Annex – Guide to Recovery Techniques
1
INTRODUCTION: YOUR PART IN
RECOVERY AT SEA
1.1 As a seafarer, you may have to recover people
in distress at sea. This might be someone overboard from your own
ship – a fellow crew member, or a passenger – or your
ship might be responding to someone else's emergency; for example,
a ship abandoned because of flooding or fire, or a ditched aircraft.
You may have little warning, and lives may be in your hands.
1.2 In many areas of the world, especially when
out of range of shore-based search and rescue (SAR) facilities, your
ship may be the first, or the only, rescue unit to arrive in time.
Even if you are joined by specialized units, you will still have a
vital role to play, especially in a major incident involving many
people.
1.3 Many ships are required to have ship-specific
plans and procedures for recovery of persons from the water,footnote and IMO has agreed that it is beneficial
to have recovery procedures planned for any vessel.footnote This guide also considers recovery from small
craft such as liferafts, etc.
1.4 If you are required to recover people in distress,
it is your capability that matters. To ensure that you can respond
safely and effectively, you need to know the plans and procedures
for recovery specific to your ship and to think about the general
issues beforehand.
1.5 The recovery process is often difficult. For
example, it may be complicated by:
-
.1 the size of your ship: survivors may have to
climb or be lifted considerable distances to get aboard;
-
.2 differences in relative movement between your
ship and the craft or people alongside: it may be difficult to stay
alongside or for survivors to get onto ladders, etc. or in through
shell openings; and
-
.3 the physical capability of those to be recovered:
they may be able to do little or nothing to help themselves.
1.6 This guide discusses these problems and some
solutions. It suggests practical recovery techniques which have been
used successfully to recover people in distress at sea.
2
AIMS AND CONTENTS OF THIS
GUIDE
2.1 This guide focuses on recovery and the work
you may have to do to achieve it. It is intended to be used as a reference
document. You should read it now and you should refer to it again
while proceeding to the scene of the emergency, as part of your preparation
for the recovery operation.
2.2 The guide's principal aims are to help you –
as master or crew of a responding ship – to:
-
.1 ASSESS and decide upon appropriate means of
recovery aboard your own vessel;
-
.2 TRAIN in the use of these means of recovery,
in general preparation for emergencies; and
-
.3 PREPARE yourself and your vessel when actually
responding to an emergency.
2.3 This guide includes and supports the recovery
guidance in Volume III of the International Aeronautical and Maritime
Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual, "Mobile Facilities", which should
be available on board.
2.4 Recovery – getting people in distress
into your ship – is just a part of the overall rescue operation.
For guidance on SAR operations as a whole you should refer to the
IAMSAR Manual.
2.5 For simplicity, this guide refers to lifeboats,
liferafts, etc. as "survival craft". It is also possible that you
will be recovering people from other small craft such as small SAR
units; directly from small vessels in distress such as yachts or fishing
boats; or from the water, etc. In general the same recovery principles
apply throughout.
2.6 The guidance is set out as follows:
-
Possible recovery problems ......................................
section 3
-
Planning considerations ......................................
section 4
-
Providing assistance before recovery ........................
section 5
-
The recovery process – general considerations ..........
section 6
-
The approach ...................................... section
7
-
Rescue craft and lines ......................................
section 8
-
Getting people aboard – factors to consider ........................
section 9
-
Climbing and lifting ......................................
section 10
-
Providing assistance when standing by ........................
section 11
-
The immediate care of people recovered .......... section
12
-
Recovery checklist ......................................
appendix
3
THE TASK OF RECOVERY: POSSIBLE
PROBLEMS
3.1 When proceeding to the scene of an emergency
at sea, you will probably only have limited information about what
you will find when you get there. What you may find are people in
survival craft or in the water. You should prepare for their recovery.
3.2 Unless it is properly prepared for, the recovery
process may be a difficult and dangerous operation. The following
are some of the problems which you may have to face.
