User manual | RoNoMar - This course has been developed under Romanian Norwegian Maritime Project

This course has been developed under
RoNoMar - Romanian Norwegian
Maritime Project
(2008/111922)
Supported by a grant from Norway through the
Norwegian Cooperation Programme for Economic
Growth and Sustainable Development with Romania.
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
SAFE WORKING PRACTICES
Introduction
The present situations regarding equipments, installations, general stage of ship
building and seafarers training systems doesn’t generate the reductions of accidents as
will be expected.
Starting from here a permanent race between equipments performances and
competencies and skills formation has arise in order to control and manage safety the
complete number of equipments and other elements onboard ships.
An expression of these interests for a safety exploitation of ships is represented
by the I.S.M. Code, through its general objectives, as, increasing of safety on sea,
injuries prevention and lives lost prevention.
As follows, any company must have objectives relating safety management, like:
- acquiring of a safety practice in ship exploitation and of a nondangerous environment;
- establishing of safety measures against all identified risks;
- improving of personnel competencies on board and ashore about
safety management, including personnel training for emergency
situations.
Aims of this course are to meet the mandatory minimum requirements for
seafarers for familiarization, basic training and instruction in accordance with Section AVI/1 of the STCW Code.
Due to the vastly different environment on a ship as compared to ashore, this
course is designed to prepare new recruits for a life at sea. Working on a ship can be
hazardous occupation for the uninitiated. This course will give new seafarers an insight
into the various elements of a ship and working procedure on board so that they adjust
to the shipboard environment, and are better prepared to cope with any unforeseen
circumstances. To that extent this course is planned to make their transition from a
shore to a sea career smooth and give some knowledge of ship’s working before they
actually step on board a ship.
A trainee successfully completing this course will be able to:
- comply with emergency procedures
- take precautions to prevent pollution of the marine environment
- observe safe working practices
- understand orders and be understood in relation to shipboard duties
- contribute to effective human relationship on board ship.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Importance of the course
Seafarers should participate in ensuring safe working conditions and should be
encouraged to express views on working procedures adopted as they may affect safety
and health, without fear of dismissal or other prejudicial measures.
Seafarers should have the right to remove themselves from dangerous
situations or operations when they have good reason to believe that there is an
imminent and serious danger to their safety and health. In such circumstances, the
competent officer should be informed of the danger forthwith and seafarers should be
protected from undue consequences, in accordance with national conditions and
practice.
Seafarers should:
cooperate as closely as possible with the shipowner in the application of
the prescribed safety and health measures;
take care of their own safety and health and of other persons who may
be affected by their acts or omissions at work;
use and take care of personal protective equipment and clothing at their
disposal and not misuse any means provided for their own protection or
the protection of others;
report forthwith to their immediate supervisor any situation which they
believe could pose a hazard and which they cannot properly deal with
themselves;
comply with the prescribed safety and health measures; and
participate in safety and health meetings.
Except in an emergency, seafarers, unless duly authorized, should not interfere
with, remove, or displace any safety device or other equipment and appliances
furnished for their protection or the protection of others, or interfere with any method or
process adopted with a view to preventing accidents and injury to health.
Seafarers should not operate or interfere with equipment which they have not
been duly authorized to operate, maintain or use.
A seafarer who gives an order or otherwise instructs another seafarer should be
certain that the order or instructions are understood.
If a seafarer does not fully understand an order, instruction or any other
communication from another seafarer, clarification should be sought.
Seafarers have a duty to be particularly diligent during fire, lifeboat and other
drills and emergency training.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Ship familiarization
Upon embarkation, the Officers shall be briefed according to Familiarisation
Checklist for Deck Officers/Familiarisation Checklist for Engine Room Officers according
to their rank.
Petty Officers and ratings shall be briefed on safety issues according to
Familiarisation Checklist for Ratings.
All persons onboard during a passage (supernumeraries, family members,
surveyors, repair subcontractor personnel etc.) have safety related obligations similar to
those of the rest of the crew, shall be familiarised on safety aspects upon embarkation
according to Familiarisation Checklist for Ratings, their names included in the Muster
List and participate in the drills.
The above familiarisation must be conducted within 48 hours after the
signing on day or before leaving port, whatever comes first.
Means of access to the ship:
there should be a safe means of access between any ship and any quay,
pontoon or similar structure or another ship alongside which the ship is
secured
seafarers should be provided with adequate information on how to make
their way safely to and from the ship through the marine terminal or
shore side cargo handling area
in some modern ports access equipment and information on safe means
of access are provided by the port authorities. However, the master
should ensure, as far as possible, that the equipment meets the required
safety standards
seafarers should not use a means of access which is unsafe. They
should also use means of access with care, they should make several
trips or use a stores crane when carrying personal gear, stores or ship’s
equipment rather than attempting to carry too much at once
all access arrangements should be supervised at all times, either by
seafarers or by shore personnel, particularly in port which have large
tidal ranges
access should generally be by an accommodation ladder or gangway
which is appropriate to the deck layout, size, shape and maximum
freeboard of the ship
any access equipment should be of good construction, sound material,
adequate strength, free from obvious defect, properly maintained and
inspected at frequent intervals. It should not be painted or treated to
conceal cracks or defects
access equipment should be placed in position promptly after the ship
has been secured and remain in position while the ship is secured
a lifebuoy with a self-activating light and a separate safety line or some
similar device should be provided at the point of access aboard the ship
all access equipment and the approaches to such equipment should be
properly illuminated
seafarers should use only the appropriate equipment for ship access
as far as is practicable, access equipment should be kept free of any
snow, ice, grease or other substance likely to cause a slip or fall
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
any gap between the dockside and the ship, whereby a person on the
ship’s means of access might fall into the water, should be protected by a
safety net, of suitable size, mesh and construction, secured to the ship
and dockside, as appropriate
the means of access and its immediate approaches should be kept free
from obstruction and, as far as practicable, kept clear of any substance
likely to cause a slip or fall
the means of access should be sited so that no suspended load passes
over it
gangways and accommodation ladders should be clearly marked with
the maximum permitted angle of use and maximum safe loading in both
number of persons and total weight. Under no circumstances should this
limit be exceeded.
Ship’s accommodation ladders and gangways:
any accommodation ladder or gangway should be:
a) at least 55 cm in width; and
b) provided with stanchions and taut rails, chains or fencing on both
sides.
stanchions should not be more than 3 m apart, and properly secured to
avoid inadvertent displacement
fencing should be at least 1 m high, with an intermediate rail or chain at
a height of about 50 cm
the accommodation ladder or gangway should be so constructed that
ordinary changes in the ship’s draught or height above the quay can be
easily accommodated
where practicable, accommodation ladders should have a swivel top
platform, slip-resistant treads and wheels or rollers at the bottom
any necessary adjustment should not tilt the treads or steps to such an
extent that they cease to offer a firm foothold
duckboards should be fitted to provide a secure foothold at small angles
of inclination
the gap between the top of the gangway or ladder and the ship should
be protected on each side by handrails, taut chains or other suitable
means, with intermediate chains at a height to match the handrails and
intermediate protection of the gangway
if the upper end rests on or is flush with the top of a rail or bulwark,
substantial and properly secured steps fitted with an adequate handrail
should be provided to ensure safe passage to and from the gangway
where practicable, accommodation ladders should not be used at a
greater angle to the horizontal than 55 degrees
if the gangway rests on rollers or wheels, it should be fitted or protected
in such a way as to prevent the user’s feet from being caught and it
should be placed in a position which does not restrict the free movement
of the rollers or wheels
a gangway should never be permitted to drop between the shore and the
ship in such a way that it may be crushed or damaged
special care should be taken during maintenance to detect any cracking,
rusting or corrosion in gangways, ladders and metal fittings
any defect posing hazards should be made good before further use.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Portable ladders:
a portable ladder should not be used for access to a vessel unless a
safer means of access is not reasonably practical
portable ladders should be of good construction, adequate strength and
properly maintained
when a ladder is in use:
a) the top should rise at least 1 m above the landing place;
b) each upright should rest properly on a firm and level footing; and
c) it should be properly secured against slipping, falling or sideways shifting.
the ladder should be use at an angle of between 60 and 75 degrees
from the horizontal
Pilot ladders:
the requirements for pilot ladders and mechanical pilot hoists found in
SOLAS, 1974, Chapter V, Regulation 17.
Passageways and walkways:
seafarers should move about the ship bearing in mind the possibility of
an unusual lurch or heavy roll by the ship while at sea.
permanent fittings which cause obstruction and which may be dangerous
to vehicles, lifting appliances or persons should be made conspicuous by
means of colouring, marking or lighting.
any deck obstructions and head-height obstructions that are a hazard
should be painted a bright, conspicuous colour.
where necessary, warning notices should be posted. Graphic symbols
should be utilized where possible.
head-height obstructions should be padded.
the stowage of deck cargoes should take account of the requirements for
safe access to crew quarters, for crew working the ship, for boarding of
pilots, and access to safety equipment.
all passageways, walkways, stairs and all deck surfaces used for transit
should be properly maintained and kept free from materials or
substances liable to cause slips or falls.
transit areas should, where practicable, be provided with a surface which
is slip resistant in dry as well as in wet conditions.
walkways on deck should be delineated by painted lines or otherwise
and indicated by signs.
any gear or equipment stowed to the side of a passageway or walkway
should be securely fixed or lashed against the movement of the ship
when at sea.
when rough weather is expected, lifelines should be rigged securely
across open decks.
Protection around cargo hatches and other deck openings:
every cargo hatchway should be protected by means of a coaming or
fencing to a height of at least 1 m above the deck.
hatch covers, pontoons and beams that have been removed should be
placed so as to leave a safe walkway from rail to hatch coaming and fore
and aft.
access within cargo spaces and holds should be kept clear.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
mechanically, hydraulically and electrically powered hatch covers should
be opened and closed only by designated members of the ship's crew or
other authorized persons. The hatches should only be operated after
ensuring it is clear to do so.
any openings through which a person might fall should be fitted with
secure guards or fencing of adequate design and construction.
guard-rails or fencing should consist of an upper rail at a height of 1 m
and an intermediate rail at a height of 50 cm. The rails may consist of
taut wire or taut chain.
Cranes and derricks:
all lifting equipment used on board ship should be of good design, sound
construction and material, adequate strength for the purpose for which it
is used, free from defect, properly installed or assembled and properly
maintained.
lifting gear should be tested and examined in accordance with national
requirements.
lifting gear should be clearly and legibly marked with its safe working
load, including the safe working load at various operating positions.
a register of a ship's lifting appliances and items of loose gear should be
kept on the ship. All lifting gear and loose gear should be included in the
register.
all equipment should be thoroughly examined by a responsible officer
before use and regularly examined during use. The frequency of
examination should depend on the operation, e.g. derrick wires subjected
to hard usage should be inspected several times a day.
seafarers using cranes, derricks or special lifting gear should preferably
be trained and certified for the particular equipment; if this is not possible,
they should be thoroughly instructed by a competent ship's officer prior to
any cargo operations.
loads being lowered or hoisted should not pass or remain over any
person engaged in loading or unloading or performing any other work in
the vicinity.
cargo handling equipment should always be manned when controls are
in the "on" position. When not in operation it should be turned "off and
safety locks or devices should be put in place.
persons operating equipment should have a clear view. If this is not
possible, a signaller should be placed at a point clearly visible to the
equipment operator and from the area of work.
straps and slings should be of sufficient size and length to enable them
to be used safely and be applied and pulled sufficiently tight to prevent
the load or any part of the load from slipping and falling.
before heavy loads such as lengths of steel sections, tubes and lumber
are swung, the load should be given a trial lift to test the effectiveness of
the slinging.
except for the purpose of breaking out or making up slings, lifting hooks
should not be attached to:
a) the bands, straps or other fastenings of packages of cargo;
b) the rims of barrels or drums.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
slings or chains being returned to the loading position should be securely
hooked on the cargo hook before the signaller gives the signal to hoist.
Hooks or claws should be attached to the egg link or shackle of the cargo
hook and not allowed to hang loose. The cargo hook should be kept high
enough to keep slings or chains clear of persons and obstructions.
loads (setts) should be properly put together and properly slung before
they are hoisted or lowered.
loads should be raised and lowered smoothly, avoiding sudden jerks or
"snatching" loads.
suitable precautions, such as the use of packing or chafing pieces,
should be taken to prevent chains, wire and fibre ropes from being
damaged by the sharp edges of loads.
when slings are used with barrel hooks or similar holding devices where
the weight of the load holds the hooks in place, the sling should be led
down through the egg or eye link and through the eye of each hook in
turn so that the horizontal part of the sling draws the hooks together.
the angle between the legs of slings should not normally exceed 90
degrees. Where this is not reasonably practicable, the angle may be
exceeded up to 120 degrees provided that the slings have been
designed to work at the greater angles.
trays and pallets should be hoisted with four-legged slings and, where
necessary, nets or other means should be used to prevent any part of
the load falling.
when bundles of long metal goods such as tubes, pipes and rails are
being hoisted, two slings should be used and, where necessary, a
spreader. A suitable lanyard should also be attached, where necessary.
cargo buckets, tubs and similar appliances should be carefully filled so
that there is no risk of the contents falling out. They should be securely
attached to the hoist (for example, by a shackle) to prevent tipping and
displacement during hoisting and lowering.
shackles should be used for slinging thick sheet metal if there are
suitable holes in the material; otherwise, suitable clamps on an endless
sling should be used.
bricks and other loose goods of similar shape, carboys, small drums,
canisters, etc., should be loaded or discharged in suitable boxes or
pallets with sufficiently high sides and lifted by four-legged slings.
all blocks should be inspected before use and no block should be used
unless it has identification marks and its safe working load marked on it
in tonnes.
when a block is inspected it should be ascertained that no sheave is
cracked, that it turns freely and the groove is not excessively worn, that
the swivel head fitting is securely fastened and the block shank freely
turns, that the side straps are sound and that all sheave clearances are
satisfactory.
all grease nipples and/or lubrication holes should be kept clear and each
block should be regularly greased.
every hook should be provided with an efficient device to prevent
displacement of the sling or load or be of such construction as to prevent
displacement.
hooks should be marked with their safe working load.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
no shackle should be used unless its safe working load is clearly marked.
a shackle should be of the correct type, size and safe working load for its
intended use.
all shackles should have their pins effectively secured or seized with wire.
the running part of any rigging should not come into contact with the pin
of a shackle.
all shackle pins should be kept lubricated.
Mooring and unmooring:
all seafarers involved in mooring and unmooring operations of any kind
should be informed of the hazards of engaging in such operations.
a competent person should be in charge of mooring operations and
ascertain that there are no persons in a dangerous position before any
heaving or letting go operation is commenced.
on each occasion that a vessel berths, all relevant circumstances such
as weather, tides, passing vessels, etc., should be considered in
determining a safe securing pattern of ropes and wires.
mixed moorings of wires and ropes in the same direction should not be
used because wires and ropes stretch differently.
there should be sufficient seafarers available to ensure the safe conduct
of operations.
only competent persons should operate windlasses and winches.
under no circumstances whatsoever should seafarers stand in a bight of
a rope or wire which is lying on deck. Seafarers should never stand or
move across a rope or wire that is under strain.
ropes and wires are frequently under strain during mooring operations
and seafarers should, as much as possible, always stand in a place of
safety from whiplash should ropes or wires break.
due to the types of man-made ropes that may be on board ship,
seafarers should be trained in the techniques of "stopping off wires and
ropes. Chain-securing devices should be used for stopping off wire
mooring ropes but never for fibre ropes.
Working in machinery spaces:
all operations in machinery spaces should be performed by a competent
person under the supervision of a responsible officer or senior rating.
the regulations of the competent authority on the guarding of every
dangerous part of a vessel's machinery should apply.
particular attention should be paid to protecting seafarers from the effects
of noise. Spaces in which hearing protection needs to be worn should be
indicated by warning signs.
no work other than routine duties should be undertaken except on the
orders of a responsible engineering officer. Maintenance work should be
carried out in compliance with manufacturer's instruction manuals. When
necessary, specific work should be carried out within the "permit-to-work"
system.
moving parts of machinery should be provided with permanent guards or
other safety devices such as railings or fencing.
if the use of any piece of machinery or equipment is considered to be
temporarily unsafe, it should be immobilized or put in a safe place or
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
condition immediately and, if necessary, a warning notice should be
posted adjacent to or at the control position.
no guard, fencing or shielding should be removed for repair or
maintenance except when the machinery to which it relates has been
stopped. The machinery should not be restarted until the fencing or
shielding has been replaced and secured.
all valves, pipes and fittings should be adequately supported and fixed or
clamped to avoid vibration and possible fracture. All such fixtures and
supports should be properly maintained and replaced after maintenance.
all items such as steam pipes, exhaust pipes and fittings which, because
of their location and operating temperature present a hazard, should be
adequately lagged or shielded.
the source of any oil leak should be located as soon as possible and the
leak stopped.
waste oil should not be allowed to accumulate in the bilges or on tank
tops. Any accumulation should be removed as soon as possible in
compliance with MARPOL. Tank top and bilge spaces should be washed
down at regular intervals or as necessary for safety.
a procedure should be in place to ensure that, whenever a fuel oil tank is
being filled, or the contents of one are being transferred to another, it
does not overflow. Such a procedure may be in writing and may include
permanently displayed line diagrams and particulars. Whenever fuel oil is
being loaded or transferred, the operation should be supervised by a
competent person.
bilges and mud-boxes should be kept clear of rubbish and other
substances so that the bilges can be easily pumped.
special attention should be given to preventing leakages into machinery
spaces of exhaust gases from boilers, inert gas plants, uptakes, etc.
all areas should be suitably illuminated. Areas under floor plates where
oil pipes are located should be painted a light colour.
any light that fails should be replaced as soon as possible.
temporary or portable lighting should be used to provide additional
illumination as required, and should be removed immediately after use.
care should be taken to keep the noise level as low as practicable, and to
maintain or where necessary improve sound-absorbing arrangements.
seafarers should be informed of the danger of removing hearing
protection in areas where the noise level is high, even for short periods.
