6 Providing emergency instructions to passengers
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Maritime Safety Committee - MSC/Circular.681 – Guidelines for Passenger Safety Instruction on Ro-Ro Passenger Ships – (Adopted on 31 May 1995) - Annex - Guidelines for Passenger Safety Instructions on Ro-Ro Passenger Ships - 6 Providing emergency instructions to passengers

6 Providing emergency instructions to passengers

  6.1 Before boarding the ship, or as soon as possible after boarding the ship, each passenger should be given a visually attractive card or folder explaining the emergency and safety-related procedures aboard the ship, using diagrams and pictures to the greatest possible extent. The items included in the emergency instruction notice identified in Annex 1 should be included, as well as the following:

  • .1 reporting fires and other apparently dangerous situations to a crew member, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem;

  • .2 the meaning of the IMO A.760(18) symbols;

  • .3 operation and use of low-location lighting systems;

  • .4 how assistance will be provided to disabled persons in an emergency;

  • .5 general explanation of how an abandonment would be carried out, including moving to assembly stations, then embarkation stations, and onto survival craft;

  • .6 following the directions to the assembly stations on signs and given by the crew. Do not follow crew members moving in other directions. Crew members may not necessarily be moving to assembly stations;

  • .7 operating the lifejacket lights

  • .8 familiarisation with the lifeboats and liferafts, and especially the liferaft launching and boarding procedure, as well as what to do in a lifeboat or liferaft;

  • .9 do not leave baggage where it obstructs passageways, or is otherwise unattended;

  • .10 access to vehicle decks is prohibited during the voyage. If you must have access to your vehicle during the voyage, contact [identify appropriate crew member];

  • .11 all vehicle gas cylinders should be turned off;

  • .12 smoking is prohibited on vehicle decks; and

  • .13 please follow the instructions of your crew members. They are highly trained and are there to assist you.

  6.2 A safety briefing is required to draw the attention of the passengers to the card or folder, and to the location and contents of the passenger emergency instruction notices and to encourage the passengers to read the pamphlets and notices. There is no single prescribed way to present the safety briefing. The operator needs to determine the means by which most passengers will be reached. The most effective way will often be by means of the ship's public address system, and if available, video should be used in connection with the announcement. The broadcast should be presented in a formal impersonal manner. In some cases, it may be appropriate to present this briefing in the terminal, rather than on the ship. The following methods may also be considered for presentation of safety information:

  • .1 posters or displays in the terminal;

  • .2 publication of safety information in periodicals in communities where use of ro-ro passenger services is high;

  • .3 safety and survival display in public areas aboard ship;

  • .4 a special information card, colouring book, or other activity for children. Some children will retain this information well, and may involve others in the activity;

  • .5 a ship's cinema could show a trailer on ship safety before the showing of a film;

  • .6 instructions could be posted on the inside of toilet doors; and

  • .7 information on safety procedures could be published in magazines, papers, and brochures distributed on board the ship.

  6.3 Announcements made on board should be made after all the passengers have boarded and either prior to or immediately on departure from the berth. It should be ensured that no other announcement or music is allowed to be broadcast while the passenger emergency instruction announcement is being made. Shops, services, and entertainment should not begin until the announcement is completed. Alternatively, services may be suspended while the announcements are made. Since it is often difficult to gain the full attention of passengers at this early stage in the voyage, it is recommended that this type of announcement be prefaced by a special signal when the public address system is used and followed by a request for everyone's attention. Such announcements should be relatively brief and compatible with the need to convey enough information to the listener to enable an orderly muster of the passengers to take place if this becomes necessary. Passengers should be encouraged to look for the assembly stations so they learn that the point where they came aboard via the gangway is not the place to go in an emergency.

  6.4 An example of an announcement for this purpose is given in annex 2 to these Guidelines.

  6.5 Announcements on board the ship should be supplemented by other means appropriate to the ship and voyage to ensure that as many passengers as possible have their attention drawn to the passenger emergency instructions. This can include but is not limited to the showing of video programmes on board and/or in the shore terminal, inserting in the ticket folder a page containing emergency procedures information, including information in magazines and brochures published for passengers, making announcements in the shore terminal that passengers should familiarise themselves with the contents of the emergency instruction notices on board.

  6.6 Some of the information listed in 6.1 may sometimes be included in the safety briefing announcement, although care should be taken to ensure that the announcement does not become too long. Nevertheless, some variation in the content of the announcement may help hold the attention of passengers that frequently use the service. Pre-recorded announcements are recommended to promote clarity and enunciation.

Parent topic: Annex - Guidelines for Passenger Safety Instructions on Ro-Ro Passenger Ships
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