-
.1 Recovery from survival craft is not simple
– see section 3.3 below.
-
.2 In a man-overboard situation, or in a rapid
or uncontrolled abandonment when not everybody has been able to get
into survival craft, you may find people in the water, or clinging
to floating wreckage, etc. These people are less likely to be able
to help themselves than if they were in survival craft. Nor will they
survive so long.
-
.3 People may still be aboard the craft in distress
and direct recovery may be required, without the intermediate use
of survival craft.
-
.4 Small craft are especially vulnerable if they
are in close proximity to your ship. Their masts, rigging or other
gear may become entangled and there is the danger of crushing or other
damage as the two vessels move in the seaway.
-
.5 People may need to be recovered from other
places which they have reached before your arrival (rocks, reefs,
sandbanks, shorelines only accessible from the sea, navigational marks,
moored vessels, etc.).
-
.6 In addition to recovering people yourself,
you may have to receive people from other SAR units such as rescue
boats or helicopters. These units may wish to transfer people to your
ship rather than take them directly ashore, so that they can return
to pick up others more quickly. Many of the problems associated with
recovering people from survival craft also apply to the transfer of
people from (small) rescue boats into (large) ships.
-
.7 Transfer from helicopters has its own special
requirements, including training and preparation on board –
see IAMSAR Volume III.
3.3 There are likely to be further complications,
even after a controlled evacuation in which people have entered survival
craft successfully.
-
.1 Types of survival craft vary.
-
.1 Powered survival craft may be able to manoeuvre
themselves alongside your ship but those without power cannot do so.
-
.2 Many survival craft are covered and these covers
may not be removable. Getting out of enclosed survival craft may be
difficult when the craft is in a seaway, particularly if the exit
points are small.
-
.2 Those awaiting recovery may lack the ability
to help themselves or others. This may be because of injury, illness
(including seasickness after a period in a survival craft), the effects
of cold or heat, age (whether elderly or very young) or infirmity.
-
.3 People awaiting recovery may have little or
no experience of transferring between small craft and larger ones
such as your ship. For example, stepping onto a pilot ladder and then
climbing it is not difficult for a fit person used to doing so –
but it may be effectively impossible for others.
-
.4 There may be language difficulties. If instructions
are not properly understood, the consequences can be dangerous. You
may not have a language in common with the person to be recovered,
and even when you do they may not understand your instructions.
-
.5 There may be a large number of people to recover.
In the case of a passenger ship, this number may amount to hundreds
or even thousands of people. This possibility brings additional problems
with it, including:
-
.1 SCALE: the sheer size of the problem can be
daunting and the stress of the situation may lead you to lose focus
and efficiency.
-
.2 PRIORITY: who should be recovered first? It
is clear that people in the water should take priority over those
in survival craft. It is less clear whether the injured or infirm
should take priority over the more capable, who can be recovered more
quickly.
-
.3 RESOURCES: facilities aboard your ship may
become overwhelmed. Survivors will need shelter, warmth, water, food
and, probably, some medical attention.
-
.4 PEOPLE: you will need sufficient numbers of
people to navigate your ship, to operate the means of recovery and
to escort those recovered to shelter.
4.1 The circumstances you find when you arrive
will differ from incident to incident; but general planning must be
done.
4.2 When planning how best to bring people aboard
your ship you should consider:
-
.1 who will be required for the recovery process;
-
.2 who will manage the ship in the meantime;
-
.3 what can be done to help people prior to recovery;
-
.4 the means of recovery available to you;
-
.5 where on the ship the survivors should be taken
after recovery;
-
.6 how they will be looked after once they are
aboard; and
-
.7 how you will keep your own crew and any passengers
informed of what is going on.
4.3 Make sure everyone understands the recovery
plan and their own place in it, and have everyone ready, with all
the equipment they need, before commencing the operation.
4.4 You may not have much time to think about
details when the emergency happens; but if you have thought about
your capabilities beforehand and you have trained to use them effectively
– in short, if you are prepared – you will
not need much time.