When work has to be carried out in such areas, a suitable system of
communication should be agreed upon before the work begins.
if there is a control room, doors should be kept closed and hearing
protection should be worn when access is required to any area where the
noise level is high.
ventilation should be maintained to ensure a comfortable atmosphere so
far as is reasonably practicable in all areas, with special attention being
given to working areas and control rooms.
ventilation should be increased if necessary where maintenance and
repair work have to be carried out in areas of high temperature or high
humidity.
unless properly equipped and authorized to be operated without persons
in attendance, the boiler room and machinery space should be under the
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
direct supervision of a competent person at all times and should be
manned at all times by persons adequate for the duties required.
all drains on such equipment as pipes and filters should be kept clear.
care should be taken to ensure that any pressure in all relevant piping,
system or container has been relieved before it is opened or any flange
or joint is broken.
as a precaution bolts should be only slackened back and not removed
until the flange or joint is broken.
if the flange or joint does not part easily, separation should be made with
a wedge and not by allowing pressure into the line. The pipe should be
secured temporarily if necessary before the flange or joint is broken.
it should be remembered that valves may not be completely tight nor
lines fully drained and that pressure, or accumulations of oil and scalding
water, may build up in a pipe even after the pressure has been relieved.
any valve controlling flow should be effectively locked or secured as long
as the line remains open, and if necessary a warning notice should be
posted.
all stores and tools should be properly stowed and adequate
arrangements should be made, particularly with heavy stores, to secure
each item in heavy weather.
when lifting weights, seafarers should avoid strains by using chain-blocks
or the engine room crane, as appropriate. When turning valves or handwheels, seafarers should avoid strains by using lever or wheel spanners.
where heavy items are lifted by chain blocks or by an engine room crane,
the lifting device and lifting arrangements should be examined by a
responsible person, who should ensure that the safe working load is not
exceeded.
slings should be examined for broken or ragged stands, and padded as
required to avoid damage on sharp edges.
where lifting or eye bolts are to be used, the thread on the bolt and in the
part to be lifted should be seen to be clean and in good condition, and
the threaded part fully screwed home and locked as appropriate before
any lifting effort is applied.
this is particularly important when lifting heavy machinery parts, when
care should be taken that carbon is removed from the threaded recess, if
necessary by running down the appropriate tap before screwing home
the bolt.
hoisting or lowering, whether by crane or by chain-blocks, should be
performed only after all persons involved have been informed of the
intended action.
any friction fit, tightness or adhesion of the part of any load being lifted
should be broken by wedges or tapping, and not by increasing the load
on the lifting appliance.
seafarers should always stand clear of any load being lifted and should
not walk close to or underneath any load being lifted or while it is
suspended.
any tools used at heights above platform level should be kept in a
suitable bag or box, or secured so as to prevent them from falling.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
after any repair or maintenance work, all tools and any spares or
replaced parts should be checked, accounted for and properly stowed
away in a safe and secure place.
when working alone, a person should arrange to communicate at regular
and frequent intervals with other persons in the machinery spaces or on
the bridge.
no person should perform any operation on a boiler, unfired pressure
vessel or steam pipe that could result in the release of steam, air, or oil
except:
a) under the supervision of an engineer officer; and
b) with the knowledge and approval of the chief engineer.
all boilers and unfired pressure vessels and steam piping should be
inspected internally and externally at regular intervals by a competent
person as required by the national authority.
no boiler or unfired pressure vessel should be operated or kept at
working pressure if unsafe for use or not provided with the properly
maintained fittings necessary for safe operation.
before any boiler or unfired pressure vessel is opened for inspection, any
pressure therein should be released, the contents cooled down to
atmospheric temperature and the system effectively drained off.
no boiler or unfired pressure vessel should be opened or entered for
inspection until adequate arrangements have been made to prevent any
backflow of steam or working fluid by blanking off, or locking shut, any
lines or valves that might allow such backflow of steam, hot water or
exhaust gases to enter the boilers, combustion chamber or pressure
vessel.
the top manhole door should be knocked in first with the dogs slacked
back but not removed.
the manhole door should be held by a rope or other means when the
dogs are removed.
when the top manhole has been removed, the bottom manhole door may
be knocked in.
at all times while a person is in the boiler, another person should be
standing by at the manhole entrance and should communicate at
frequent intervals with the person inside.
spaces at the top and sides of boilers should not be used for storage.
safety valves should be properly sealed and maintained in good
operational condition at all times.
special care should be taken to maintain water gauges in proper order.
They should be checked and blown through in a proper manner by a
competent person at frequent intervals. Gauges should be replaced only
by a competent person.
the water level should be checked at all times when fires are alight.
Should the water level fall below the glass, the boiler should be
immediately secured as required.
care should be taken to ensure that, when lighting up, the combustion
chambers have been properly purged free of gas and that no loose oil
has accumulated on the furnace floor.
care should be taken to ascertain that all burners are clean and properly
assembled.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
fuel oil should be recirculated until all parts of the system have reached a
suitable temperature before admission to the furnace.
when lighting up a boiler, seafarers should stand clear of any openings in
order to avoid a possible blowback.
should a furnace fail to light for any reason when the oil valve is opened:
the valve should be closed; the combustion chamber should be properly
purged.
operating instructions should be displayed at each boiler.
the propulsion machinery should be provided and maintained in
accordance with the requirements of the competent authority and good
practice.
maintenance should be carried out by a competent person and a
responsible officer should be informed immediately if any actual, or latent,
fault or defect is observed, with remedial action being taken as
appropriate.
the machinery should be stopped before any work is done by seafarers
on, or using, machinery items which would constitute a hazard:
a) throttle or starting system should be closed;
b) turning gear or a suitable brake should be engaged; and
c) a warning notice should be posted.
the governor, low lubricating oil pressure alarm and shutdown devices,
and other speed limiting devices should be made ready to operate
should abnormal operations occur.
steam joints, valve gland and gland sealing arrangements should be
maintained in good order to avoid excessively high humidity in the
surrounding area.
internal combustion machinery should be maintained in safe condition
and be regularly inspected as required by the manufacturer.
scavenge trunks should be kept clean and free from loose oil and turboblowers should be kept free of accumulations of oil and dirt.
a source of ignition, e.g. a portable electric light or naked flame, should
not be brought near an open engine crank case until it has been cooled
and well ventilated and until all explosive gases have been expelled.
air compressors should be properly maintained an inspected by a
competent officer.
adequate information stating the operating and maintenance safeguards
of the refrigeration plant should be displayed on each vessel.
refrigeration compressors and systems should be properly maintained to
avoid leakage of refrigerant, either in the compressor room or in the
refrigerated compartments. Where refrigerating equipment is isolated, a
competent person should be notified before entering the room or
compartment.
when leakage is suspected the proper detection method should be used.
no one should enter a refrigerated compartment without wearing
protective clothing and informing a responsible person.
special precautions should be taken when working on systems
containing oil and, in particular, hot oil.
all protective covers on oil lines should be drained before removing same.
Protective covers should be promptly replaced after completion of any
work and after verification that no leaks are evident in the system.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
attention is drawn to the potential fire hazard associated with the rupture
of unprotected oil lines and joints.
safety devices of oil pumps, oil heaters and coolers should be maintained
in good and operative condition.
the operation of the steering gear should be checked or inspected at
frequent intervals by the responsible officer and safety devices should be
ready to operate at all times.
the steering gear should be tested in accordance with IMO requirements.
only authorized persons should enter a control room or an unattended
machinery space.
seafarers should never enter, or remain in, an unattended machinery
space unless permission has been received from, or instructions given
by, the engineer officer in charge at the time.
when watchkeeping is carried out from a control room, the competent
person should ensure that the machinery space is patrolled at regular
intervals by a person sufficiently knowledgeable to detect any unusual
conditions.
the instrumentation and alarms on which the safety of an unattended
installation depends should be maintained in good operational order in
accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
unmanned machinery spaces should be properly lit at all times.
any alarms that have operated should be made re-operative before the
machinery space is left.
no alarm system should be isolated without the permission of the chief
engineer.
at any time when the machinery spaces are to be left unattended, a
responsible officer should ensure that all alarm systems are set to
operate and that all persons have been accounted for and have left the
space.
should the responsible officer enter the space alone for any reason, he
should notify the bridge duty officer who should arrange to check on his
well-being frequently and at specific times as long as he remains therein.
notices of safety precautions to be observed by seafarers working in
control-rooms and unattended machinery spaces should be clearly
displayed at entrances.
hydraulic systems should be frequently inspected by a responsible officer,
properly maintained and kept free of leaks.
care should be taken to avoid skin penetration from high pressure fluid
during inspections and repair of hydraulic systems.
the system should be purged as necessary to avoid erratic operations
which could be dangerous to seafarers.
13
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Nature of shipboard hazards
The importance of good housekeeping in the prevention of accidents and
conditions likely to be injurious to health should be given proper priority in the training of
every member of the crew until its acceptance becomes second nature.
Minor deficiencies in the structure, equipment or furnishings (for example,
protruding nails and screws, loose fittings and handles, uneven and damaged flooring,
rough and splintered edges to woodwork and jamming doors) may cause cuts, bruises,
trips and falls. They should be repaired as soon as they are noticed.
Any spillage of oil or other substance likely to cause a hazard should be
removed immediately.
Accumulations of ice, snow or slush should be removed from working areas and
passages on deck.
If asbestos-containing panels, cladding or insulation work loose or are damaged
in the course of a voyage, the exposed edges or surfaces should be protected pending
proper repair by a suitable coating or covering to prevent asbestos fibres from being
released and dispersed into the air. Known asbestos-containing materials should only
be disturbed for the purpose of essential maintenance and then only in strict compliance
with national or international requirements, as appropriate. In general, the use of
asbestos insulating material should be prohibited.
Flickering lights may indicate faults in wiring or fittings which may lead to
electric shocks or fires. They should be investigated and repaired by a competent
person. Failed light bulbs should be replaced as soon as possible.
Instruction plates, notices and operating indicators should be kept clean and
legible.
Heavy objects, particularly if placed at a height above deck level, should be
stowed securely against the movement of the ship. Similarly, furniture and other objects
likely to fall or shift during heavy weather should be properly stowed or secured.
Doors, whether open or closed, should be properly secured.
Coils of rope and wires on deck should be located so as not to pose a tripping
hazard.
Under no circumstances whatsoever should seafarers stand in a bight of a rope
or wire which is lying on deck. Seafarers should never stand or move across a rope or
wire that is under strain.
Ropes and wires are frequently under strain during mooring operations and
seafarers should, as much as possible, always stand in a place of safety from whiplash
should ropes or wires break.
The stowage and dispersal of deck or machinery equipment should be well
planned and organized so that each item has its proper place.
Seafarers should always stand clear of any load being lifted and should not
walk close to or underneath any load being lifted or while it is suspended.
Litter presents a fire risk and may cause slips, falls or conceal other hazards. It
should be disposed of in compliance with the appropriate MARPOL legislation.
Tasks should be carried out with account being taken of possible risks to other
persons; for example, water from hosing down the deck may enter other spaces and
result in slips and falls.
Aerosols having volatile and inflammable content should never be used or
placed near naked flames or other heat sources even when empty.
Seafarers should have appropriate and up-to-date vaccinations and inoculations.
Small cuts and abrasions should be treated immediately.
14
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Precautions should be taken to avoid insect bites. In particular, anti-malaria
precautions should be taken before, during and after the ship visits ports where malaria
is known to exist.
High standards of personal cleanliness and hygiene should be maintained at all
times. Washing facilities should be provided in toilets. Hands should always be well
washed after using paints or after possible exposure to toxic substances.
Working in conditions of high humidity and heat may cause heat exhaustion or
heat stroke. Sensible precautions should be taken, including the drinking of sufficient
water and the taking of additional salt, if appropriate.
Seafarers should protect themselves from the sun in tropical areas and be
informed that prolonged sun bathing, even when the skin is protected, may be harmful.
Seafarers should be made aware of the health hazards related to smoking.
Toxic and other hazardous substances and products should be used and stored
in such a way that user and others are safeguarded against accidents, injuries or
particular discomfort.
A record (product data sheet) should, when obtainable, be kept on board,
available to all users, containing sufficient information to determine the degree of the
danger posed by the substances.
If possible, the substance should be stored in the original packaging or in
another correspondingly labeled packaging that cannot give rise to confusion. Such
substances must be stored in a locked, well-ventilated room.
Chemicals should always be handled with extreme care, protection should be
worn and the manufacturer's instructions closely followed. Particular attention should be
paid to protecting eyes.
Some cleaning agents, such as caustic soda and bleach, are chemicals and
may burn the skin. A chemical from an unlabelled container should never be used.
Exposure to certain substances such as mineral oils, natural solvents and
chemicals, including domestic cleaning agents and detergents, may cause dermatitis.
Suitable gloves should be worn when using such substances and the owner should
provide suitable barrier creams which may help to protect the skin.
Smoking should be permitted only in authorized areas, and instructions and
prohibition notices should be prominently displayed.
Careless disposal of burning matches and cigarette ends is dangerous:
ashtrays, or other suitable containers, should be provided and used in locations where
smoking is permitted.
Seafarers should be made aware of the dangers of smoking in bed.
Unauthorized persons should not interfere with electrical equipment and fittings.
All electrical faults in equipment, fittings or wiring should be reported
immediately to the appropriate responsible person.
The overloading of a circuit should not be permitted as it can cause fires.
Portable heaters carried as ship's equipment should not be used except in
exceptional circumstances and with due warning of their accompanying dangers.
Personal heating appliances should not be used under any circumstances.
All portable electrical appliances should be isolated from the mains when not in
use.
All personal electrical equipment in accommodation areas should be connected
only by standard plugs fitting into the sockets provided.
Extension leads and multi-socket plugs should not be used in accommodation
areas for connecting several items of electrical equipment to one plug or socket.
15
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
When seafarers use portable equipment or portable lamps they should ensure
that any flexible cables passing through doors, hatches, manholes, etc., are protected
and that their insulation is not damaged by the closing of doors, covers or lids.
Seafarers should not site private aerials in the vicinity of the vessel's aerials.
Seafarers should not attempt to work on or repair their personal mains-powered
radios, compact disc players or other equipment without removing the mains plug, and
should have the equipment checked by a competent person before plugging it in again.
Wall charts giving instructions on emergency first-aid treatment to seafarers
who have suffered electric shock should be displayed in appropriate places about the
vessel - all seafarers should understand and be able to follow the procedures shown on
the notices.
Care should be taken when drying items of clothing. Clothing should not be
hung directly on or close to heaters and should never be dried in the engine-room.
Waste, rags, and other rubbish as well as clothes soaked with paint, oil,
thinners, etc., are dangerous if left lying around as they may spontaneously combust. All
waste should be stored in proper dustbins until it can be safely disposed of.
Galleys present particular fire hazards and the means to smother fat or cooking
oil fires, such as a fire blanket and appropriate fire extinguisher, should be readily
available. Water shall never be used in attempts to fight fires involving hot oil in cooking
areas.
Shipboard security is essential in reducing the risks of terrorism, stowaways,
piracy and drug smuggling. Effective security measures are not always easy and
particular vigilance is required when operating in areas of increased risk. It is important
to control access to the ship and the screen visitors before they are allowed on board;
unauthorized personnel can be a danger to themselves and the others.
The chances of a ship experiencing a terrorist attack are very low but attacks do
happen. The main threat is from people trying to smuggle weapons and explosives on
board. An appropriate sign at all access points stating that "all items brought on board
this ship are liable to be searched" will act as a deterrent. Other security measures that
may be considered include surveillance and detection equipment.
If there is any likelihood of stowaways, a thorough search of the vessel should
be made before departure. It is easiest to send stowaways ashore in the port where
they boarded, and they may hide in places which are secured at sea and which may be
deficient in oxygen so that they suffocate or starve, or in holds which may be fumigated.
The dangers to a vessel can be significantly reduced if the ship's crew takes
relatively simple precautions, such as remaining vigilant and keeping means of access
closed as much as possible, particularly access to crew accommodation.
All ships operating in waters where attacks occur should have an anti attack
plan. The plan should, inter alia, cover:
the need for enhanced surveillance and the use of lighting and
surveillance or detection equipment;
crew responses if a potential attack is detected or an attack is underway;
minimizing the opportunity to steal cargo, stores or personal effects;
ensuring the safety of the ships crew and passengers.
details of the radio and alarm procedures to be followed, and
the reports that should be made after an attack, or attempted attack.
Owners or masters of ships operating in areas where attacks may occur are
responsible for deciding what measures to take. The following notes are guidance only
based on advice from security experts:
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Be vigilant - the majority of attacks will be deterred if the robbers are aware
that they have been observed, and that the crew has been alerted and is prepared to
resist attempts to board. Ensure that crew members are constantly seen to be moving
around the ship, making random rather than predictable patrols.
Maintain a 24 hour visual and security watch - including short-range radar
surveillance of the waters around the ship. The use of small yacht radar fitted in such a
way as to ensure complete coverage of the stern, unobscured by the radar shadow of
the ship itself, should be considered. Keep a special look-out for small boats and fishing
boats that pirates often use because they are difficult to observe on radar In piracy
black spots, discourage the crew from trading with locals using small craft which may
approach the ship.
Strengthen night watches - especially around the rear of the ship and
particularly between the hours of 0I00 and 0600 when most attacks occur with
continuous patrols linked by "walkie-talkie" to the bridge. A drill should be established
for regular two-way communication between the watch and the bridge. If possible, an
additional officer should assist the normal bridge watchkeepers at night, in order to
provide a dedicated radar and visual watch for small craft which might attempt to
manoeuvre alongside, and allow the watchkeepers to concentrate on normal
navigational duties.
Seal off means of access to the ship - fit hawse pipe plates, lock doors and
hatches etc. While taking due account of the need for escape in the event of fire or
other emergency so far as possible all means of access to the accommodation should
be sealed off and windows and doors of crew quarters should be kept locked at all times.
Blocking access between the aft deck and the crews quarters is particularly important.
Establish radio (VHF) contact - and agree emergency signals specifically for
pirate attacks with:
crew
ships in the vicinity
shore authorities
Locate an emergency VHF set - away from the master's cabin and the radio
room which are often the first targets.
