Except for drills and emergencies, lifeboats shall not be used at will. The use of lifeboats needs to be approved by the captain, and the use of lifeboats when the ship is in port and anchorage in the port should be approved by the port supervisor.
According to statistics, during the period 1992-2004, the accidental release of lifeboats in the French department of Gard "recorded 32 cases, of which only 5 were uninjured, the others resulted in 12 deaths and 74 injuries. Among the injured, there were several serious head and spine injuries, some leading to paralysis and possibly death at a later stage.
The consequences of lifeboat release accidents are very serious, and most of these accidents occur during lifesaving drills, so the daily maintenance and maintenance and operation of lifeboats must be paid attention to.
Inspection before releasing the lifeboat
1. Operators should wear work clothes and work shoes, as well as safety helmets and safety gloves. Personnel entering the lifeboat should wear life jackets.
2. Before releasing the lifeboat, you should check whether the equipment in the lifeboat is ready, plug in the lifeboat bottom plug and check the fixation of the first cable and the positioning line, as well as the fixation of other items. The motorboat should check that the oil storage is sufficient and start the boat once. If you're interested in the gear inside a lifeboat, click here to see more:
The davit machinery should check whether the brakes are in good condition, whether the stabilizing cables, safety hooks, etc. are in an unobstructed position, whether the crank handle of the boat has been removed, and each component should be checked carefully to confirm that there is no problem and that there are no obstacles on the water surface under the boat.
3. The lifeboat is released according to the responsibilities of the ship's emergency deployment table, and the captain is responsible for inspection and command. When the lifeboat is released, the chief mate and the bosun are responsible for inspection and command, and the mechanical part is inspected by the chief engineer.
4. The person responsible for checking and commanding the release of the lifeboat shall report to the captain the preparations for the release of the lifeboat. After approval and confirmation that there are no obstacles under the lifeboat, the lifeboat can be released after the captain issues an order.
Regulations for lifeboat release
1. When using the lifeboat, the lifeboat should be raised and lowered in strict accordance with the operating specifications. No person should stand on the edge of the unguarded deck below the lifeboat and within the swinging range of the gondola wire.
2. When releasing the lifeboat during the voyage, the captain should grasp the release timing, and the lifeboat can be released into the water only when the residual speed is not large after stopping the boat. After the lifeboat enters the water, the speed of the ship shall not exceed 5 knots.
3. Under normal circumstances, the lifeboat on the downwind side of the large ship should be released. The large ship is 20°-30° to the top of the wave, and the heading is stable. After the lifeboat is prevented from the water surface, the hook of the gondola is quickly released.
4. Try to disengage the front and rear hooks at the same time as much as possible, and avoid taking off the front hooks first when the big ship has advanced speed.
5. The lifeboat should be equipped with fenders when landing, and at the same time be supported by the boat pole to prevent the collision between the boat and the big ship.
6. The pulley under the sling rope should be tightened in time after decoupling to prevent shaking and hurting people.
7. The motor lifeboat should be started before falling into the water and driven away from the big boat immediately after taking off the hook.
Release steps
1. Release the securing wire of the lifeboat, open the rear hatch of the lifeboat, release the external charging power plug, remove the release hook at the rear of the boat, and check to confirm that the passage of the release boat and the falling area are free of obstacles;
2. The crew members take turns boarding the boat, sit in sequence from front to back, and fasten their seat belts;
3. The captain boarded the boat last and closed the tailgate inside the boat;
4. After the captain re-checks and confirms the position of the boarding personnel, start the boat engine in the driving position and put it in neutral;
5. The captain issues instructions and alarms to release the boat and reminds the boarding personnel to pay attention;
6. The captain activates the hydraulic release device, and the lifeboat falls freely into the water along with the slide by gravity, and then floats;
7. The captain starts the boat and maneuvers the lifeboat to leave the ship in distress.
Lifeboat safety advice
1. Improve safety awareness, pay enough attention to the maintenance of life-saving equipment, make a detailed maintenance plan for life-saving equipment, and do a good job in the maintenance of life-saving equipment on board according to the plan.
2. During the inspection of the lifeboat, if it is found that the lifeboat is in poor condition, the steel wire of the davit or the chain-link of the davit is seriously corroded, etc., the operation of releasing the boat may not be carried out, or the operation should be carried out cautiously under the condition of complete protection.
3. Do a good job in ship management, especially during the annual inspection of the ship and the repair in the factory, if any problems are found, they should be solved in time, and they should not be dragged, so as not to leave the problem and bury a major safety hazard for the ship.