4.5 Remember that plans are of no use unless you
know how to put them into effect. This requires training, and the
testing of both plans and training by conducting drills.
5
PROVIDING ASSISTANCE PRIOR
TO RECOVERY
5.1 People can still die after you have found
them but before you can get them on board. Recovery takes time –
and those in distress may not have much time, especially if they are
in the water, unprotected and/or unsupported. You should be ready
to help them stay alive until you are able to recover them.
5.2 Depending on how long the recovery is likely
to take, they may need:
-
.1 buoyancy aids such as lifebuoys, lifejackets
and liferafts;
-
.2 detection aids such as high-visibility/retro-reflective
materials, lights, a SART or an EPIRB;
-
.3 survival aids such as shelter, clothing, drink,
food and first aid supplies; and
-
.4 communications equipment such as a handheld
radio.
5.3 The simpler buoyant items – lifebuoys
in particular – can be dropped or thrown to those in distress
on an early pass by the ship. If the ship is stopped, contact should
be established by messenger (a rocket line, rescue throw-line, or
heaving line) and the items passed under control. You will need to
get the messenger very close to those in distress if they are to have
a chance of seeing and getting hold of it.
5.4 Items may be veered down to survivors while
the ship stands clear, on lines made fast to a lifebuoy, for example;
or they can be towed into a position where those in distress can get
hold of them.
5.5 If the recovery operation looks like it might
take some time, one or more of your own liferafts can be deployed.
Remember, however, that a liferaft may drift faster than those in
distress can swim. You will need to guide it to the people you are
assisting, using a line made fast to the raft before deploying it.
Do not rely on the raft's own painter, which may tear away.
5.6 You can also help those in distress while
you ready your ship for the recovery operation by making a lee for
them or, if contact can be established by line, by towing them out
of immediate danger such as that posed by the wreck itself or by spilt
hazardous cargo, or by a lee shore.
6
THE RECOVERY PROCESS –
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
6.1 During the recovery process itself, there
will be three basic tasks to complete:
-
.1 bringing people to the side of the ship so
that they can be recovered;
-
.2 getting people into the ship; and
-
.3 dealing with them once they are aboard.
6.2 Some guidance on each of these tasks is given
in sections 7 to 12. Think carefully about each of them in your planning
and preparation. If you have done so, the recovery process should
be easier when you have to carry it out.
7
BRINGING PEOPLE TO THE SIDE
OF THE SHIP – THE APPROACH
7.1 Manoeuvring a large ship in a seaway to come
alongside, and then remain alongside, a small object like a survival
craft or a person in the water will be difficult.
-
.1 The main danger in this case is that of running
over the object.
-
.2 It is also possible to over-compensate for
that risk, so that the object will be missed because still too far
away.
-
.3 Both your ship and the recovery object are
likely to be affected, unequally, by wind, sea state, and water currents.
7.2 There may be other factors which make this
task more difficult still. Be prepared for them. For example:
-
.1 Room to manoeuvre may be limited by nearby
navigational hazards, or there may be more than one recovery object
in the area.
-
.2 Beware of running down people in the water
(who may be very hard to see) while making your approach to your chosen
recovery object. Post good lookouts with direct communications to
the Bridge while in the incident area. Ensure that the lookouts know
to report all sightings: people in the water, survival
craft, the casualty vessel, debris, etc.
-
.3 Although powered craft may be able to get alongside
your ship and keep themselves there, this can be difficult in a seaway.
In rough seas, craft or the people aboard them may be damaged if thrown
against the ship's side. Have boat ropes ready, and fenders if you
have them.
-
.4 People in the water may be able to swim short
distances to get to the ship's side. It is possible that people will
enter the water in order to do so as you approach, although they should
be told not to if possible – at least until you are ready to
recover them.
7.3 Prepare your means of recovery, yourself and
your crew before you arrive at the scene.