Provide adequate lighting - deck and over-side lights, particularly at the bow
and stern, should be provided to illuminate the deck and the waters beyond and to
dazzle potential boarders. Searchlights should be available on the bridge wings, and
torches carried by the security patrols to identify suspicious craft. Such additional
lighting should not however, be so bright as the obscure navigation lights or to interfere
with the safe navigation of other vessels.
Water hose and any other equipment - which may be used to repel potential
boarders should be readily available. Keep a constant supply of water provided to the
hoses. In danger areas keep the deck wash pump in operation at all times - spray water
over the rear deck where it is easiest for the attackers to board.
Reduce opportunities for theft - remove all portable equipment from the deck,
so far as is possible stow containers containing valuables door-to-door and in tiers, seal
off access to the accommodation.
Establish a secure area or areas - if large numbers of armed robbers succeed
in boarding the ship, it may be essential for crew members to retreat to a secure area or
areas. Depending upon the construction of the accommodation and the extent to which
areas can be effectively sealed off, the secure area may be established in the
accommodation as a whole, or in more restricted parts around the bridge and inside the
17
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
engine room. Provision should be made, however for escape during a fire or other
emergency.
Inform crew of the security plan - hold a training exercise and ensure that
they are fully briefed on the actions to take in the event of an attack by armed robbers.
If pirates succeed in boarding the vessel, resistance and confrontation are not
recommended as the likelihood of violence will undoubtedly be magnified. Agreeing to
the demands of the attackers will hopefully keep the unwelcome visit brief, thereby
allowing full control of the ship to be regained as soon as possible. Crew members can
assist passively by mentally noting as many details as possible and pooling such
information later on.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Equipment provided on board to counter hazards and
items in each group. Use of PPE
Risks to the health and safety of workers must be identified and
assessed. It will often not be possible to remove all risks, but attention
should be given to control measures which make the working environment
and working methods as safe as reasonably practicable.
Personal protective equipment must be used only when risks cannot be avoided
or reduced to an acceptable level by safe working practices, that cause no health risk to
any worker This is because personal protective equipment does nothing to reduce the
hazard, and can only protect the person wearing it, leaving others vulnerable.
It should be noted that the use of personal protective equipment may in itself
cause a hazard - for example, through reduced field of vision, loss of dexterity or agility
As a general rule, personal protective equipment should be supplied at no cost to the
worker The exception to this is where it is not exclusive to the workplace and so workers
may be required to contribute to the cost or when workers wish to have equipment
which exceeds the minimum standards required by legislation (eg a more attractive
design).
Employers should assess the equipment required to ensure that it is suitable
and effective for the task in question, and meets the appropriate standards of design
and manufacture.
Suitable equipment should:
be appropriate for the risks involved, and the task being performed,
without itself leading to any significant increased risk;
fit the worker correctly after any necessary adjustment;
take account of ergonomic requirements and the worker's state of
health;
be compatible with any other equipment the worker has to use at the
same time, so that it continues to be effective against the risk.
Details of personal protective equipment are listed in a Merchant Shipping
Notice, including the full title of each relevant standard. The appropriate personal
protective equipment of the required standard must be supplied for workers doing the
tasks listed in the M Notice. However, this should not be considered an exhaustive list,
and personal protective equipment must also be supplied wherever risk assessment
indicates that there is a risk to health and safety from a work process which cannot be
adequately controlled by other means, but which can be alleviated by the provision of
such clothing or equipment.
The employer is also required to ensure that personal protective equipment is
regularly checked and maintained or serviced. Records should be maintained of
servicing and any repair required and carried out.
All workers who may be required to use protective equipment must be properly
trained in its use. This should include being advised of its limitations. A record should be
kept of who has received training.
Defective or ineffective protective equipment provides no defence. It is therefore
essential that the correct items of equipment are selected and that they are properly
maintained at all times. The manufacturer's instructions should be kept safe with the
relevant apparatus and if necessary referred to before use and when maintenance is
carried out. Personal protective equipment should be kept clean and should be
disinfected as and when necessary for health reasons.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
A competent person should inspect each item of protective equipment at regular
intervals and in all cases before and after use. All inspections should be recorded.
Equipment should always be properly stowed in a safe place after use.
Workers must wear the protective equipment or clothing supplied when they are
carrying out a task for which it is provided, and follow appropriate instructions for use.
Personal protective equipment should always be checked by the wearer each
time before use. Workers should comply with the training they have received in the use
of protective items, and follow the manufacturer's instructions for use.
Overalls, gloves and suitable footwear are the proper working dress for most
work about ship but these may not give adequate protection against particular hazards
in particular jobs. Specific recommendations for the use of special personal protective
equipment will also be found in relevant chapters in Section 3 of the Code but there will
be other occasions when the need for such special protection will be identified by the
risk assessment carried out by the officer in charge at that particular time.
Personal protective equipment
Working clothes should be close fitting with no loose flaps and should
be appropriate for the work being carried out.
Suitable safety footwear should be worn at all times.
Shipowners should ensure that seafarers are supplied with suitable personal
protective equipment, particularly when engaged in work involving a particular hazard
which can be reduced by the provision of personal protective equipment.
Seafarers should be reminded that the provision of personal protective
equipment does not mean that they can lower their own safety standards and that such
equipment does not eliminate hazards but gives only limited protection in the case of
accidents.
Personal protective equipment should be of a type and standard as approved
by the appropriate authority. A wide variety of equipment is available and it is essential
that no items are ordered, or received on board, unless they are suitable for the task for
which they are required.
The manufacturer's instructions should be kept safe with the relevant equipment
and consulted for use and maintenance purposes.
The effectiveness of personal protective equipment depends not only on its
design but on its maintenance in good condition. Such items should be inspected at
regular intervals.
All seafarers should be trained in the use of personal protective equipment and
advised of its limitations. Persons using such items should check them each time before
use.
Special personal protective equipment should be provided and worn by
seafarers who may be exposed to particular corrosive or contaminating substances.
Clothing worn in galleys and machinery spaces where there is a risk of burning
or scalding should adequately cover the body to minimize the hazard and should be of a
material of low flammability, such as cotton.
Personal protective equipment can be classified as follows:
Head protection
Hearing protection
Face and eye protection
Respiratory protective equipment
Hand and foot protection
20
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Body protection
Protection against drowning
Protection against hypothermia
Examples:
Safety helmets, bump caps hair protection
Ear muffs, ear plugs
Goggles and spectacles, facial shields
Dust masks, respirators, breathing apparatus
Gloves, safety boots and shoes
Safety suits, safety belts, harnesses, aprons, high visibility clothing.
Lifejackets, buoyancy aids and lifebuoys
Immersion suits and anti-exposure suits
Head protection
Helmets may be designed for different purposes. A helmet designed to provide
protection from objects falling from above may not be suitable for protecting seafarers
from chemical splashes. Thus, it may be necessary to carry different types of helmets
on particular ships.
In general, the shell of a helmet should be of one-piece construction, with an
adjustable cradle inside to support the helmet on the wearer's head and, where
appropriate, a chin-strap to prevent the helmet from falling off.
The shell of a helmet should be of one piece seamless construction designed to
resist impact. The harness or suspension when properly adjusted forms a cradle for
supporting the protector on the wearers' head. The crown straps help absorb the force
of impact. They are designed to permit a clearance of approximately 25mm between the
shell and the skull of the wearer. The harness or suspension should be properly
adjusted before a helmet is worn. Safety equipment should be used in accordance with
manufacturers' instructions.
The cradle and chin-strap should be properly adjusted as soon as the helmet is
put on to ensure a snug fit.
A bump cap is simply an ordinary cap with a hard penetration-resistant shell.
They are useful as protection against bruising and abrasion when working in confined
spaces such as a main engine crankcase or a double bottom tank. They do not,
however, afford the same protection as safety helmets and are intended only to protect
against minor knocks.
Personnel working on or near to moving machinery have always to be on their
guard against the possibility of their hair becoming entangled in the machinery. Long
hair should always be covered by a hair net or safety cap when working with or near
moving machinery.
Hearing protection
Seafarers who by the nature of their duties are exposed to high levels of noise,
such as those working in machinery spaces, should be provided with and should wear
ear protectors.
Various types of hearing protectors are available for shipboard use, including
ear plugs and ear muffs, each of which may be of different design standards. Protectors
should be of a type recommended as suitable for the particular circumstances and
climatic conditions.
21
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
In general, ear muffs give the most effective protection.
Hearing protectors should be made available at the entrance to the machinery
space.
The simplest form of ear protection is the ear plug. This type
however has the disadvantage of limited capability of noise level reduction.
Ear plugs of rubber or plastic also have only limited effect, in that extremes of
high or low frequency cause the plug to vibrate in the ear canal causing a consequential
loss in protection. It may be difficult to keep re-useable ear plugs clean on a ship, and
disposable ear plugs are recommended. Ear-plugs should never be used by anyone
with ear-trouble, without medical advice.
In general, ear muffs provide a more effective form of hearing protection. They
consist of a pair of rigid cups designed to completely envelope the ears, fitted with soft
sealing rings to fit closely against the head around the ears. The ear cups are
connected by a spring loaded headband (or neck band) which ensures that the sound
seals around the ears are maintained. Different types are available and provision should
be made according to the circumstances of use and expert advice.
Face and eye protection
The main causes of eye injury are:
infra-red rays - gas welding;
ultra-violet rays - electric welding;
exposure to chemicals;
exposure to particles and foreign bodies.
Face and eye protectors are available in a wide variety of designs. Careful
consideration should be given to the characteristics of the respective hazard to ensure
the selection of the appropriate protector.
Ordinary prescription (corrective) spectacles, unless manufactured to a safety
standard, do not afford protection. Certain box-type goggles are designed so that they
can be worn over ordinary spectacles.
Respiratory protective equipment
Appropriate respiratory protective equipment should be provided for work in
conditions where there is a risk of oxygen deficiency or exposure to poisonous,
dangerous or irritating fumes, dust, or gases.
The selection of correct equipment is essential. Since there is a wide variety of
equipment available for shipboard use, advice should be sought on the appropriate
equipment for use on particular ships and for particular purposes.
There are two main types of equipment which perform different functions:
a respirator filters the air before it is inhaled;
breathing apparatus supplies air or oxygen from an uncontaminated
source.
Seafarers should be trained in the use and care of equipment.
It is most important that the face-piece of respirators and
breathing apparatus is fitted correctly to avoid leakage. The wearing of
spectacles, unless adequately designed for that purpose, or of beards is likely
to adversely affect the face seal. This is a particularly important
consideration in emergency situations.
22
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
The respirator selected must be of a type designed to protect
against the hazards being met.
The dust respirator gives protection against dusts and aerosol sprays but not
against gases. There are many types of dust respirator available but they are generally
of the ori-nasal type, i.e. half-masks covering the nose and mouth. Many types of light,
simple face masks are also available and are extremely useful for protecting against
dust nuisance and non-toxic sprays but should never be used in place of proper
protection against harmful dusts or sprays.
The positive pressure powered dust respirator incorporates a battery-powered
blower unit, connected by a tube to the face- mask to create a positive pressure in the
face-piece. This makes breathing easier and reduces face-seal leakage.
The cartridge-type of respirator consists of a full face-piece or half mask
connected to a replaceable cartridge containing absorbent or adsorbent material and a
particulate filter It is designed to provide protection against low concentrations of certain
relatively non-toxic gases and vapours.
The canister-type of respirator incorporates a full face-piece connected to an
absorbent or adsorbent material contained in a replaceable canister carried in a sling on
the back or side of the wearer. This type gives considerably more protection than the
cartridge type.
The filters, canisters and cartridges incorporated in respirators are designed to
provide protection against certain specified dusts or gases. Different types are available
to provide protection against different hazards and it is therefore important that the
appropriate type is selected for the particular circumstances or conditions being
encountered. It must be remembered, however, that they have a limited effective life
and must be replaced or renewed at intervals in accordance with manufacturers'
instructions.
RESPIRATORS PROVIDE NO PROTECTION AGAINST OXYGEN
DEFICIENT ATMOSPHERE.
They should never be used to provide protection in confined spaces such as
tanks, cofferdams, double bottoms or other similar spaces against dangerous fumes,
gases or vapours. Only breathing apparatus (self-contained or airline) is capable of
giving protection in such circumstances.
The type of breathing apparatus to be used when entering a space that is
known to be, or suspected of being deficient in oxygen or containing toxic gas or
vapours.
Breathing apparatus should not be used underwater unless the equipment is
suitable for the purpose, and then only in an emergency.
Resuscitators
It is recommended that resuscitators of an appropriate kind should be provided
when any person may be required to enter a dangerous space.
Hand and foot protection
The exact type of glove selected will depend on the kind of work being
undertaken or the particular substance being handled, and in these cases expert advice
should be followed. The following are general rules:
Leather gloves should generally be used when handling rough or sharp objects.
Heat-resistant gloves should be used when handling hot objects.
23
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Rubber synthetic or PVC gloves are generally best for handling acids, alkalis,
various types of oils, solvents and chemicals in general.
Foot injuries most often result from the wearing of unsuitable footwear (e.g.
sandals, plimsolls and flip-flops) rather than from failure to wear safety shoes and boots.
It is nevertheless strongly advisable that all personnel whilst at work on board ship wear
appropriate safety footwear.
Injuries are commonly caused by impact, penetration through the sole, slipping,
heat and crushing. Safety footwear is available which is designed to protect against
these or other specific hazards identified in the risk assessment, manufactured to
various standards appropriate to the particular danger involved.
Protection from falls
All personnel who are working aloft, outboard or below decks or in any other
area where there is a risk of falling more than two metres, should wear a safety harness
(or belt with shock absorber) attached to a lifeline. If a vessel is shipping frequent seas,
nobody should be required to work on deck unless absolutely necessary However
where this is unavoidable, persons on deck should wear a harness and, where
practicable, should be secured by lifeline as a protection from falls and from being
washed overboard or against the ship's structure.
Inertial clamp devices allow more freedom in movement.
Body protection
Special outer clothing may be needed for protection when personnel are
exposed to particular contaminating or corrosive substances. This clothing should be
kept for the particular purpose and dealt with as directed in the relevant sections of the
Code.
High visibility clothing should be worn when it is important to be seen to be safe
- for example, during loading and unloading operations.
Protection against drowning
Where work is being carried out over-side or in an exposed position where there
is a reasonably foreseeable risk of falling or being washed overboard or where work is
being carried out in or from a ship's boat a lifebuoy with sufficient line should be
provided. In addition and as appropriate a lifejacket or buoyancy aid should be provided.
Where necessary, personnel should be provided with thermal protective clothing to
reduce the risks of cold shock.
24
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Operations that take place on board which can be
hazardous to personnel or ship
Operations which take place on board and can be hazardous to personnel or
ship are:
o loading/unloading of cargoes
o mooring
o working aloft
o handling of chemicals
o engine-room watchkeeping and maintenance
o lifting loads (manually and mechanically)
o entry into enclosed spaces
o hot work
o anti-piracy and stowaway operations
25
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Loading and unloading of cargoes
Bulk cargoes
All cargoes should be stowed and secured in a manner that will avoid exposing
the ship and persons on board to unnecessary risk. The safe stowage and securing of
cargo depends upon proper planning, execution and supervision by properly qualified
and experienced personnel.
The planned procedures for the handling of cargo should be agreed with berth
or terminal operators in advance of loading or unloading. In the case of dry bulk cargo
(excluding grain), procedures should follow the IMO Code of Practice for the Safe
Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers, with the associated IMO Ship/Shore Safety
Check List. For grain there is more detailed guidance in the International Code for the
Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk.
Cargo securing should be completed before the ship proceeds to sea.
All cargo should be stowed having due regard to the order of
discharge. When planning the position of cargo and the order of loading and
unloading, the effects that these operations will have upon access and the
safety of personnel should be considered. The following points should be
taken into account:
cargo information, including gross mass of the cargo or cargo units and
any special properties detailed on board or in the shipping documents,
should be recorded and used in planning;
wherever practicable, where more than one port is involved for loading or
unloading, cargo should be loaded in layers rather than in tiers, so as to
avoid the development of high vertical walls of cargo;
care should be taken not to overstow lighter cargoes with heavier cargoes
which may lead to a collapse of the stow;
wherever practicable, cargo should be stowed so as to leave safe
clearance behind the rungs of hold ladders and to allow safe access as
may be necessary at sea;
the need to walk across or climb onto deck cargo, where this may involve
an approach to an unprotected edge with risk of falling, should be
minimised;
care should be taken to avoid large gaps next to cargo where it is stacked
against corrugated bulkheads.
Deck cargo should be stowed in accordance with the statutory
regulations, and kept clear of hatch coamings to allow safe access. Access to
safety equipment, fire fighting equipment (particularly fire hydrants) and
sounding pipes should also be kept free. Any obstructions in the access way
such as lashings or securing points should be painted white to make them
more easily visible. Where this is impracticable and cargo is stowed against
ship's rails or hatch coamings to such a height that the rails or coamings do not give
effective protection to personnel from falling overboard or into the open hold, temporary
fencing should be provided.
Suitable safety nets or temporary fencing should be rigged where personnel
have to walk or climb across built-up cargo, and are therefore at risk of falling.
When deck cargo is stowed against and above ship's rails or bulwarks, a wire
rope pendant or a chain, extending from the ring bolts or other anchorage on the decks
26
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
to the full height of the deck cargo, should be provided and used to save personnel
having to go over-side to attach derrick guys and preventers directly to the anchorages
on the deck.
Where beams and hatch covers have to be removed at intermediate ports
before surrounding deck cargo is unloaded, an access space at least one metre wide
should be left adjacent to any part of the hatch or hatchway that is to be opened. If on
deck this is impracticable, fencing or lifelines should be used to enable seamen to
remove and replace beams and hatch coverings in safety.
In the tween decks, guidelines should be painted around tween deck hatchways
at a distance of one metre from the coamings.
