiar with the concept of lifeboats and rescue boats from the movie Titanic. 

Every vessel is equipped with one or more lifeboats that are usually mounted on board with a common purpose: serving as a means of escape and temporary survival in the occasion of any accident or damage to the vessel. This accident or damage refers to any unfortunate event that risks the vessel eventually sinking and jeopardising the lives of all on board. Hence, every ship must have means of mobilisation to ensure that the maximum possible number of passengers and crew on board gets evacuated in case of such mishaps.

Now, we come across some familiar terms, such as lifeboats, rescue boats, whaleboats, life-rafts, life-jackets and so on, associated with any floating vessel. All these are means of safety that comes under the Safety of Lives at Sea or SOLAS framework of regulations under the IMO. They come under the purview of Life-Saving Appliances or LSA guidelines under SOLAS regulations. 

This framework is a constantly evolving theory that seeks to improve and optimise the safety of lives on maritime traffic over the years with continually advancing technologies and designs that make vessels safer. 

First, a lifejacket, an essential safety device, differs from the other names. A lifejacket is an inflatable equipment worn on the body like an actual jacket. It helps buoy the body on the water’s surface to prevent drowning and provide support until rescue or evacuation is available.

In practical situations, in deep seas, where the conditions are rough and sometimes in colder climates, the water is freezing, and the person has a chance of dying due to forced drowning or hypothermia if any help does not arrive on time. In other words, they are temporary means of survival only for a short period.

However, lifeboats and rescue boats are floating structures that can carry people away from the sinking or incapacitated vessel in case of any accident or mishap.