7.4 Prepare onboard communications, so that lookouts
and the recovery team will be able to communicate readily with the
Bridge team.
7.5 Think about the approach before making it:
-
.1 determine what will be the most significant
factor in creating a lee for the casualty – wind, sea or swell;
-
.2 assess navigational hazards in the area;
-
.3 decide on which side you want to make the lee';
-
.4 consider circling the casualty: this can have
a significant calming effect on the sea, but you need to bear in mind
your ship's stability and manoeuvring characteristics, the amount
of sea room available, and the possibility that there are other survivors
in the area;
-
.5 consider running by the casualty first, if
time permits, to help you make your assessment;
-
.6 consider stopping well short of the casualty
during the final approach, to get the way off your vessel and to assess
the effects of wind, sea and swell when stopped/at slow speeds;
-
.7 approach with the significant element (wind,
sea or swell) fine on the weather bow and your recovery object fine
on the lee bow; and
-
.8 as you come up to the object, turn away from
the weather and stop to create the lee, with your recovery object
close on your lee side.
7.6 Be ready to receive craft and/or people alongside,
with boat ropes rigged and other equipment (including safety lines
and buoyant equipment) ready to hand.
7.7 Manoeuvring your ship at slow speed, judging
its movement and that of the recovery object, is a skill. Appropriate
training should be encouraged by ship operators.
8
BRINGING PEOPLE TO THE SIDE
OF THE SHIP – RESCUE CRAFT AND LINES
8.1 It may be unsafe – or simply impossible
– to bring survivors alongside your ship directly. You may have
to find another way of reaching them. One way to do this is to launch
a rescue craft, if this can be achieved safely. Another
way is to pass a line.
8.2 Launching a rescue craft will serve three
purposes:
-
.1 it will make the final approach to the recovery
object easier;
-
.2 primary recovery (into the rescue craft) will
be easier, because of the rescue craft's lower freeboard and similar
motion to that of the recovery object; and
-
.3 completing the recovery by returning to the
ship and being lifted back aboard using the rescue craft's own recovery
system should also be easier.
8.3 The best lee for launching and recovery of
rescue craft is likely to be obtained by putting the sea on a quarter,
steaming slowly ahead, and doing the boat work on the opposite side.
8.4 But for most ships launching rescue craft
may only be an option in reasonably good weather conditions. The use
of your own rescue craft must be for the master to decide, depending
on the particular circumstances of the incident. Factors to consider
include:
-
.1 The severity of the risk to those in distress:
can they be left where they are until more suitable help arrives (supported
in other ways by the assisting ship in the meantime – see section
11) or are alternative means of recovery available?
-
.2 On-scene weather conditions: particularly sea
state, but also wind strength and direction, ambient temperatures
and visibility.
-
.3 The capability of the rescue craft:
-
.1 the efficiency of its launch and recovery equipment;
-
.2 the competence and experience of its crew;
-
.3 the availability of personal protective equipment
for its crew;
-
.4 the effectiveness of communications between
the rescue craft and the ship;
-
.5 the proximity of navigational hazards; and
-
.6 the rescue craft's ability to navigate, whether
independently or conned from the ship, so as to avoid hazards and
locate those in distress.
-
.4 The ship's manoeuvrability: can you get into
a position to launch and recover the rescue craft safely?
-
.5 The proximity of navigational hazards limiting
the ship's ability to manoeuvre in support of the rescue craft or
to provide alternative help to those in distress.
8.5 An alternative to sending out a rescue craft
is to pass lines to those needing recovery, so that they may be pulled
alongside the ship. Rocket lines, rescue throw-lines and heaving lines
may be used for this purpose, and should be ready for use.
8.6 Buoyant appliances such as lifebuoys or an
inflated liferaft may be veered down to those in distress on secure
lines, and then pulled back to the ship.
8.7 Streaming lines astern is another option,
preferably with buoyancy and means of attracting attention to them
attached – lifebuoys, for example, with lights at night. The
ship should then be manoeuvred around those in distress so that they
may take hold of the streamed line. Once this is done the ship stops
and those in need of recovery can be pulled alongside.