Merchant Shipping Regulations lay down requirements for carriage of
dangerous substances and the provisions of the International Maritime Dangerous
Goods (IMDG) Code together with those contained in relevant merchant shipping
notices should be observed. The IMDG Code contains details of classification,
documentation, packaging etc and advice on such application as will meet the
requirements of the regulations. In particular it lists and gives details of many dangerous
substances.
The general introduction and the introductions to individual classes of the IMDG
Code contain many provisions to ensure the safe handling and carriage of dangerous
goods including requirements for electrical equipment and wiring, fire fighting equipment,
ventilation, smoking, repair work, provision and availability of special equipment etc,
some of which are general for all classes and others particular to certain classes only. It
is important that reference should be made to this information before handling
dangerous goods. Some of the requirements are highlighted in subsequent paragraphs.
Where any doubts exist, advice should be sought from the Maritime and Coastguard
Agency or other competent authority
Dangerous substances should be loaded or unloaded only under the
supervision of a competent responsible officer. Suitable precautions, such as the
provision of special lifting gear as appropriate, should be taken to prevent damage to
receptacles containing dangerous substances.
Dangerous substances should not be loaded other than in accordance with the
regulations – i.e. in accordance with the IMDG Code, and if applicable the ship's
document of compliance for the carriage of dangerous goods. In the case of certain
solid dangerous substances shipped in bulk, loading should be carried out in
accordance with Appendix B of the Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes
published by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). In addition, the Emergency
Procedures for Ships Carrying Dangerous Goods, published by the IMO, should be
consulted to ensure that appropriate emergency equipment is carried.
In compartments containing cargo which has an explosion or fire risk (eg
explosives or flammable liquids), all electrical circuits and equipment (including any
portable equipment) should meet the recommendations of the IMDG Code. Smoking
and naked flames should be prohibited while cargo handling is in progress, except in
authorised places, which should be clearly marked.
Emergency response procedures should be established. The application of
such measures is under the control of the master of the ship and will depend on the
circumstances of the incident and location of the ship. The equipment necessary for the
execution of the emergency response should be immediately available and the crew
trained and practised in its use.
These procedures should include :
cases of accidental exposure
27
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
the possibility of fire.
Personnel who are required to handle consignments containing
dangerous substances, should be able to identify dangerous goods from the
labelling and placarding and should promptly report any leakage, spillage or
any
other
incident
which
occurs
involving
exposure
to
dangerous
substances.
Those required to handle dangerous substances, should be provided with and
wear personal protective equipment (including breathing apparatus, where necessary)
appropriate to the hazard involved.
In the event of accidental exposure to dangerous substances, reference should
be made to the Medical First Aid Guide for Use in Accidents Involving Dangerous
Goods (MFAG) published by IMO.
Appropriate measures should be taken promptly to render harmless any
spillage of dangerous substances. Particular care should be taken when dangerous
substances are carried in refrigerated spaces where any spillage may be absorbed by
the insulating material. Insulation affected in this way should be inspected and renewed
if necessary
Where there is leakage or escape of dangerous gases or vapours from the
cargo, personnel should leave the danger area and the area should be treated as an
enclosed or confined space. Personnel required to deal with spillages or to remove
defective packages should be provided with and wear suitable breathing apparatus and
protective clothing as the circumstances dictate. Suitable rescue and resuscitation
equipment should be readily available in case of an emergency.
Carriage of containers
The equipment used for lifting a container should be suitable for the load, and
safely attached to the container. The container should be free to be lifted and should be
lifted slowly to guard against the possibility of the container swinging or some part of the
lifting appliances failing, should the contents be poorly secured, unevenly loaded and
poorly distributed or weight of contents incorrectly declared. The process of loading and
securing of goods into a container should follow the IMO/ILO/UN/ECE Guidelines for
Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTUs). Special care should be taken when lifting a
container the centre of gravity of which is mobile, e.g. a tank container, bulk container or
a container with contents which are hanging.
Safe means of access to the top of a container should be provided to release
lifting gear, and to fix lashings, and personnel so engaged should, where appropriate,
be protected from falling by use of a properly secured safety harness or other suitable
means. Where containers are stacked account should be taken of the appropriate
strength features and stacking induced stress. Containers should be lashed individually.
On ships not specially constructed or adapted for their carriage, containers
should, wherever possible, be stowed fore and aft, and should be securely lashed.
Containers should not be stowed on decks or hatches unless it is known that the decks
or hatches are of adequate overall and point load-bearing strength. Adequate dunnage
should be used.
The system of work should be such as to limit the needs to work on container
tops. Where the design for securing of containers and the checking of lashing makes
access onto the container tops necessary it should be achieved by means of the ship's
superstructure or by a purpose-designed access platform or personnel cages using a
28
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
suitable adapted lifting appliance. If this is not possible, an alternative safe system of
work should be in place.
To allow access to the tops of over-height, soft top or tank containers where
necessary for securing or cargo handling operations, solid top or "closed containers"
should be stowed between them whenever practicable.
Where the ship's electrical supply is used for refrigerated containers, the supply
cables should be provided with proper connections for the power circuits and for
earthing the container. Before use the supply cables and connections should be
inspected and any defects repaired and tested by a competent person. Supply cables
should only be handled when the power is switched off. Where there is a need to
monitor and repair refrigeration units during the voyage, account should be taken of the
need to provide safe access in a seaway when stowing these containers.
Personnel should be aware that containers may have been fumigated at other
points in the transport chain, and there may be a residual hazard from the substances
used.
Working cargo
Safety arrangements prior to working cargo should ensure that adequate and
suitable lifting plant is available, in accordance with the register of lifting appliances and
cargo gear, and that all plant and equipment, and any special gear necessary is
available and used. Cargo gear should be checked regularly throughout the cargo
operation for damage or malfunction.
Repair or maintenance work, such as chipping, spray painting, shot-blasting or
welding, should not be undertaken in a space where cargo operations are in progress, if
such work could create a hazard to personnel working in the space.
Loads being lowered or hoisted should not pass or remain over any person
engaged in any work in the cargo space area, or over means of access. Personnel
should take care when using access ladders in hatch squares whilst cargo operations
are in progress.
Cargo information for goods should always provide the gross mass of the cargo
or of the cargo units. Where loads of significant gross mass are not marked with their
weight, the loads should be check-weighed unless accurate information is available as
provided by the shipper or packer of the goods.
A signaller should always be employed at a hatchway when cargo is being
worked unless the crane driver or winchman has a complete unrestricted view of the
load or total working area. The signaller should be in a position where he has a total
view of the operation, where this is not possible then additional signallers should be
used to assist.
Before giving a signal to hoist, the signaller should receive clearance from the
person making up the load that it is secure, and should ascertain that no one else would
be endangered by the hoist. Before giving the signal to lower, he should warn personnel
in the way and ensure all are clear
Loads should be raised and lowered smoothly, avoiding sudden jerks or
'snatching'. When a load does not ride properly after being hoisted, the signaller should
immediately give warning of danger and the load should be lowered and adjusted as
necessary
Hooks, slings and other gear should not be loaded beyond their safe working
loads. Strops and slings should be of sufficient size and length to enable them to be
used safely and be so applied and pulled sufficiently tight to prevent the load or any part
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
of the load from slipping and falling. Loads (sets) should be properly put together and
properly slung before they are hoisted or lowered.
Before any heavy load is swung, it should be given a trial lift in order to test the
effectiveness of the slinging.
Except for the purpose of breaking out or making up slings, lifting hooks should
not be attached to:
the bands, strops or other fastenings of packages of cargo, unless these
fastenings have been specifically provided for lifting purposes;
the rims (chines) of barrels or drums for lifting purposes, unless the
construction or condition of the barrels or drums is such as to permit lifting
to be done safely with properly designed and constructed can hooks.
Suitable precautions, such as the use of packing or chafing pieces, should be
taken to prevent chains, wire and fibre ropes from being damaged by the sharp edges
of loads.
When slings are used with barrel hooks or other similar holding devices where
the weight of the load holds the hooks in place, the sling should be led down through
the egg or eye link and through the eye of each hook in turn so that the horizontal part
of the sling draws the hooks together. The angle between the legs of the slings should
not normally exceed 90°, as this reduces the safe working load of the sling. Where this
is not reasonably practicable, the angle may be increased up to 120° provided that the
slings have been designed to work at the greater angles. However it should be noted
that at 120°, each sling leg is taking stress equivalent to the whole mass of the load.
Trays and pallets (unit loads) should be hoisted with four-legged slings and
where necessary, nets and other means should be used to prevent any part of the load
falling.
Bundles of long metal goods such as tubes, pipes and rails, should be slung
with two slings or strops and, where necessary, a spreader. A suitable lanyard should
also be attached, where necessary
Logs should be loaded or discharged using wire rope slings of adequate size;
tongs should not be used except to break out loads.
Cargo buckets, tubs and similar appliances should be carefully fitted so that
there is no risk of the contents falling out and be securely attached to the hoist (for
example, by a shackle) to prevent tipping and displacement during hoisting and
lowering.
Shackles should be used for slinging thick sheet metal, if there are suitable
holes in the material; otherwise suitable clamps on an endless sling should be used.
Loose goods such as small parcels, carboys, small drums etc should be loaded
or discharged in suitable boxes or pallets with sufficiently high sides, and lifted using
four-legged slings.
Slings or chains being returned to the loading position should be securely
hooked on the cargo hook before the signaler gives the signal to hoist. Hooks or claws
should be attached to the egg link or shackle of the cargo hook, not allowed to hang
loose. The cargo hook should be kept high enough to keep slings or chains clear of
personnel and obstructions.
"One-trip slings", that is, slings which have not been used previously for lifting
and are fitted to the load prior to loading, should not be taken back on board ship after
the load is discharged at the end of the voyage, but should be left on shore for disposal.
When work is interrupted or has ceased for the time being, the hatch should be
left in a safe condition, with either guard rails or the hatch covers in position.
30
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Personnel undertaking duties in cargo spaces should move with caution over
uneven surfaces or over loose dunnage and be alert to protrusions such as nails etc.
Where vessels have been built with corrugated bulkheads precautions such as
suitable rails, grids or nets should be erected to prevent cargo handlers or other
personnel from falling into the space between the rear of the corrugation and the stowed
cargo.
Where work is being undertaken on or near the cargo 'face', the 'face' should be
secured against collapse, especially where bagged cargo may be bleeding from
damage. Where it is necessary to mount a 'face' a portable ladder should be used,
properly secured against slipping or shifting sideways, or held in position by other
personnel. When work is undertaken in areas where there is a risk of falling, safety
net(s) should be erected. Such nets should not be secured to hatch covers.
Personnel should be aware that cargoes may have been fumigated at other
points in the transport chain, and there is a risk of that toxic fumes may build up in
enclosed spaces.
Tankers and other ships carrying bulk liquid cargoes
Masters, officers and ratings appointed to work on tankers or similar vessels
must meet the minimum training and qualifications requirements specified in regulation
V/I of the International Conventions on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended in 1995.
Training in emergency procedures and in the use of any special emergency
equipment should be given as appropriate to members of the crew at regular intervals.
The instruction should include personal first aid measures for dealing with accidental
contact with harmful substances in the cargo being carried and inhalation of dangerous
gases and fumes.
Because of the risks of ill effects arising from contamination by certain liquid
cargoes, especially those carried in chemical tankers and gas carriers, personnel
should maintain very high standards of personal cleanliness and particularly so when
they have been engaged in cargo handling and tank cleaning.
Those on board responsible for the safe loading and carriage of the cargo
should have all the relevant information about its nature and character before it is
loaded and about the precautions which need to be observed during the voyage. The
remainder of the crew should be advised of any precautions which they too should
observe.
High risks require the strict observance of rules restricting smoking and the
carriage of matches or cigarette lighters.
Spillages and leakages of cargo should be attended to promptly Oil-soaked
rags should not be discarded carelessly where they may be a fire hazard or possibly
ignite spontaneously. Other combustible rubbish should not be allowed to accumulate.
Cargo handling equipment, testing instruments, automatic and other alarm
systems should be maintained to a very high standard of efficiency at all times. Where
electrical equipment is to be used in the cargo area it should be of approved design and
'certified safe'. The safety of this equipment depends on maintenance of a high order
which should be carried out only by competent persons. Unauthorised personnel should
not interfere with such equipment. Any faults observed, such as loose or missing
fastenings or covers, severe corrosion, cracked or broken lamp glasses etc should be
reported immediately.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Work about the ship which might cause sparking or which involves heat should
not be undertaken unless authorised after the work area has been tested and found
gas-free, or its safety is otherwise assured.
Oil and bulk ore/oil carriers
Tankers and other ships carrying petroleum or petroleum products in bulk, or in
ballast after carrying these cargoes, are at risk from fire or explosion arising from
ignition of vapours from the cargo which may in some circumstances penetrate into any
part of the ship.
Additionally vapours may be toxic, some in low concentrations, and some liquid
products, especially petrol (gasoline) treated with tetra-ethyl or tetra-methyl-lead, are
harmful in contact with the skin.
Liquefied gas carriers
Guidance on the general precautions which should be taken on these vessels is
given in the Tanker Safety Guide (Liquefied Gas) and Safety in Liquefied Gas Tankers
(a handbook for crew members) published by the International Chamber of Shipping.
The IMO Codes for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases
in Bulk contain guidance on operational aspects and are mandatory under the relevant
Merchant Shipping regulations.
It should be noted that cargo pipes, valves and connections and any point of
leakage at the gas cargo may be intensely cold. Contact may cause severe cold burns.
Pressure should be carefully reduced and liquid cargo drained from any point of
the cargo transfer system, including discharge lines, before any opening up or
disconnecting is begun.
Some cargoes such as ammonia have a very pungent, suffocating odour and
very small quantities may cause eye irritation and disorientation together with chemical
burns. Seafarers should take this into account when moving about the vessel, and
especially when climbing ladders and gangways. The means of access to the vessel
should be such that it can be closely supervised and is sited as far away from the
manifold area as possible. Crew members should be aware of the location of eye wash
equipment and safety showers.
Chemical carriers
A bulk chemical tanker may be dedicated to the carriage of one or a small
number of products or it may be constructed with a large number of cargo tanks in
which numerous products are carried side by side simultaneously
The products carried range from the so-called non-hazardous to those which
are extremely flammable, toxic or corrosive or have a combination of these properties,
or which possess other hazardous characteristics.
The ship arrangements and the equipment for cargo handling may be complex
and require a high standard of maintenance and the use of special instrumentation,
protective clothing and breathing apparatus for entry into enclosed spaces.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has produced codes (the IBC
Code and the BCH Code) for the construction and equipment of ships carrying
dangerous chemicals in bulk. The Codes are statutory under Merchant Shipping
regulations. They contain some operational guidance, and the associated index of
32
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
dangerous chemicals carried in bulk contains references to the Medical First Aid Guide
for Use in Accidents Involving Dangerous Goods (MFAG) published by IMO.
Guidance on general operational procedures and precautions which should be
followed on chemical tankers is given in the Tanker Safety Guide (Chemicals) and the
booklet 'Safety in Chemical Tankers', both published by the International Chamber of
Shipping. These publications, together with the codes referred to above and any special
safety requirements issued by the company should be available on board.
Many products carried on chemical tankers are loosely referred to as alcohols.
Drinking these could lead to serious injury and death, and strict controls should be
exercised when carrying such cargoes in order to prevent pilfering.
RO-RO ferries
The movement, stowage and securing of vehicles on vehicle decks and ramps
should be supervised by a responsible ship's officer assisted by at least one competent
person.
Smoking and naked flames should not be permitted on any vehicle decks.
Conspicuous "No Smoking" or "No Smoking/Naked Lights" signs should be displayed.
There should be no unauthorised persons on vehicle decks at any time, and
there should be no entry to vehicle decks when the vessel is at sea unless specifically
permitted.
Passengers and drivers should not be permitted to remain on vehicle decks
without the express authority of a responsible ship's officer. The period prior to
disembarkation when passengers and drivers are requested to return to their vehicles
should be kept to a minimum.
Where closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras are fitted, they should, where
practicable, have an uninterrupted view of the vehicle deck. The use of CCTV for
continuous watch does not necessarily preclude the need for car deck patrols - eg
coupled with fire patrols of passenger accommodation.
Vehicle decks should have adequate ventilation at all times, with special regard
to hazardous substances.
Before being accepted for shipment, every freight vehicle should be inspected
externally by a competent and responsible person or persons to check that it is in a
satisfactory condition for shipment - for example, its suitability for securing to the ship in
accordance with the approved cargo securing manual; where practicable, the securing
of the load to the vehicle; a check to ensure the deck or doorway is high enough for
vehicles to pass through, and that vehicles have adequate clearance for ramps with
steep inclines; any labels, placards and marks which would indicate the carriage of
dangerous goods .
It is important to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that on each
vehicle the fuel tank is not so full as to create a possibility of spillage. No vehicle
showing visual signs of an overfilled tank should be loaded.
Personnel should be aware of hazardous units as detailed on the stowage plan
and indicated by labels, placards and marks, and should be on guard against the
carriage of undeclared dangerous goods.
Shippers' special advice or guidelines regarding handling and stowage of
individual vehicles should be observed.
Vehicles should:
so far as possible, be aligned in a fore and aft direction;
33
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
be closely stowed athwartships so that, in the event of any failure in the
securing arrangements or from any other cause, the transverse movement
is restricted. However sufficient distance should be provided between
vehicles to permit safe access for the crew and for passengers getting into
and out of vehicles and going to and from accesses serving vehicle spaces;
be so loaded that there are no excessive lists or trims likely to cause
damage to the vessel or shore structures.
Vehicles should not be parked on permanent walkways; be parked so as to
obstruct the operating controls of bow and stern doors, entrances to accommodation
spaces, ladders, stairways, companionways or access hatches, fire-fighting equipment,
controls to deck scupper valves and controls to fire dampers in ventilation trunks; be
stowed across water spray fire curtains, if these are installed.
Safe means of access to securing arrangements, safety equipment, and
operational controls should be properly maintained. Stairways and escape routes from
spaces below the vehicle deck should be clearly marked with yellow paint and kept free
from obstruction at all times.
Parking brakes of each vehicle or each element of a vehicle, where provided,
should be applied and the vehicle should, where possible, be left in gear.
Semi-trailers should not be supported on their landing legs during sea transport
unless the landing legs are specially designed for that purpose and so marked, and the
deck plating has adequate strength for the point loadings.
Uncoupled semi-trailers should be supported by trestles or similar devices
placed in the immediate area of the drawplates so that the connection of the fifth-wheel
to the kingpin is not restricted.
Drums, canisters and similar thin walled packaging are susceptible to damage if
vehicles break adrift in adverse weather and should not be stowed on the vehicle deck
without adequate protection.
Depending on the area of operation the predominant weather conditions and
the characteristics of the ship freight vehicles should be stowed so that the chassis are
kept as static as possible by not allowing free play in the suspension. This can be done
by securing the vehicles to the deck as tightly as the lashing tensioning device will
permit or by jacking up the freight vehicle chassis prior to securing or, in the case of
compressed air suspension systems, by first releasing the air pressure where this
facility is provided.
Since compressed air suspension systems may lose air adequate
arrangements should be made to prevent the slackening off of lashings as a result of air
leakage during the voyage. Such arrangements may include the jacking up of the
vehicle or the release of air from the suspension system where this facility is provided.
Securing operations should be completed before the ship proceeds to sea.
Within the constraints laid down in the approved cargo securing manual, the
master has the authority to decide on the application of securings and lashings and the
suitability of the vehicles to be carried. In making this decision due regard shall be given
to the principles of good seamanship, experience in stowage, good practice and the
IMO Code for Cargo Stowage and Securing (CSS Code).
Personnel appointed to carry out the task of securing vehicles should be trained
in the use of the equipment to be used and in the most effective methods for securing
different types of vehicles.
Securing operations should be supervised by competent personnel who are
conversant with the contents of the Cargo Securing Manual. Freight vehicles of more
than 3.5 tonnes should be secured in all circumstances where the expected conditions
34
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
for the intended voyage are such that movement of the vehicles relative to the ship
could be expected.
During the voyage the lashings should be regularly inspected to ensure that
vehicles remain safely secured. Personnel inspecting vehicle spaces during a voyage
should exercise caution in order to avoid being injured by moving or swaying vehicles. If
necessary, the ship's course should be altered to reduce movement or dangerous sway
when lashings are being adjusted. The officer of the watch should always be notified
when an inspection of the vehicle deck is being made.
When wheel chocks are being used to restrain a semi-trailer they should remain
in place until the semi-trailer is properly secured to the semitrailer towing vehicle.
No attempt should be made to secure a vehicle until it is parked, the brakes,
where applicable, have been applied and the engine has been switched off.
When vehicles are being stowed on an inclined deck, the wheels should be
chocked before lashing commences.
The tug driver should not leave the cab to disconnect or connect the trailer
brake lines. A second person should do this.
The parking brake on the tug should be engaged and in good working condition.
As well as wheel chocks, at least two lashings holding the unit against the
incline should be left in place until the trailer's braking system is charged and operating
correctly.
Where personnel are working in shadow areas or have to go under vehicles to
secure lashings, hand lamps and torches should be available for use.
Personnel engaged in the securing of vehicles should take care to avoid injury
from projections on the underside of the vehicles.
Wherever possible, lashings should be attached to specially designed securing
points on vehicles, and only one lashing should be attached to any one aperture, loop or
lashing ring at each securing point.
When tightening lashings, care should be exercised to ensure that they are
securely attached to the deck and to the securing points of the vehicle.
Hooks and other devices which are used for attaching a lashing to a securing
point should be applied in a manner which prevents them from becoming detached if
the lashing slackens during the voyage.
Lashings should be so attached that, provided there is safe access, it is
possible to tighten them if they become slack.
Lashings on a vehicle should be under equal tension.
Where practicable, the arrangement of lashings on both sides of a vehicle
should be the same, and angled to provide some fore and aft restraint, with an equal
number pulling forward as are pulling aft.
The lashings are most effective on a vehicle when they make an angle with the
deck of between 30 and 60 degrees. When these optimum angles cannot be achieved
additional lashings may be required.
Crossed lashings should, where practicable, not be used for securing freight
vehicles because this arrangement provides no restraint against tipping over at
moderate angles of roll of the ship. Lashings should pass from a securing point on the
vehicle to a deck securing point adjacent to the same side of the vehicle. Where there is
concern about the possibility of low coefficients of friction on vehicles such as solid
wheeled trailers, additional crossed lashings may be used to restrain sliding. The use of
rubber mats should be considered.
Lashings should not be released for unloading before the ship is secured at the
berth, without the Master's express permission.
35
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Personnel should release lashings with care to reduce the risk of injury when
the tension is released.
To avoid being damaged during loading and unloading all unused securing
equipment should be kept clear of moving vehicles on the vehicle deck.
A competent appointed person should inspect securing equipment to ensure
that it is in sound condition at least once every six months and on any occasion when it
is suspected that lashings have experienced loads above those predicted for the
voyage. Defective equipment should be taken out of service and placed where it cannot
be used inadvertently. Unused lashing equipment should be securely stowed away from
the vehicle deck.
Tank vehicles, and tank containers on flat-bed trailers, containing products
declared as dangerous goods should be given special attention. (For heated tanks see
Marine Guidance Note 59). Pre-voyage booking procedures should ascertain that tanks
have been approved for the carriage of their contents by sea.
Gas cylinders used for the operation and business of vehicles such as caravans
should be adequately secured against movement of the ship, with the gas supply cut off
for the duration of the voyage. Leaking and inadequately secured or connected
cylinders should be refused for shipment.
The following vehicles, trailers and loads should be given special
consideration:
Tank vehicles or tank containers containing liquids not classified as
dangerous goods. These may be sensitive to penetration damage and
may act as a lubricant. These vehicles must always be secured.
Tracked vehicles and other loads making metal to metal contact with the
deck - where possible rubber mats or dunnage should be used.
Loads on flat-bed trailers.
Vehicles with hanging loads such as chilled meat or floated glass.
Partially filled tank vehicles.
Freight vehicles carrying livestock require special attention to
ensure that they are properly secured, adequately ventilated and stowed
so that access to the animals is possible. Further guidance is contained in
the Ministry of Agricultural Fisheries and Food publication "Livestock
Shipments on Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) Vessels - Advice to Masters,
Loading Officers and Vessel Operators".
Where vehicles are connected to electrical plug-in facilities, personnel should
take the appropriate precautions as described in Chapters 7 and 20 of this Code for
working with any electrical equipment.
Ships' ramps, car platforms, retractable car-decks and similar equipment should
be operated only by competent persons authorised by a responsible ship's officer, in
accordance with the company's work instructions. Safe systems of work should be
provided to ensure that the health and safety of crew or passengers is not put at risk.
Ramps etc should not be operated unless the deck can be seen to be clear of people,
and if any person appears on the deck while the ramp is moving, the operation should
be stopped immediately.
Training in the use of such equipment should consist of theoretical instruction
enabling the trainee to appreciate the factors affecting the safe operation of the plant,
and supervised practical work.
Moveable deck ramps should be kept clear of passengers when being raised or
lowered. When cars are lowered on the ramps of moveable decks they should be
suitably chocked.
36
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
No person should be lifted by ramps, retractable car decks or lifting appliances
except where the equipment has been designed or especially adapted for that purpose.
Retractable car-decks and lifting appliances should be securely locked when in
the stowed position.
After all vehicles have been loaded, the car deck hydraulics should be isolated,
so that they cannot be accidentally activated during the voyage, and the bridge should
be informed.
The ship's mobile handling equipment, which is not fixed to the ship, should be
secured in its stowage position before the ship proceeds to sea.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Mooring and unmooring
All seafarers involved in mooring and unmooring operations of any kind should
be informed of the hazards of engaging in such operations.
A competent person should be in charge of mooring operations and ascertain
that there are no persons in a dangerous position before any heaving or letting go
operation is commenced.
On each occasion that a vessel berths, all relevant circumstances such as
weather, tides, passing vessels, etc., should be considered in determining a safe
securing pattern of ropes and wires.
Mixed moorings of wires and ropes in the same direction should not be used
because wires and ropes stretch differently.
There should be sufficient seafarers available to ensure the safe conduct of
operations.
Only competent persons should operate windlasses and winches.
Under no circumstances whatsoever should seafarers stand in a bight of a rope
or wire which is lying on deck. Seafarers should never stand or move across a rope or
wire that is under strain.
Ropes and wires are frequently under strain during mooring operations and
seafarers should, as much as possible, always stand in a place of safety from whiplash
should ropes or wires break.
Due to the types of man-made ropes that may be on board ship, seafarers
should be trained in the techniques of "stopping off wires and ropes. Chain-securing
devices should be used for stopping off wire mooring ropes but never for fiber ropes.
A watchman should regularly inspect the moorings when a vessel is alongside
and the moorings should be kept tight at all times to prevent the ship's movement.
Where mooring to buoys by the ship's crew is permitted by the local authority,
the following additional precautions should be followed:
lifebuoys, with and without attached lines, should be readily available;
seafarers engaged in mooring to buoys from a ship's boat should wear
personal protective equipment and a life-jacket;
equipment should be provided to enable anyone who falls into the water
to climb on board the boat;
the eye of a slip wire used for mooring to buoys should never be put over
the buts;
mooring strong points, such as chain-securing devices and quickrelease mechanisms, should be maintained in a serviceable condition.
During mooring and un-mooring operations a sufficient number of personnel
should always be available at each end of the vessel to ensure a safe operation. A
responsible officer should be in charge of each of the mooring parties, and a suitable
means of communication between the responsible officers and the vessel's bridge team
should be established. If this should involve use of portable radio, then the ship should
be clearly identified by name to prevent misinterpretation. All personnel involved in such
operations should wear suitable protective clothing.
Vessels' heaving lines should be constructed with a 'monkey's fist' at one end.
To prevent personal injury, the 'fist' should be made only with rope and should not
contain added weighting material.
Areas where mooring operations are to be undertaken should be clutter free as
far as possible. Decks should have anti-slip surfaces provided by fixed treads or anti38
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
slip paint coating, and the whole working area should be adequately lit for operations
undertaken during periods of darkness.
All equipment used in mooring operations should be regularly inspected for
defects. Any defects found should be corrected as soon as possible. Particular attention
should be paid to the risk of oil leaks from winches, and surfaces of fairleads, bollards,
bitts and drum ends should be clean and in good condition. Rollers and fairleads should
turn smoothly and a visual check be made that corrosion has not weakened them.
Mooring ropes, wires and stoppers that are to be used in the operation should
be in good condition, Ropes should be frequently inspected for both external wear and
wear between strands. Wires should be regularly treated with suitable lubricants and
inspected for deterioration internally and broken strands externally. Splices in both
ropes and wires should be inspected regularly to check they are intact. Where wire rope
is joined to fiber rope, a thimble or other device should be inserted in the eye of the fiber
rope. Both wire and fiber rope should have the same direction of lay.
Ropes and wires which are stowed on reels should not be used directly from
stowage, but should be run off and flaked out on deck in a clear and safe manner,
ensuring sufficient slack to cover all contingencies. If there is doubt of the amount
required, then the complete reel should be run off.
Careful thought should be given to the layout of moorings, so that leads are
those most suited without creating sharp angles and ropes and wires are not fed
through the same leads or bollards. Pre-planning of such operations is recommended.
Personnel should not in any circumstances stand in a bight of rope or wire.
Operation of winches should preferably be undertaken by competent personnel to
ensure that excessive loads do not arise on moorings.
When moorings are under strain all personnel in the vicinity should remain in
positions of safety i.e. avoiding all 'snap-back' zones. Immediate action should be taken
to reduce the load should any part of the system appear to be under excessive strain.
Care is needed so that ropes or wires will not jam when they come under strain, so that
if necessary they can quickly be slackened off.
Where moorings are to be heaved on a drum end, one person should be
stationed at the drum end, backed up by a second person backing and coiling down the
slack. In most circumstances three turns on the drum end are sufficient to undertake a
successful operation. A wire on a drum end should never be used as a check wire.
A wire should never be led across a fiber rope on a bollard. Wires and ropes
should be kept in separate fairleads or bollards.
When stoppering off moorings the following applies: Natural fiber rope should be stoppered with natural fiber.
Man made fiber rope should be stoppered with man made fiber stopper
(but not polyamide).
The 'West Country' method (double and reverse stoppering) is preferable
for ropes.
Wire moorings should be stoppered with chain, using two half hitches in
the form of a cow hitch, suitably spaced with the tail backed up against the
lay of wire, to ensure that the chain neither jams nor opens up the lay of
the wire.
Where mooring to buoys is undertaken from a ship's launch or boat, personnel
engaged in the operation should wear lifejackets and a lifebuoy with attached lifeline
should be kept readily available in the boat.
39
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Means should be provided to enable a person who has fallen into the water to
climb back on board the launch or boat. If a boarding ladder with flexible sides is used, it
should be weighted so that the lower rungs remain below the surface.
Where mooring to buoys is undertaken from the ship, a lifebuoy with attached
line of sufficient length should be available for immediate use.
When slip wires are used for mooring to buoys or dolphins, the eyes of the
wires should never be put over the bitts, as at the time of unmooring it may not be
possible to release the load sufficiently to lift the eye clear To prevent accidental
slippage of the wire eye(s) over the bitts or other obstruction the eyes should be seized,
partially closing the eye.
40
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Enclosed spaces
The atmosphere of any enclosed or confined space is potentially dangerous.
The space may be deficient in oxygen and/or contain flammable or toxic fumes, gases
or vapours. Where possible, alternative means of working which avoid entering the
space should be found.
Should there be any unexpected reduction in or loss of the means of ventilation
of those spaces that are usually continuously or adequately ventilated then such spaces
should also be dealt with as dangerous spaces.
When it is suspected that there could be a deficiency of oxygen in any space, or
that toxic gases, vapours or fumes could be present, then such a space should be
considered to be a dangerous space.
Precautions
on
entering
dangerous
enclosed
or
confined
spaces
The following precautions should be taken as appropriate before a potentially
dangerous space is entered so as to make the space safe for entry without breathing
apparatus and to ensure it remains safe whilst persons are within the space:
A competent person should make an assessment of the space and a
responsible officer to take charge of the operation should be appointed
The potential hazards should be identified
The space should be prepared and secured for entry
The atmosphere of the space should be tested
A 'permit-to-work"system should be used
Procedures before and during the entry should be instituted
Where the procedures listed at 1 to 4 in the previous paragraph have been
followed and it has been established that the atmosphere in the space is or could be
unsafe then the additional requirements including the use of breathing apparatus.
No one should enter any dangerous space to attempt a rescue without taking
suitable precautions for his own safety since not doing so would put his own life at risk
and almost certainly prevent the person he intended to rescue being brought out alive.
Duties and responsibilities of a competent person and of a responsible
officer
A competent person is a person capable of making an informed assessment of
the likelihood of a dangerous atmosphere being present or arising subsequently in the
space. This person should have sufficient theoretical knowledge and practical
experience of the hazards that might be met in order to be able to assess whether
precautions are necessary. This assessment should include consideration of any
potential hazards associated with the particular space to be entered. It should also take
into consideration dangers from neighbouring or connected spaces as well as the work
that has to be done within the space.
A responsible officer is a person appointed to take charge of every operation
where entry into a dangerous space is necessary. This officer may be the same as the
competent person or another officer
Both the competent person and/or the responsible officer may be a shore-side
person.
41
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
It is for the responsible officer to decide on the basis of the risk
assessment the procedures to be followed for entry into a potentially
dangerous space.
These will depend on whether the assessment shows:
there is a minimal risk to the life or health of a person entering the space
then or at any future time;
there is no immediate risk to health and life but a risk could arise during
the course of work in the space; or
the risk to life or health is immediate.
For inland water vessels such as harbour craft either or both the competent
person and the responsible officer may only be available from shore-based personnel.
No entry into a potentially dangerous space should be made in these circumstances
until such suitably qualified persons are available.
Identifying potential hazards oxygen deficiency
If an empty tank or other confined space has been closed for a time the oxygen
content may have been reduced owing to a number of reasons:
Rusting may have occurred due to oxygen combining with steel.
Oxygen absorbing chemicals may have been present.
Oxygen absorbing cargoes may have been carried or gases from volatile
cargoes may have displaced the oxygen in tanks.
Hydrogen may have been produced in a cathodically-protected cargo tank
used for ballast.
Oxygen may have been displaced by the use of carbon dioxide or other fireextinguishing or -preventing media, or inert gas in the tanks or inter-barrier spaces of
tankers or gas carriers.
Toxicity of oil cargoes
Hydrocarbon gases are flammable as well as toxic and may be present in fuel
or cargo tanks which have contained crude oil or its products.
Hydrocarbon gases or vapours may also be present in pump rooms and
cofferdams, duct keels or other spaces adjacent to cargo tanks due to the leakage of
cargo.
The components in the vapour of some oil cargoes, such as benzene and
hydrogen sulphide are very toxic.
Toxicity of other substances
Cargoes carried in chemical tankers or gas carriers may be toxic.
There is the possibility of leakage from drums of chemicals or other packages of
dangerous goods where there has been mishandling or incorrect stowage or damage
due to heavy weather.
The trace components in inert gas such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide,
nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide are very toxic.
The interaction of vegetable or animal oils or sewage with sea water may lead
to the release of hydrogen sulphide which is very toxic.
Hydrogen sulphide or other toxic gases may be generated where the residue of
grain or similar cargoes permeates into or chokes bilge pumping systems.
42
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
The chemical cleaning, painting or the repair of tank coatings may involve the
release of solvent vapours.
Flammability
Flammable vapours may still be present in cargo or other tanks that have
contained oil products or chemical or gas cargoes.
Cofferdams and other spaces that are adjacent to cargo and other tanks may
contain flammable vapours should there have been leakage into the space.
Other hazards
Although the inhalation of contaminated air is the most likely route through
which harmful substances enter the body, some chemicals can be absorbed through the
skin.
Some of the cargoes carried in chemical tankers and gas carriers are irritant or
corrosive if permitted to come into contact with the skin.
The disturbance of rust, scale or sludge residues of cargoes of animal,
vegetable or mineral origin, or of water that could be covering such substances may
lead to the release of toxic or flammable gases.