9
GETTING PEOPLE ABOARD THE
SHIP: FACTORS TO CONSIDER
9.1 Once people are in a position from which they
can be recovered, the next part of the task is to get them aboard
the ship. This will depend on:
-
.1 the prevailing weather and sea conditions;
-
.2 the condition of the people to be recovered;
-
.3 the size of your ship;
-
.4 your ship's design;
-
.5 the equipment available; and
-
.6 the competence of those using it.
9.2 Weather and sea conditions on scene will be
important, particularly the sea state:
9.3 You should attempt to minimize the difficulties
caused by rough seas. Consider the following when planning recovery
operations:
-
.1 Try to keep sufficiently off the wind to reduce
the ship's roll and pitch and to create a lee. Find by experiment
(if time permits) the position in which the recovery object lies most
easily alongside.
-
.2 Steaming slowly ahead with the object secured
alongside and the weather on the opposite quarter should ease differential
movement, although it does introduce other risks. Craft may be damaged,
lines may part, or people may fall into the water during the recovery
operation, and drift astern.
-
.3 Try to secure recovery objects alongside if
possible, to prevent them being blown away or left behind.
-
.4 When lifting people, control lines should be
rigged to the hoist and tended to minimize swinging.
-
.5 Safety lines should always be used to secure
the casualty in case he/she falls or is injured during the recovery.
9.4 If the differential movement is too violent,
you will need to consider other options.
-
.1 It may be possible to transfer those to be
recovered to an intermediate platform such as a liferaft veered down
to them or acting as a fender against the ship's side.
-
.2 It may be necessary to have them enter the
water, suitably equipped with flotation aids and safety lines from
the ship, to be pulled across a safety gap between the ship and the
craft they are leaving.
-
.3 Ultimately, however, the only option may be
to abandon the attempt at recovery and to stand by, supplying whatever
assistance you can until a more capable recovery unit arrives or conditions
ease (see section 11).
9.5 The condition of the people to be recovered
is another critical factor. When responding to an emergency, you will
often not know their condition until you arrive.
-
.1 People's condition can range from the fit and
healthy to the entirely helpless who, because of their age or through
injury, infirmity, hypothermia, seasickness or fear can do nothing
to assist in their own recovery.
-
.2 This wide range of capability may be found
across a group of people to be recovered, so that some of the group
will be able to climb unaided into the recovering ship while others
will need assistance. Even the fit and experienced seafarer's capability
will erode over time, and may erode quickly. Weather conditions –
ambient temperatures in particular – and the level of protection
available prior to recovery are critical.
-
.3 You may find that people in distress are able
to help themselves (and others). You may find that you will have to
do all the work yourself. You are likely to find a mix of these conditions.
-
.4 There may be children to be recovered. Older
children may be able to help in their own recovery, although the equipment
in use may have to be adapted to their size (and remember that adults
come in a wide range of sizes too). Other children may, and infants
will, need adult help. You may have to provide means of securing a
small child to an adult while being recovered. Alternatively, you
may have to provide a lifting device to or in which the child may
be securely fastened.
-
.5 Fear is a factor deserving attention. Some
survivors may try to be recovered first or (if afraid for missing
friends or family members, or if simply afraid of the recovery process
itself – children, for example) they may resist recovery. In
either case they may act dangerously. Be ready for such unpredictable
behaviour, including having extra life-saving equipment to hand in
case someone ends up in the water. The aim is to retain control of
the recovery process overall: loss of control by individuals can be
tolerated unless it directly affects others' safety.
9.6 Be ready to deal with each of these possibilities.
You should plan ahead, so far as is practicable:
-
.1 People in the water should take priority over
people in survival craft, etc.
-
.2 It may be best to bring at least some of the
more capable survivors aboard first. You will probably be able to
recover more capable people more quickly than you can recover the
incapable, and, once aboard, they may be able to help you, by looking
after other survivors, for example.
-
.3 But some of the most capable should also be
among the last to be recovered, as you will need them to help prepare
the incapable for recovery.
-
.4 Communications with those awaiting recovery
are therefore very important. A controlled and prioritized recovery
process should be established and maintained.
9.7 The size of your ship, relative to your recovery
object, will affect differential movement, as discussed above. It
will also determine how far those being recovered have to climb or
be lifted; which, in turn, may affect:
-
.1 how long recovery takes;
-
.2 how many people can be recovered;
-
.3 whether they are exposed to additional risks
such as swinging against the ship's side; and
-
.4 how anxious they are about the operation.
9.8 The ship's design may make recovery simpler.
A high-sided ship may be able to use low freeboard areas or openings
in her hull such as pilot, bunkering, or cargo doors.
9.9 The entry points identified in the ship's
recovery plan should be re-assessed with the prevailing conditions
in mind. The questions to be considered include:
-
.1 Where can ladders or other climbing devices
be rigged?
-
.2 Where can lifting devices be used? What are
the leads and power sources for such devices?
-
.3 Are there any low freeboard areas or hull openings?
Can they be safely accessed in bad weather or difficult sea conditions?
Can the means of recovery be rigged there? Can those recovered be
safely removed from there to shelter?
-
.4 If thinking of using accommodation ladders
sited aft, is there a danger of survivors or craft near the foot of
the ladder being trapped under the hull as it tapers to the stern?
-
.5 Is there belting along the ship's sides? If
so this is a particular hazard to small craft, with significant danger
of the craft being trapped beneath it. Recovery points should be at
any breaks in the belting.
-
.6 Can sufficient lighting be rigged in the recovery
area?
9.10 The equipment available and the number of
people competent to operate it are also key factors. If there are
not enough people trained to operate the available means of recovery,
or if adequate recovery equipment has not been prepared, efficiency
of recovery will obviously be impaired:
.1 ASSESS your equipment.
.3 ASSIGN people to operate it.
.4 ENSURE that they know how to operate it.
10
GETTING PEOPLE ABOARD THE
SHIP: CLIMBING AND LIFTING
10.1 The methods of recovery discussed in this
guide are in addition to any purpose-built means of recovery carried
aboard the ship. They are methods that seafarers have used successfully
in the past. Consider which ones can be used aboard your ship; or
whether you can devise others.
10.2 The following CLIMBING devices should be
considered:
-
.1 pilot ladders and lifts;
-
.2 accommodation ladders;
-
.3 your own survival craft embarkation ladders;
and
-
.4 other ladders and nets.
10.3 Some or all of these may be rigged, in most
cases whatever the conditions. The following points should be borne
in mind:
-
.1 Lifting survivors is preferable to having them
climb a ladder or net – see section 10.4-5.
-
.2 Ladders and nets should be so rigged as to
minimize the climb; that is, where the freeboard is lowest or at suitable
openings in the ship's side.
-
.3 They should be rigged on the flat sides of
the ship, away from bow and stern.
-
.4 Their lower ends should be weighted so as to
hang about two metres below the water level, enabling people in the
water to get onto them.
-
.5 If possible, rig nets and jacob's ladders so
that they hang clear of the ship's side, to enable people to grasp
the rungs or cross-ropes more readily.
-
.6 Pilot ladders – or, if they can be rigged
safely in the prevailing conditions, accommodation ladders –
are preferable to nets and jacob's ladders.
-
.7 All ladders and nets should be tended.
-
.8 Safety lines should be deployed alongside them,
with rescue strops or loops in the end for the casualty's use. These
safety lines should be correctly secured and tended.
-
.9 A liferaft can be deployed at the foot of the
ladder or net, to act as a transfer platform.
-
.10 People may not be able to make the climb.
In such circumstances a crew member from the recovering ship, wearing
personal protective equipment and a safety line, may have to go down
to assist. Note, however, that this should be planned for.