Preparing and securing the space for entry
When opening the entrance to a potentially dangerous space, precautions
should be taken in case pressurised or unpressurised vapour or gases are released
from the space.
The space should be isolated and secured against the ingress of dangerous
substances by blanking off pipe-lines or other openings and by closing valves. Valves
should then be tied or some other means used to indicate that they are not to be
opened and notices placed on the relevant controls. The officer on watch should be
informed.
Where necessary, any sludge or other deposit liable to give off fumes should be
cleaned out. This may in itself lead to the release of gases, and precautions should be
taken.
The space should be thoroughly ventilated either by natural or mechanical
means and then tested to ensure that all harmful gases are removed and no pockets of
oxygen deficient atmosphere remain.
Compressed oxygen should not be used to ventilate any space.
Where necessary pumping operations or cargo movements should be
suspended when entry is being made into a dangerous space.
Testing the atmosphere of the space
Testing of a space should be carried out only by persons trained in the use of
the equipment.
Testing should be carried out before entry and at regular intervals thereafter.
If possible, the testing of the atmosphere before entry should be made by
remote means. If this is not possible, the person selected to enter the space to test the
atmosphere should only do so in accordance with the additional precautions, which
include the wearing of breathing apparatus.
43
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Where appropriate, the testing of the space should be carried out at different
levels.
Some monitoring equipment is designed for personal use purely to provide a
warning against oxygen deficiency and hydrocarbon concentrations when there is a
change in conditions. This should not be used as a means of determining whether a
dangerous space is safe to enter.
Testing for oxygen deficiency
A steady reading of at least 20% oxygen by volume on an oxygen content meter
should be obtained before entry is permitted.
A combustible gas indicator cannot be used to detect oxygen deficiency.
Testing for flammable gases and vapours
The combustible gas indicator (sometimes called an explosimeter) detects the
amount of flammable gas or vapour in the air An instrument capable of providing an
accurate reading at low concentrations should be used to judge whether the
atmosphere is safe for entry.
Combustible gas detectors are calibrated on a standard gas. When testing for
other gases and vapours reference should be made to the calibration curves supplied
with the instrument. Particular care is required should accumulations of hydrogen be
suspected.
In deciding whether the atmosphere is safe to work in, a 'nil' reading on a
suitably sensitive combustible gas indicator is desirable but, where the readings have
been steady for some time, up to l % of lower flammable limit may be accepted, eg for
hydrocarbons in conjunction with an oxygen reading of at least 20% by volume.
Direct
measurement
of
trace
components
of
inert
gas
is not required when the gas freeing of the atmosphere of a tank reduces the
hydrocarbon concentration from about 2% by volume to 1% of lower
flammable limit or less in conjunction with a steady oxygen reading of at least
20% by volume, because this is sufficient to dilute the components to a safe
concentration. If, before the commencement of gas freeing, the hydrocarbon
concentration of a tank containing inert gas is below 2% by volume due to
excessive purging by inert gas, then additional gas freeing is necessary to
remove toxic products introduced with the inert gas. It is difficult to measure
the quantities of these toxic products at the safe level without specialised
equipment and trained personnel. If this equipment is not available for use,
the period of gas freeing should be considerably extended.
Testing for toxic gases
The presence of certain gases and vapours on chemical tankers and gas
carriers is detected by fixed or portable gas or vapour detection equipment.
However, it is necessary to know for which chemical a test is being made in
order to use the equipment correctly and it is important to note that not all chemicals
may be tested by these means.
When a toxic chemical is encountered for which there is no means of testing
then the additional requirements should also be followed.
44
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
A combustible gas indicator will probably not be suitable for measuring levels of
gas at or around its occupational exposure limit, where there is solely a toxic, rather
than a flammable, risk. This level will be much lower than the flammable limit, and the
indicator will probably not be sufficiently sensitive to give accurate readings.
Use of control systems
Entry into a dangerous space should be planned in advance and use should
preferably be made of a 'permit-to-work' system.
For situations for which a well established safe system of work exists a checklist may exceptionally be accepted as an alternative to a full 'permit-to-work' provided
that the principles of the 'permit-to-work' system are covered and the risks arising in the
dangerous space are low.
Procedures and arrangements before entry
Access to and within the space should be adequate and well illuminated.
No source of ignition should be taken or put into the space unless the master or
responsible officer is satisfied that it is safe to do so.
In all cases rescue and available resuscitation equipment should be positioned
ready for use at the entrance to the space. Rescue equipment means breathing
apparatus together with fully charged spare cylinders of air, life lines and rescue
harnesses, and torches or lamp, approved for use in a flammable atmosphere, if
appropriate. A means of hoisting an incapacitated person from the confined space may
be required.
The number of personnel entering the space should be limited to those who
actually need to work in the space. When necessary a rescue harness should be worn
to facilitate recovery in the event of an accident.
At least one attendant should be detailed to remain at the entrance to the space
whilst it is occupied.
An agreed and tested system of communication should be established between
any person entering the space and the attendant at the entrance, and between the
attendant at the entrance to the space and the officer on watch.
Before entry is permitted it should be established that entry with breathing
apparatus is possible. Any difficulty of movement within any part of the space, or any
problems if any incapacitated person had to be removed from the space, as a result of
breathing apparatus or lifelines or rescue harnesses being used, should be considered
and any risks minimised.
Lifelines should be long enough for the purpose and capable of being firmly
attached to the harness, but the wearer should be able to detach them easily should
they become tangled.
Procedures and arrangements during entry
Ventilation should continue during the period that the space is occupied and
during temporary breaks. In the event of a failure of the ventilation system any
personnel in the space should leave immediately.
The atmosphere should be tested periodically whilst the space is occupied and
personnel should be instructed to leave the space should there be any deterioration of
the conditions.
45
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
If unforeseen difficulties or hazards develop, the work in the space should be
stopped and the space evacuated so that the situation can be reassessed. Permits
should be withdrawn and only re-issued, with any appropriate revisions, after the
situation has been re-assessed.
If any personnel in a space feel in any way adversely affected they should give
the pre-arranged signal to the attendant standing by the entrance and immediately
leave the space.
Should an emergency occur the general (or crew) alarm should be sounded so
that back-up is immediately available to the rescue team. Under no circumstances
should the attendant enter the space before help has arrived and the situation has been
evaluated to ensure the safety of those entering the space to undertake the rescue.
If air is being supplied through an air line to the person who is unwell, a check
should be made immediately that the air supply is being maintained at the correct
pressure.
Once the casualty is reached, the checking of the air supply must be the first
priority. Unless he is gravely injured, eg a broken back, he should be removed from the
dangerous space as quickly as possible.
Procedures on completion
On expiry of the 'permit-to-work', everyone should leave the space and the
entrance to the space should be closed or otherwise secured against entry or
alternatively, where the space is no longer a dangerous space, declared safe for normal
entry.
Additional requirements for entry
atmosphere is suspect or known to be unsafe
into
a
space
where
the
If the atmosphere is considered to be suspect or unsafe to enter, then the space
should only be entered if it is essential for testing purposes, for the safety of life or of the
ship, or for the working of the ship. Breathing apparatus should always be worn. The
number of persons entering the space should be the minimum compatible with the work
to be performed.
Except in the case of an emergency or where impracticable because movement
in the space would be seriously impeded, two air supplies should be available.
While working the wearer should use the continuous supply provided from
outside the space. If it becomes necessary to change over to the self-contained supply,
the user should immediately exit from the space.
Precautions should be taken against any disruption to the air supply while the
individual is inside the enclosed space. Special attention should be given to supplies
originating from the engine room.
Where remote testing of the space is not reasonably practicable, or where a
brief inspection only is required, a single air supply may be acceptable provided that the
wearer of breathing apparatus is so situated that he can be hauled out immediately in
the case of an emergency.
In addition to rescue harnesses, wherever practicable lifelines should be used.
Lifelines should be attended by a person stationed at the entrance who has been
trained in how to pull an unconscious person from a dangerous space. If hoisting
equipment would be required for any rescue, arrangements should be made to ensure
that personnel would be available to operate it as soon as necessary.
46
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
When appropriate, portable lights and other electrical equipment should be of a
type approved for use in a flammable atmosphere.
Should there be any hazard due to chemicals, whether in liquid, gaseous or
vapour form, coming into contact with the skin and/or eyes then protective clothing
should be worn.
Training, instruction and information
Employers should provide any necessary training, instruction and
information to employees in order to ensure that the requirements of the Entry
into Dangerous Spaces Regulations are complied with.
This should include:
recognition of the circumstances and activities likely to lead to the
presence of a dangerous atmosphere,
the hazards associated with entry into dangerous spaces, and the
precautions to be taken,
the use and maintenance of equipment and clothing required for entry into
dangerous spaces,
instruction and drills in rescue from dangerous spaces.
When in a dangerous space:
No one should remove their own breathing apparatus.
Breathing apparatus should not be removed from a person unless it is
necessary to save their life.
It is recommended that resuscitators of an appropriate kind should
be provided where any person may be required to enter a dangerous
space.
Where entry is expected to occur at sea the ship should be provided with
appropriate equipment. Otherwise entry should be deferred until the ship
has docked and use can be made of shore side equipment.
Maintenance of equipment for entry into dangerous spaces
All breathing apparatus, rescue harnesses, lifelines, resuscitation
equipment and any other equipment provided for use in, or in connection
with, entry into dangerous spaces, or for use in emergencies, should be
properly maintained, inspected periodically and checked for correct operation
by a competent person and a record of the inspections and checks should be
kept. All items of breathing apparatus should be inspected for correct
operation before and after use.
Equipment
for
testing
the
atmosphere
of
dangerous
spaces,
including oxygen meters, should be kept in good working order and, where applicable,
regularly serviced and calibrated. Due regard should be paid to manufacturers'
recommendations which should always be kept with the equipment.
47
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Hot work
Welding, flame-cutting and other hot work operations should be conducted
within the "permit-to-work" system, whenever carried out in a non-workshop location.
Operators should be competent and familiar with the equipment to be used,
which should be inspected by a competent person before use.
Seafarers should be given careful instructions if special precautions need to be
taken.
Harmful fumes may be produced and oxygen depleted during operations.
Special care should be taken during operations in enclosed places and enclosed space
procedures should be used where necessary to ensure safe operations.
An assistant should be in continuous attendance and be instructed in
emergency procedures.
Clean and approved personal protective equipment should be worn by the
operator and other persons involved in the work process.
The operator should normally wear:
a welding helmet and suitable eye shield;
leather working gloves;
a leather apron when appropriate; and
other appropriate personal protective equipment.
Before any operation begins, inspections and tests should be carried out to
ensure that there are no combustible solids, liquids or gases at or in any compartments
adjacent to the work area which might be ignited by heat or sparks from the work.
All surfaces to be welded, or upon which hot work is to be conducted, should be
free of oil, grease or any flammable or combustible material.
All openings through which sparks might fall should be closed where practical.
Cargo tanks, fuel tanks, cargo holds or other tanks or spaces (including cargo
pumps and pipelines) that have contained flammable substances should be certified by
a competent person as being free of flammable gases before any work commences.
All operations should be properly supervised and a fire watch maintained, both
in the operational area and all adjacent areas, including spaces on the other side of
affected bulkheads. Because of the possibility of delayed fires the fire watch should be
maintained for a suitable period of time after the work has been completed.
Suitable fire extinguishers should be kept at hand.
Power sources should have a direct current (DC) which minimizes the risk from
electric shock.
The "go and return" system in which the welding set has two cables should be
used, with the "return" cable being separately earthed to the ship's structure. The lead
and return cables should be of the shortest length possible (and of an appropriate
cross-section) to avoid voltage drop.
Cables should be inspected before use and connectors should be fully insulated.
Suitable means should be provided for rapidly cutting off current from the
electrode should the operator encounter difficulties.
Non-conducting safety footwear should be worn in addition to the personal
protective equipment. Clothing should be kept as dry as possible.
If the operator is in close contact with the ship's structure, protection should be
provided by dry insulating mats or boards.
Welding should not be carried out in hot/humid conditions which might cause
sweat or damp clothing.
48
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Under no circumstances whatsoever should a welder work in wet conditions.
The electrode holder should be isolated from the current supply before a used
electrode is removed and before a new electrode is inserted. This precaution is
necessary because some electrode coatings have extremely low resistance.
Equipment should have back pressure valves fitted adjacent to the torch in the
oxygen and acetylene lines and flame arrestors fitted at the low pressure side of the
regulators.
Oxygen pressure should always be sufficient to prevent acetylene from entering
the oxygen line.
Acetylene may explode under excessive pressure. It should not be used at a
pressure exceeding 1 atmosphere gauge.
If a backfire occurs, the valves on the oxygen and acetylene cylinders should be
closed immediately. Personnel should be trained in the appropriate methods for cooling
and/or jettisoning cylinders which become hot. An acetylene cylinder which becomes
overheated is very dangerous as an impact could cause internal ignition and
subsequent explosion.
Only hoses which have been specially designed for flame-cutting and brazing
operations should be used; hoses in which a flashback has occurred should be
discarded.
Blowpipes should be lit by safe means such as a stationary pilot flame or a
special friction igniter.
Gases should be shut off at the pressure-reducing regulators before a blowpipe
is changed.
49
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Working aloft
Consideration should be given to a permit-to-work system for work aloft or over
the side depending on the nature of the work. A form for working aloft should take
account of the particular nature of the operation.
Particular attention should be paid to sea and weather conditions and the
possibility of squalls before working aloft or over the side is commenced. In general,
working aloft or over the side should not be permitted if the movement of a ship in a
seaway makes such work hazardous.
In coastal waters strong tidal or current rips could cause sudden, unexpected
ship movements which might be hazardous to seafarers working aloft.
Special consideration should be given to the problems of working near the
ship's whistle, funnel, radio aerials and radar scanners. All relevant officers should be
informed before work commences and all relevant equipment should be isolated, shut
down or appropriate procedures adopted. Warning notices should be posted as
appropriate. Officers should be informed when the work is completed.
Young or inexperienced persons should not be required to work aloft or over the
side unless accompanied by an experienced seafarer or under adequate supervision.
All seafarers should wear safety harnesses and safety nets should be rigged
where appropriate. Persons working over the side should wear life jackets or other
suitable flotation devices. Someone should be in attendance on deck and a lifebuoy with
a line attached should be readily available.
Warning notices that seafarers are working aloft should be posted on deck and
elsewhere as appropriate. Tools should not be carried in pockets but secured in belt tool
carriers and they should be kept secured to the belt with a lanyard or string during the
work. Tools and stores should be sent up and lowered by line in suitable containers.
All equipment, such as lizards, blocks and gantlines, should be carefully
examined before use and if there is any doubt as to the standard, quality and condition
of any item it should not be used.
Where possible, only permanent fixtures to the ship's structure, such as welded
eye pads, should be used as securing points for lizards, blocks and gantlines.
Lizards and gantlines should be away from, or protected from, sharp edges.
Cargo handling operations should not take place in the vicinity where seafarers
are working aloft.
Seafarers working aloft or over the side should be continuously supervised by a
competent person.
Cradles should be at least 40 cm wide and fitted with guard-rails to a height of 1
meter.
Plank stages should be made from sound wood and materials and should be
free from defect.
As far as possible stages should be secured against movement.
Gantlines should be long enough to allow stages to be lowered to a level which
enables seafarers to step off the stage easily.
When seafarers working on a stage are required to lower the stage themselves,
all movements of the stage should be small and carefully controlled.
A hook should not be used to secure a bosun's chair unless it is a type which
cannot be accidentally dislodged.
A chair used with a gantline should be secured with a double sheet bend and
the loose end should be tucked into the rope lay of the standing part.
50
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
A chair, and all associated equipment such as gantlines, should be carefully
inspected before use and a load test applied before hoisting takes place. If it is
necessary to hoist a person aloft, it should be done only by hand and never by
mechanical means, such as a winch.
Seafarers should be reminded that when securing the hitch in a chair the
practice of holding both parts of the gantline with one hand and making the lowering
hitch with the other is dangerous.
The safety of seafarers working aloft depends to a large extent on the condition
of the ropes used in the operations. Such ropes must be given considerable care and
attention.
Ropes should be stowed in a special locker and used for no other purpose than
for working aloft. Nothing else should be stowed in the locker; stores such as detergents
and paints may damage ropes. The locker should be dry and not subject to excessive
heat.
All ropes should be thoroughly inspected each time before use and daily when
in use. It should be remembered that although the surface of a rope may indicate that it
is in good condition, it may have deteriorated inside.
All ropes (e.g. gantlines, lifelines and lizards) should be load tested before use
to four or five times the weight that they will be expected to carry.
Working from ladders, where there is a risk of overstretching and falling,
should be discouraged.
A safety harness secured above the person should be used when working aloft.
The ladder should extend to a height of at least 1 m above the top landing
place.
A ladder should be effectively secured so that it cannot move.
Seafarers using a ladder should:
have both hands free for climbing up and down;
face a rigid ladder when climbing up and down;
not carry tools or equipment.
Rigid portable ladders should be placed at an angle between 65 and 70
degrees to the horizontal and there should be a clearance of at least 15 cm behind all
the rungs.
Rope ladders should be of good construction, adequate strength and properly
maintained.
The rope ladder should be properly secured but never secured to railings, or to
any other means of support, unless the railings or support will safely take the weight of
a person and the ladder.
The rope ladder should either hang fully extended or be pulled up completely: it
should never be left so that slack may suddenly pay out when the ladder is used.
The ladder should be rigged and used under the supervision of a responsible
person.
Punts should be stable and have suitable fencing.
The person in charge should consider the potential hazards of working at the
stern and near side discharges and the hazards of strong tides and wash from passing
vessels, etc. All relevant persons should be informed that the work is taking place.
A person painting over the side should wear a lifeline and a buoyancy garment.
Someone should be in attendance on deck and a lifebuoy with a line attached should be
readily available.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Engine-room watchkeeping and maintenance
All operations in machinery spaces should be performed by a competent person
under the supervision of a responsible officer or senior rating.
The regulations of the competent authority on the guarding of every dangerous
part of a vessel's machinery should apply.