Going overside in an unplanned manner may be fatal.
-
.11 If people are incapable of making the climb,
the ladder or net may have to be recovered with them secured to it.
For individual survivors, this may be possible manually – see
section 10.9. Alternatively, a winch or other power source will have
to be used.
10.4 In general, lifting survivors is preferable
to having them try to climb ladders or nets. The following LIFTING
devices should be considered:
-
.1 cranes (including stores cranes, etc.), gantries,
derricks;
-
.2 davits;
-
.3 windlass, winches; and
-
.4 purpose-built recovery devices, including manual-lifting
devices.
10.5 The following points should be borne in mind:
-
.1 Lifting devices should be rigged so that those
recovered can be lifted clear of hazards and landed on deck in a safe
area.
-
.2 If possible, lines led from windlass or winches
should be rigged so that the casualty can be lifted above the deck
edge.
-
.3 Control lines should be rigged to the lower
end of the lift, so that swinging against the ship's side can be limited.
-
.4 The lower end of the lift should be equipped
with at least a rescue strop or a secure loop.
-
.5 A purpose-built or improvised rescue basket,
or a purpose-built recovery device, is better than strops and loops.
-
.6 People who have been in the water, the injured
and the incapable, should be lifted in a horizontal or near-horizontal
position if possible (for example, in a basket, or in two strops or
loops; one under the arms, the other under the knees). This minimizes
the risk of cardiac arrest.
-
.7 However, if the survivor's airway is under
threat – as it may be when alongside, even in calm conditions,
because of side-splash – recover by the quickest method possible.
-
.8 A crew member from the recovering ship, wearing
personal protective equipment and a safety line, may be able to go
down with the lift to assist those incapable of helping themselves
into the strop, loop, basket or other device. Remember, however, that
this should be planned for.
10.6 The rescue basket mentioned above is a particularly
useful recovery tool. It may be possible to improvise such a basket;
but it is recommended that a purpose-built unit be carried on board.
10.7 The rescue basket usually takes the form
of a metal frame with floats/fenders around its perimeter and the
lifting hook made fast to the top of the frame, clear of people inside.
The basket floats partially submerged, so that people can easily enter
it or be pulled into it. The floats double as fenders during the lift,
should the basket swing against the ship's side. Some baskets are
designed to fold for ease of stowage. The size of the basket, and
how many people it can lift at once, largely depends on the ship's
lifting capability.
10.8 The control lines mentioned above –
usually rigged fore and aft along the ship's side, and tended during
the lift to minimize swinging – may be supplemented by a line
to the craft from which people are being recovered. This line serves
two functions. It may be tended by those still aboard the craft as
an additional means of controlling the hoist's lateral movements.
It also serves to maintain contact with the craft throughout, so that
the hoist may be brought back more easily for the next lift.
10.9 It may not be possible to use machinery to
lift people. If so, entry points into the ship should be selected
so that at least two crew (preferably more) can lift each survivor
manually, without risk to themselves. Use a lightweight ladder or
net, or knotted ropes: the knots should be spaced about 50 cm apart,
and help those lifting to grip the rope. Rig a separate, tended safety
line. Purpose-built manual lifting devices are available.
10.10 Survivors should not be expected to simply
hold on to a line being lifted. If no other lifting devices are available,
a loop in the end of the line to stand in, with a second loop about
1.5 m from the end to put over the head and under the arms, and to
hold on to, will have to suffice.
10.11 Your own ship's life-saving appliances may
be used for recovery purposes.
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.1 Liferafts and lifeboats, left on the falls,
may be used as lifts in relatively good conditions. Lowering these
units to water level enables people to be transferred into them and
then lifted to the embarkation deck:
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.1 Care should be taken to prevent operation of
any on-load release gear or automatic release hook.
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.2 Take care not to overload davit winches designed
to recover craft with only their own crew aboard.
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.3 Ships fitted with marine evacuation systems
of the slide type can deploy them to recover people by pulling them
up the slide, and/or light ladders may be carried for deployment down
the slide, to enable people to climb it unaided.
10.12 A further option to consider if winch-fitted
helicopters are on scene is to use them as transfer lifts. People
can be winched directly onto the ship – which is a quicker operation
than taking them into the helicopter's cabin first. The helicopter
is effectively used as a crane.
11
STANDING BY WHEN PEOPLE
CANNOT BE RECOVERED
11.1 There will be times when recovery cannot
be attempted or completed without undue risk to the ship, her crew
or those needing recovery. Only the assisting ship's master can decide
when this is the case.
11.2 Assistance can still be given to those in
distress, even if you cannot recover them. Standing by until other
help arrives or conditions improve will:
-
.1 give comfort to the survivors, especially if
communications can be established;
-
.2 assist the Rescue Coordination Centre, as you
will be able to provide updated and detailed reports on the situation;
and
-
.3 assist other SAR facilities:
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.1 your ship is easier to locate than a survival
craft;
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.2 you can provide updated and detailed reports;
and
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.3 units such as helicopters will be able to transfer
casualties to you even when you cannot recover them directly.
11.3 But, as discussed above, more direct help
can also be given:
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.1 Your own life-saving appliances – including
liferafts – can be deployed to those in distress, particularly
people in the water.
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.2 If lines can be passed to the survivors' craft,
they may be kept out of immediate danger; towed to a position where
conditions are easier and recovery may be attempted; or even towed
to a nearby place of safety.
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.3 You can provide a lee for small craft, protecting
them from the worst of the conditions: consider circling if practicable.
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.4 You may be able to supply more direct aid,
passing supplies by floating them down on lines fast to a lifebuoy,
for example.
12
THE IMMEDIATE CARE OF PEOPLE
RECOVERED
12.1 Recovery does not end when the survivor sets
foot on your deck. He or she still needs immediate help – and
is still at some risk, in a strange environment and having been under
great stress.
12.2 People recovered will need simple directions,
and preferably an escort, to shelter. You should decide beforehand
where you wish survivors to go aboard your ship, how they are going
to get there, who will take them, and who will look after them once
they arrive. This should include provision for people who are disorientated
and perhaps unable to understand instructions. It should also include
provision for those who are physically incapable of moving about the
ship.
12.3 Survivors' condition may vary and will need
to be assessed. Those assessed as being most at risk may require immediate
priority care. Ask for medical advice via the Rescue Coordination
Centre.
12.4 Remember in particular the risks of hypothermia
and of cardiac arrest induced by sudden transfer from the water. People
who have been in the water, the injured and the incapable, should,
if possible, be lifted and carried in a horizontal or near-horizontal
position. Refer to appropriate guidance, including that contained
in the IMO's Pocket Guide to Cold Water Survival.
12.5 You should also decide what you are going
to do with the dead. Bodies may be recovered, or people recovered
alive may die aboard your ship. Some immediate action should be taken,
if only to remove them from the place where you are sheltering the
living. Attention is drawn to the guidance contained in the IMO's Pocket
Guide to Cold Water Survival and, in particular, to the advice
that people suffering from hypothermia may appear to
be dead, yet can still be resuscitated. Ask for medical advice.
12.6 Further guidance on the care of people recovered
may be found in IAMSAR Volume III (Mobile Facilities). As this further
care is post-recovery, it is beyond the scope of this guide. You are
recommended to refer to the IAMSAR Manual for help with the next stage
of the rescue operation.
13.1 If you find yourself answering a distress
call and faced with the prospect of recovering people at sea, it helps
to consider the possibilities beforehand: possible problems and possible
solutions. It helps to plan and to prepare – and preparation
means assessing the recovery options aboard your ship, and training
in their use.
13.2 It could save a life (even yours!). It could
save many lives:
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.1 ASSESS the recovery options aboard your ship;
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.2 TRAIN in their use; and
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.3 PREPARE to save lives.
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