Particular attention should be paid to protecting seafarers from the effects of
noise. Spaces in which hearing protection needs to be worn should be indicated by
warning signs.
No work other than routine duties should be undertaken except on the orders of
a responsible engineering officer. Maintenance work should be carried out in
compliance with manufacturer's instruction manuals. When necessary, specific work
should be carried out within the "permit-to-work" system.
Moving parts of machinery should be provided with permanent guards or other
safety devices such as railings or fencing.
If the use of any piece of machinery or equipment is considered to be
temporarily unsafe, it should be immobilized or put in a safe place or condition
immediately and, if necessary, a warning notice should be posted adjacent to or at the
control position.
No guard, fencing or shielding should be removed for repair or maintenance
except when the machinery to which it relates has been stopped. The machinery should
not be restarted until the fencing or shielding has been replaced and secured.
All valves, pipes and fittings should be adequately supported and fixed or
clamped to avoid vibration and possible fracture. All such fixtures and supports should
be properly maintained and replaced after maintenance.
All items such as steam pipes, exhaust pipes and fittings which, because of
their location and operating temperature present a hazard, should be adequately lagged
or shielded.
The source of any oil leak should be located as soon as possible and the leak
stopped.
Waste oil should not be allowed to accumulate in the bilges or on tank tops. Any
accumulation should be removed as soon as possible in compliance with MARPOL.
Tank top and bilge spaces should be washed down at regular intervals or as necessary
for safety.
A procedure should be in place to ensure that, whenever a fuel oil tank is being
filled, or the contents of one are being transferred to another, it does not overflow. Such
a procedure may be in writing and may include permanently displayed line diagrams
and particulars. Whenever fuel oil is being loaded or transferred, the operation should
be supervised by a competent person.
Bilges and mud-boxes should be kept clear of rubbish and other substances so
that the bilges can be easily pumped.
Special attention should be given to preventing leakages into machinery spaces
of exhaust gases from boilers, inert gas plants, uptakes, etc.
All areas should be suitably illuminated. Areas under floor plates where oil pipes
are located should be painted a light colour.
Any light that fails should be replaced as soon as possible.
Temporary or portable lighting should be used to provide additional illumination
as required, and should be removed immediately after use.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Care should be taken to keep the noise level as low as practicable, and to
maintain or where necessary improve sound-absorbing arrangements.
Seafarers should be informed of the danger of removing hearing protection in
areas where the noise level is high, even for short periods. When work has to be carried
out in such areas, a suitable system of communication should be agreed upon before
the work begins.
If there is a control room, doors should be kept closed and hearing protection
should be worn when access is required to any area where the noise level is high.
Ventilation should be maintained to ensure a comfortable atmosphere
so far as is reasonably practicable in all areas, with special attention being given to
working areas and control rooms.
Ventilation should be increased if necessary where maintenance and repair
work have to be carried out in areas of high temperature or high humidity.
Unless properly equipped and authorized to be operated without persons
in attendance, the boiler room and machinery space should be under the direct
supervision of a competent person at all times and should be manned at all times by
persons adequate for the duties required.
All drains on such equipment as pipes and filters should be kept clear.
Care should be taken to ensure that any pressure in all relevant piping, system
or container has been relieved before it is opened or any flange or joint is broken.
As a precaution bolts should be only slackened back and not removed until the
flange or joint is broken.
If the flange or joint does not part easily, separation should be made with a
wedge and not by allowing pressure into the line. The pipe should be secured
temporarily if necessary before the flange or joint is broken.
It should be remembered that valves may not be completely tight nor lines fully
drained and that pressure, or accumulations of oil and scalding water, may build up in a
pipe even after the pressure has been relieved.
Any valve controlling flow should be effectively locked or secured as long as the
line remains open, and if necessary a warning notice should be posted.
All stores and tools should be properly stowed and adequate arrangements
should be made, particularly with heavy stores, to secure each item in heavy weather.
When lifting weights, seafarers should avoid strains by using chain-blocks or the
engine room crane, as appropriate. When turning valves or hand-wheels, seafarers
should avoid strains by using lever or wheel spanners.
Where heavy items are lifted by chain-blocks or by an engine room crane, the
lifting device and lifting arrangements should be examined by a responsible person,
who should ensure that the safe working load is not exceeded.
Slings should be examined for broken or ragged stands, and padded as
required to avoid damage on sharp edges.
Where lifting or eye bolts are to be used, the thread on the bolt and in
the part to be lifted should be seen to be clean and in good condition, and the threaded
part fully screwed home and locked as appropriate before any lifting effort is applied.
This is particularly important when lifting heavy machinery parts, when care
should be taken that carbon is removed from the threaded recess, if necessary by
running down the appropriate tap before screwing home the bolt.
Hoisting or lowering, whether by crane or by chain-blocks, should be performed
only after all persons involved have been informed of the intended action.
Any friction fit, tightness or adhesion of the part of any load being lifted should
be broken by wedges or tapping, and not by increasing the load on the lifting appliance.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Seafarers should always stand clear of any load being lifted and should not
walk close to or underneath any load being lifted or while it is suspended.
Any tools used at heights above platform level should be kept in a
suitable bag or box, or secured so as to prevent them from falling.
After any repair or maintenance work, all tools and any spares or replaced parts
should be checked, accounted for and properly stowed away in a safe and secure place.
When working alone, a person should arrange to communicate at regular
and frequent intervals with other persons in the machinery spaces or on the bridge.
Boilers, unfired pressure vessels and steam pipes
No person should perform any operation on a boiler, unfired pressure
vessel or steam pipe that could result in the release of steam, air, or oil except:
under the supervision of an engineer officer; and
with the knowledge and approval of the chief engineer.
All boilers and unfired pressure vessels and steam piping should be inspected
internally and externally at regular intervals by a competent person as required by the
national authority.
No boiler or unfired pressure vessel should be operated or kept at working
pressure if unsafe for use or not provided with the properly maintained fittings
necessary for safe operation.
Before any boiler or unfired pressure vessel is opened for inspection, any
pressure therein should be released, the contents cooled down to atmospheric
temperature and the system effectively drained off.
No boiler or unfired pressure vessel should be opened or entered for inspection
until adequate arrangements have been made to prevent any backflow of steam or
working fluid by blanking off, or locking shut, any lines or valves that might allow such
backflow of steam, hot water or exhaust gases to enter the boilers, combustion chamber
or pressure vessel.
The top manhole door should be knocked in first with the dogs slacked back but
not removed.
The manhole door should be held by a rope or other means when the dogs are
removed.
When the top manhole has been removed, the bottom manhole door may be
knocked in.
At all times while a person is in the boiler, another person should be standing by
at the manhole entrance and should communicate at frequent intervals with the person
inside.
Spaces at the top and sides of boilers should not be used for storage.
Safety valves should be properly sealed and maintained in good operational
condition at all times.
Special care should be taken to maintain water gauges in proper order. They
should be checked and blown through in a proper manner by a competent person at
frequent intervals. Gauges should be replaced only by a competent person.
The water level should be checked at all times when fires are alight. Should the
water level fall below the glass, the boiler should be immediately secured as required.
Care should be taken to ensure that, when lighting up, the combustion
chambers have been properly purged free of gas and that no loose oil has accumulated
on the furnace floor.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Care should be taken to ascertain that all burners are clean and properly
assembled.
Fuel oil should be recirculated until all parts of the system have reached a
suitable temperature before admission to the furnace.
When lighting up a boiler, seafarers should stand clear of any openings in order
to avoid a possible blowback.
Should a furnace fail to light for any reason when the oil valve is opened:
the valve should be closed;
the combustion chamber should be properly purged.
Operating instructions should be displayed at each boiler.
Propulsion machinery
The propulsion machinery should be provided and maintained in accordance
with the requirements of the competent authority and good practice.
Maintenance should be carried out by a competent person and a responsible
officer should be informed immediately if any actual, or latent, fault or defect is observed,
with remedial action being taken as appropriate.
The machinery should be stopped before any work is done by seafarers on, or
using, machinery items which would constitute a hazard:
throttle or starting system should be closed;
turning gear or a suitable brake should be engaged; and
a warning notice should be posted.
Turbines
The governor, low lubricating oil pressure alarm and shutdown devices, and
other speed limiting devices should be made ready to operate should abnormal
operations occur.
Steam joints, valve gland and gland sealing arrangements should be
maintained in good order to avoid excessively high humidity in the surrounding area.
Internal combustion engines
Internal combustion machinery should be maintained in safe condition and be
regularly inspected as required by the manufacturer.
Scavenge trunks should be kept clean and free from loose oil and turboblowers
should be kept free of accumulations of oil and dirt.
A source of ignition, e.g. a portable electric light or naked flame, should not be
brought near an open engine crank case until it has been cooled and well ventilated and
until all explosive gases have been expelled.
Air compressors and reservoirs
Air compressors should be properly maintained an inspected by a competent
officer.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Refrigeration systems
Adequate information stating the operating and maintenance safeguards of the
refrigeration plant should be displayed on each vessel.
Refrigeration compressors and systems should be properly maintained to avoid
leakage of refrigerant, either in the compressor room or in the refrigerated
compartments. Where refrigerating equipment is isolated, a competent person should
be notified before entering the room or compartment.
When leakage is suspected the proper detection method should be used.
No one should enter a refrigerated compartment without wearing protective
clothing and informing a responsible person.
Steering gear
The operation of the steering gear should be checked or inspected at
frequent intervals by the responsible officer and safety devices should be ready to
operate
at all times.
The steering gear should be tested in accordance with IMO requirements.
Hydraulic systems
Hydraulic systems should be frequently inspected by a responsible officer,
properly maintained and kept free of leaks.
Care should be taken to avoid skin penetration from high pressure fluid during
inspections and repair of hydraulic systems.
The system should be purged as necessary to avoid erratic operations which
could be dangerous to seafarers.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
CONTRIBUTE TO EFFECTIVE HUMAN
RELATIONSHIP ON BOARD SHIP
Interpersonal relationships
At most simply level interpersonal relationships means to be polite with others
and in this way to be accepted. This level suppose to:
be companionable, adaptable, accommodating
respect the elementary standards
avoid altercations with colleagues.
There is also a second level, more complex, where well interpersonal
relationships means establishing and maintaining of connections in many directions and
with persons from many categories. This level suppose to:
know how to solve difficult situations
be able to face a conflict situation
work well when your superior is unfair or dominator
know and understand yourself
be able to communicate with others
have good relations with colleagues, friends and family
remake a deteriorated working relation, to be able to fix up a relation
after an altercation
learn to live with your own problems without to disturb others with them
be able to adopt the right attitude during a conversation with a mate.
Inside of interpersonal relationships is essential to know to live and work with
others in better conditions.
You are what you are and can’t become other person. Anyway, you can change
many of your behaviours, attitudes and actions when you work together with other
persons. Can develop your personality becoming more efficient in relations with other
peoples.
During your staying on board ship can appear errors in interpersonal appraisal
about others personalities and in evaluation of professional efficiency. Even these errors
of interpersonal perception are unintended, talking about honest appraisals and honestmindedness of those who made it, these don’t reduce the negative implications and not
in the end, their disturbance effect.
Errors possible to appear inside of interpersonal perception are:
Hallo Effect – people intent to make a global evaluation of a person, i.e.,
if the first impression about someone is favourable there is intention to
overdraw positive characteristics and to minimize the negative ones.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Error through significant values – person who percept will try to identify to
other some significant characteristics and according with these presence
or absence he will create a global imagine about that person, possible to
be a positive or negative one.
Analogy with own personality – perceptive person consider others
identically like him.
Error through generalization from a significant person – when percept
person seem to be, through any characteristic, like a known and
important person, than it will be attribute the characteristics of respective
person, even are positive or negative.
Projection – when perceptive person project on percept one some
characteristics uncommon to this. The projection can be classically (or
negative), when perceptive person don’t realize own negative
characteristics but attributes to other, and similarity projection, when
perceptive person suppose that percept person is like him and attribute
part of his own characteristics.
Metaphoric generalization – deduction of personality characteristics
directly from person features.
Temporally extension – cognitive fixing of a temporary psychological
state.
Exaggerate simplifying – perceptive person reduce percept personality
just at few characteristics considerable essentials.
Error through value added to information source – value of information
about “X” depends by the value give to person who offers this information.
Situational error – a subject percept in a good ambiance is generally
favourable
Preconception – exaggerate expression of collective preconceptions
which can take form of racial, religious and ethnical discriminations.
Cognitive stereotypy – as example, male and female quality.
Age errors – how great is the age difference between persons, so
appreciations are more subjective; in professional activities the older
persons are voted more favourable.
Professional status errors – tendency to give to a person specifically
characteristics according with his status.
Social perception inertia – tendency to appreciate an individual or a
group through heretofore behaviour and not according with the actual
position.
Prestige raying – admittance of one person superiority in a domain lead
to wrong supposition that he has necessary authority in all domains.
Differences amplification errors – person who percept has appreciate
others in contrast with own style and exacerbating differences.
Positive error (allowable error) – tendency of some persons to express
positive evaluations about others often than negative ones.
Exacerbate prudence (exactingness error) – excessive retention in
recognition and appreciation of others positive aspects.
Interpersonal skills refer to mental and communicative algorithms applied during
social communications and interactions to reach certain effects and results. The term
“interpersonal skills” is used often to refer to the measure of a person’s ability to operate
within organizations through social communication and interactions. Interpersonal skills
are how people relate to one another.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
As an illustration, it is generally understood that communicating respect for
other people or professionals within will enable one to reduce conflict and increase
participation or assistance in obtaining information or completing tasks. For instance, to
interrupt someone who is currently preoccupied with the task of obtaining information
needed immediately, it is recommended that a professional use a differential approach
with language such as “Excuse me, are you busy? I have an urgent matter to discuss
with you if you have the time at the moment.” This allows the receiving professional to
make their own judgement regarding the importance of their current task versus
entering into a discussion with their colleague. While it is generally understood that
interrupting someone with an “urgent” request will often take priority, allowing the
receiver of the message to judge independently the request and agree to further
interaction will likely result in a higher quality interaction. Following these kinds of
heuristics to achieve better professional results generally results in a professional being
ranked as one with good interpersonal skills. Often these evaluations occur in formal
and informal settings.
Having positive interpersonal skills increases the productivity in the organization
since the number of conflicts is reduced. In informal situations, it allows communication
to be easy and comfortable. People with good interpersonal skills can generally control
the feelings that emerge in difficult situations and respond appropriately, instead of
being overwhelmed by emotion.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Team building
Team building refers to a wide range of activities for improving team
performance. Team building is pursued via a variety of practices, and can range from
simple bonding exercises to complex simulations and multi-day team building retreats
designed to develop a team, usually falling somewhere in between. It generally sits
within the theory and practice of organizational development. Team building is not to be
confused with “team recreation” that consists of activities for teams that care strictly
recreational.
Teambuilding is an important factor in any environment, its focus is to specialize
in bringing out the best in a team to ensure self development, positive communication,
leadership skills and the ability to work closely together as a team to problem solve.
Work environments tend to focus on individuals and personal goals, with reward
and recognition singling out the achievements of individual employees. Team building
can also refer to the process of selecting or creating a team from scratch.
Reasons for team building include:
improving communication
making the workplace more enjoyable
motivating a team
getting to know each other
getting everyone “onto the same page”, including goal setting
teaching the team self-regulation strategies
helping participants to learn more about themselves (strengths and
weaknesses)
identifying and utilizing the strengths of team members
improving team productivity
practicing effective collaboration with team members
Team building exercises consists of a variety of tasks designed to develop
group members and their ability to work together effectively. There are many types of
team building activities that range from kids games to games that involve novel complex
tasks and are designed for specific needs. There are also more complex team building
exercises that are composed of multiple exercises such as rope courses, corporate
drumming and exercises that over several days. The purpose of team building exercises
is to assist teams in becoming cohesive units of individuals that can effectively work
together to complete tasks.
Team building exercises are useful for all kinds of teams. Some exercises are
designed for smaller teams, some for larger teams. Some are designed for new teams,
other to focus on specific areas of an established team to be worked on. In addition to
this, team building exercises also are for different age group. It is possible that some
team building activities designed for younger teams being misused with more mature
groups has contributed to the negative stigma frequently associated with team building
exercises.
Communications exercises are problem solving activities that are geared
towards improving communication skills. The issues teams encounter in these exercises
are solved by communicating effectively with each other. Goal of this exercise type is to
create an activity which highlights the importance of good communication in team
performance and/or potential problems with communication.
Problem Solving/Decision making are focus specifically on groups working
together to solve difficult problems or make complex decisions. These exercises are
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
some of the most common as they appear to have the most direct link to what
employers want their teams to be able to do. Goal is to give team a problem in which
the solution is not easily apparent or requires the team to come up with a creative
solution.
Planning/ Adaptability exercises are focus on aspects of planning and being
adaptable to change. These are important things for teams to be able to do when they
are assigned complex tasks or decisions. Goal is to show the importance of planning
before implementing a solution.
Trust exercise involves engaging team members in a way that will induce trust
between them. They are sometimes difficult exercises to implement as there are varying
degrees of trust between individuals and varying degrees of individual comfort trusting
others in general. Goal is to create trust between team members.
Team building generally sits within the theory and practice of organizational
development. The related field of team management refers to techniques, processes
and tools for organizing and coordinating a team towards a common goal, as well as the
inhibitors to teamwork and ways to remove, mitigate or overcome them.
Several well-known approaches to team management have come out of
academic work.
The forming-storming-norming-performing model posits four stages of new team
development to reach high performance. Some team activities are designed to speed
up or improve this process in the safe team development environment.
Belbin team types can be assessed to gain insight into an individual’s natural
behavioural tendencies in a team context, and can be used to create and develop better
functioning teams.
Team member qualities
Emotional stability: adjustment, self-esteem
Extraversion: dominance, affiliation, social percertiveness, expressivity
Openness: flexibility
Agreeableness: trust, cooperation
In breaking down these dimensions, it was generalized that past research has
been consist when it mentions that emotional stability, extraversion, openness,
agreeableness, and conscientiousness are all related to team effectiveness. Within
extraversion, dominance was found to be a negative attribute in team members where
they are not working independently and not collaborating with others. Adjustment and
flexibility were noted to be important facets for team members to have where
adjustment to situations is needed. Clearly for teams to be successful there has to be a
balance between the personality dimensions. This provides well-roundedness for a
person to bring to a team.
In the organizational development context, a team may embark on a process of
self-assessment to gauge its effectiveness and improve its performance. To assess
itself, a team seeks feedback from group members to find out both its current strengths
and weakness.
To improve its current performance, feedback from the team assessment can
be used to identify gaps between the desired state and the current state, and to design
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
a gap-closure strategy. Team development can be the greater term containing this
assessment and improvement actions, or as a component of organizational
development.
Building a new team
The process for creating a new team is different from developing an existing
team.
The following table gives us an understanding for the dimensions of the new
task as a manager in the new team environment.
Old Environment
Person followed orders.
Group depended on manager.
Group was a team because people
conformed to direction set by manager. No
one rocked the boat.
People cooperated by suppressing their
thoughts and feelings. They wanted to get
along.
New Environment
Person comes up with initiatives.
Group has considerable authority to chart
its own steps.
Group is a team because people learn to
collaborate in the face of their emerging
right to think for themselves. People rock
the boat and work together.
People cooperate by using their thoughts
and feelings. They link up through direct
talk.
10 steps for building a new project team:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Get upper-management support
Define the purpose of your team
Identify time frames
Select team members
Classify team-member openings
Share the overall purpose
Decide team name
Create the team mission statement and goals
Determine core team issues
Establish team norms
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Team work
Teamwork is the capability to comprehend and recognize the diverse strengths
and abilities in a group setting and then applying them to one final solution. The concept
has spread from the world of sports where it is well known and accepted, to business,
so much so that it is in danger of being considered by some as an empty buzzword, or a
form of corporate-speak. In the 21st century, as people are becoming more
sophisticated and society is becoming more technically advanced, working as a team
makes it easier to accomplish goals.
Some things cannot be accomplished by people working individually. Larger,
ambitious goals usually require that people work together with other people. Anyone
who has ever been to a job interview will invariably be asked what the concept of
teamwork means to them. The reason for this is because companies today want people
who are team players, people who are able to get along with their colleagues and work
together in a cohesive group. Because teamwork is the desired goal of many
organisations today, they will often go to the effort of coordinating team building events
in an attempt to get people to work as a team rather than as individuals.
Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations
work together in an intersection of common goals, for example, an intellectual
endeavour that is creative in nature, by sharing knowledge, learning and building
consensus. Most collaboration requires leadership, although the form of leadership can
be social within a decentralized and egalitarian group. In particular, teams that work
collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing
competition for finite resources. Collaboration is also present in opposing goals
exhibiting the notion of adversarial collaboration, though this is not a common case for
using the term.
Structured methods of collaboration encourage introspection of behaviour and
communication. These methods specifically aim to increase the success of teams as
they engage in collaborative problem solving. Forms, rubrics, charts and graphs are
useful in these situations to objectively document personal traits with the goal of
improving performance in current and future projects.
A cross-functional team is a group of people with different functional expertise
working towards a common goal. It may include people from finance, marketing,
operations, and human resources departments. Typically, it includes employees from all
levels of an organization. Members may also come from outside an organization.
Cross-functional teams often function as self-directed teams responding to
broad, but not specific directives. Decision-making within a team may depend on
consensus, but often is led by a team leader.
The growth of self-directed cross-functional teams has influenced decisionmaking processes and organizational structures. Although management theory likes to
propound that every type of organizational structure needs to make strategic, tactical,
and operational decisions, new procedures have started to emerge that work best with
teams.
Less unidirectional – up until recently, decision making flowed in one direction.
Overall corporate-level objectives drove strategic business unit objectives, and these in
turn, drove functional level objectives. Today, organizations have flatter structures,
companies diversify less, and functional departments have started to become less welldefined. The rise of self-directed teams reflects these trends. Intra-team dynamics tend
to become multi-directional rather than hierarchical. Interactive processes encourage
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
consensus within teams. Also the directives given to the team tend to become more
general and less prescribed.
Greater scope of information – cross-functional teams require a wide range of
information to reach their decisions. They need to draw on information from all parts of
an organization’s information base. This includes information from all functional
departments. System integration becomes important because it makes all information
accessible through a single interface.
Greater depth of information – cross-functional teams require information from
all levels of management. The teams may have their origins in the perceived need to
make primarily strategic decisions, tactical decisions, or operational decisions, but they
will require all types of information. Almost all self-directed teams will need information
traditionally used in strategic, tactical, and operational decisions. It gets strategic
direction from top management, and uses operational departments like engineering and
marketing to perform its task.
Greater range of users – cross-functional teams consist of people from many
parts of an organization. Information must take a form all users understand. Not only
engineers use technical data and not only human resources personnel use HR data.
Modern organizations lack middle managers to combine, sort, and prioritize the data.
Team management refers to techniques, processes and tools for organizing
and coordinating individuals working towards a common goal, i.e. a team.
While the activities of team management are not new, many of the tools used
by team managers are. Teams can also be developed through team building activities,
which can also be used simply to build relationships where team members lack
cohesion due to organizational structure or physical distance.
With the growing need to integrate the efforts of teams composed of members
from different companies and organizations are increasingly turning to a new class of
internet software for team management. These tools combine planning and
collaboration with features that provides a structure for team relationships and
behaviours. In addition, there are tools that facilitate the forming of highly productive
teams through analysis of personality and skills profiles.
Team performance management is the concept of adjusting the composition,
context or direction of a team or work group in order to increase the effectiveness of the
team or group.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
UNDERSTAND ORDERS AND BE UNDERSTOOD
IN RELATION TO SHIPBOARD DUTIES
Fundamentals of communication
Most of the verbal communicating you do is from one individual to another. This
is
true
whether
you're in a
family, social, or
a work
setting.
One-on-one verbal communication affords the greatest opportunity for precision,
because immediate feedback can tell you whether you were understood accurately.
But
communicating
effectively
involves
more
than
just
accuracy.
The purpose of most communication is to influence the attitudes and behaviors of those
whom we address. Since the human race is composed of billions of individuals, each
with a different way of responding, no one approach is universally effective. So it's
important that you learn to express yourself accurately and in a way that will accomplish
your purpose toward the individual you're addressing.
To achieve precision and effectiveness in communicating, you should
understand the basic process of communication. It has four requirements:
•
A message must be conveyed.
•
The message must be received.
•
There must be a response.
•
Each message must be understood.
It is often said that poor communication is the reason for 80% of all accidents.
The reason not only for maritime accidents but probably also for many other accidents,
mishaps, wars and a lot of conflicts. On board a ship there can be poor communication
between team on the bridge or between bridge team and engine team, or bridge team
and deck crew. There can be poor communication between bridge and shore stations
and poor communication between company and crew. Poor communication or
miscommunication might create conflicts, stress and mistakes. Poor communication is
of course a safety risk. Why? What is the problem? Isn’t it just to talk and to listen? Yes,
that is right. It is only to talk and to listen. But that is the problem. Regarding
communication many of us live with two absolutely wrong assumptions.
Wrong assumption No. 1 is:
“I believe that you understand what I say.”
Wrong assumption No. 2 is:
“You believe that you understand what I say.”
How can that be? Well, first of all we must think of the fantastic process of
transmitting words and thoughts stored in my brain into your brain. Let us say that I
have 20.000 different words stored among some billion synapses in my brain. They
have to be picked up in the right order and via the Nervous System be transmitted to
lips and tongue. Simultaneously my lungs have to be partly filled with air in order to
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
produce a constant air stream over my vocal cords. They have to be stretched in order
to produce a carrier wave, which will carry my message to the receiver’s ears. Tongue
and lips have to be placed in an absolutely correct position to form the variable soundwaves. On an average we use about 40 different combinations of tongue and lips. The
brain automatically takes care of all these functions.
Now the electric energy, which started the process, is transformed into pressure
energy, which via sound-waves in the atmosphere will hit the receiver’s ears and be
transformed into mechanic energy by Eardrums. The Hammer, the Anvil and the Stirrup
transfer this mechanic energy to the Oval Window and the mechanic energy is again
transformed into pressure energy now in a fluid in the Inner Ear, where about 24,000
cells in each Inner Ear are ready to receive and electrically transmit frequency and
loudness to synapses in the receiver’s Temporal Lobes. Here perception is completed
and the receiver might understand or misunderstand the message. When it is
technically explained like this, it is easy to understand that small malfunctions might
appear on the way from my brain to your brain.
If the receiver is uninterested, tired, hungry, thirsty is under a high degree of
stress, has poor attitudes or suffers from reduced hearing, the message will be lost.
If I don’t talk clearly enough, you will not understand.
If I don’t talk loudly enough, you will not understand.
If I speak too fast without any pauses, you will not understand.
The transmission from one brain to another is very fast, but it takes some time.
If I speak too fast and receiver will be stressed, lag behind and lose the thread. If I use
language, which you don’t understand, you will not understand. If I use some foreign
words, you might miss the content of my message. There might be disturbances or
interference on the way. By mistake I might say “left” instead of “right” and of course you
will misunderstand. My Body Language might easily transmit something, which does not
correspond to my verbal transmission.
Accentuation and Intonation mean a lot to make it understandable. The
Expectation filter, the Attitude filter and the Defense Mechanism might easily distort your
perception. Unfortunately, the transmitter often does not listen to his own transmission.
The receiver does not listen to the transmission. Instead of listening the receiver is
thinking about what he is going to transmit as soon as the other transmitter has stopped
his transmission.
Attention to the Irony. The only person who will understand your irony 100% is
you yourself. Also remember that different cultures use irony for different purposes. This
fact might easily create misunderstandings and conflicts. Probably you can find even
more disturbances, which might hamper the receiver’s possibility to understand what
the transmitter actually meant.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Methods of communication
Forms of communication:
interpersonal communication/organizational communication
formal/informal communication
horizontal/vertical/diagonal communication
verbal/para-verbal/nonverbal/cognitive communication
feedback
Interpersonal communication techniques:
interpersonal report
personal habitat/safety areas
look and visual control
smile
postures and mimics
ambiance
first impression
looking for an anchor
avoidance of negative answer
challenge of positive answer
positive request
significant silence
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Barriers in communication
Interpersonal communication become hardly due to human barriers. These
barriers are:
Physically: verbal deficiencies, acoustics, position, light, temperature,
daily time, length of meeting, etc.;
Semantically: vocabulary, grammar, syntax, emotional connotations of
words;
Due to internal factors: positive implication and negative implication;
Fear
Subjective suppositions
Hidden agenda
Imaginative worlds
Other barriers can be:
Perception differences: the way how we show the world is influenced by
our previous experiences;
Transient conclusions: frequently see what you want and hear what we
want to hear avoiding to recognise the true reality;
Stereotypes: learning continuous from personal experiences will risk to
treat different persons like only one;
Knowledge missing: is difficult to communicate with somebody who have
a different education by ours, a person who have less knowledge about
the discussion subject;
Interest missing: one of the greater barriers which must pass is
represented by the receiver missing of interest on our message. Must be
prepared for this situation, anyway are more preoccupied by own
problems than others. Where missing of interest is understandable and
evidently must action with ability to direct your message to the receiver
interests and needs;
Emotions: transmitter and receiver emotions can be a barrier. Strong
emotion is completely responsible by total blocking of communication.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Effective transmission and listening skills
Elements of effective transmission and listening skills are:
Consciously
Reflexive listening
Clarity
Reconcilement
Assertiveness
Empathy
Active listening
Mobile communication
Unidirectional communication
Two way communication
Assertive-constructive behaviour
Assertive-objective behaviour
Passive-elusive behaviour
Aggressive-destructive behaviour
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Communication sum-up
So what is communication? If it is so important, how do we ensure that when
one person talks to another, that the other person listens and understands? How do we
know if the message (or sign) has not only been heard (or read) but also understood?
What can be done to limit the opportunities for mistakes and to enhance the
effectiveness of communications?
It is a self-evident fact that people speaking different languages can generally
not converse at all and even people speaking their own language can misinterpret
spoken messages. Many will recall playing games where a message passed through a
series of people can become quite unrecognisable from the original message after
being re-worded or abbreviated by individuals passing a message one to the other. And
the reason these messages become garbled is probably because we probably have too
many ways of passing ideas one to another.
For effective communications, when the sender of a message communicates
with the intended recipient, there has to be a correlation between what the sender is
thinking about and what the receiver is thinking about. Text or words must therefore be
used in a consistent way, and the first requirement for communication is a set of
messages that are used consistently.
If we know why we fail sometimes to send or receive the intended
communications we can start to address the problem. The most obvious solution to the
problem of failure of communications through different languages is, of course, to use
the same one.
The language usually used on board ship is the national language of the crew.
However, in these days of multinational crews, a variety of languages may be used or
alternatively one working language adopted. Whichever is used, ships trading
internationally must conduct ship to shore communications in a language that can be
understood as navigational and safety communications must be precise and
unambiguous to avoid confusion and error.
And in the world of international transport and shipping, the chosen international
standard for achieving effective communication on board and between ship and shore is
the English language. An adequate standard of English is therefore not only an
international requirement for certification of seafarers but also a key element in ensuring
safe, efficient and profitable ship operations.
But even English speakers manage to misunderstand each other at times. And
when different national or regional variations of the English language are added, the
possibilities for miscommunication are increased.
So which English to choose if there are so many versions? The answer of
course is not necessarily to favour one version of English over another but to choose,
and agree on an international basis, the words and their related meanings so that all
can use them. And the first IMO attempt at developing and agreeing a maritime
vocabulary – the Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary (SMNV) – was adopted by
IMO in 1977. It was however not the only attempt at identifying maritime and nautical
words and phrases to be used by mariners.
The SMNV was not intended to be mandatory but rather that through constant
repetition in ships and in training institutes the phrases and terms were expected to
become those normally accepted and used amongst seafarers in preference to words of
similar meaning. In this way it was anticipated that an acceptable form of maritime
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
English would develop for the interchange of communications between seafarers and
between ship and shore.
In the early 1990’s IMO realized that the changing conditions in modern
seafaring necessitated a more comprehensive standardized safety language covering
all major safety-related verbal communications.
The maritime world has, like many specialized areas of activity, a language of
its own. And some of the words and phrases are unlikely to mean anything outside of
the maritime world or, if the words are understood literally, the reader will gain a wrong
and possibly odd understanding: forward spring – a rope; a gypsy – part of the windlass;
monkey island – on top of the wheelhouse etc. So any vocabulary chosen has to be
aimed closely to the real work of the seafarer if it is to be used and be useful.
And although being able to converse in English in all circumstances might be
welcome, as far as the seafarer training and education is concerned, it is more
important for him or her to be familiar with the words and phrases related to work. In
selecting those words and phrases however a number of factors need to be considered:
the time it takes to learn the vocabulary and the associated meanings;
the number of words and phrases an individual can be expected to absorb.
These factors are unlikely to limit the number of phrases and words identified in
a dedicated vocabulary but may have an effect on the ability of an individual to learn
and use them in the correct context. The number of different ideas that can be identified
is very large, particularly where it is possible to combine concepts or words together to
form new expressions.
The typical length of a message, for both sender and receiver, is ultimately
restricted by the amount of information that a person can handle at one time. Much
longer sentences can often only be understood only if they are easily decomposable to
shorter sentences so a vocabulary made up of shore terms or phrases that can be
combined will probably have a greater chance of success. And if we want it to be used
and understood internationally we need to make its learning a mandatory requirement
and the STCW Convention does this for parts of the SMCP. Regrettably however, it is
open to doubt whether all native English speakers are taught the SMCP as part of their
training so there remains a possibility for confusion actually caused by those with
English as their mother tongue.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
COMPLY WITH EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
Means of emergency
An emergency is a situation with imminent danger of loss of life, injury, loss or
damage to property or damage to environment.
Shipboard contingency plans should take account of the various types of
emergency which may arise on a particular ship and may include:
the allocation of duties and responsibilities on board;
actions to be taken to regain of a situation;
communication methods to be used on board;
procedures for requesting assistance from third parties;
procedures for notifying the company and reporting to relevant authorities;
maintaining communication between the ship and shore;
procedures for dealing with the media or their outside parties.
Contingency plans should be established to describe how deal with emergency
situation related to damage, fire, pollution, personnel, security and cargo.
Examples of emergency situation may include:
structural failure;
main engine failure;
steering gear failure;
electrical power failure;
collision;
shifting of cargo;
cargo spillage or contamination;
fire;
cargo jettisoning;
flooding;
abandoning ship;
man overboard/ search and rescue;
entry into enclosed spaces;
serious injury;
terrorism or piracy;
helicopter operations;
heavy weather damages.
This list is by no means exhaustive and the company should attempt to identify
all possible situations where shipboard contingency planning would be required, relative
to the ship, its constructions, equipment and trade.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Drills and muster. Value and need of drills and training
Actions to counter potential emergency situations should be practiced in drills. A
programme of such drills, additional to those required by the SOLAS Convention,
should be conducted to develop and maintain confidence and proficiency on board.
These drills should be developed to exercise the emergency plans established
for critical situations and should, as appropriate.
Emergency drills and exercises should be carried out regularly to test the
effectiveness and clarity of emergency plans, and to develop the confidence and
competence of the personnel who may be involved in actual emergencies.
Records of all emergency drills and exercises conducted on board should be
maintained be available for verification purposes. Appropriate personnel should
evaluate the results of these drills and exercises as an aid to determining the
effectiveness of documented procedures.
The Master shall ensure that drills are carried out for identified emergencies.
The purpose of these drills is to:
Improve awareness of the potential hazards facing personnel and the ships;
Increase the standards and speed of response to identified potential emergency
situations.
Every ship shall compile a schedule of drills to be carried out. The following
drills and exercises shall be periodically carried out on all Company ships:
Fire in accommodation;
Fire in engine room;
Fire in cargo space;
Abandon ship;
Grounding;
Collision;
Flooding;
Structural damages or caused by bad weather;
Man over board;
Personal injury/ illness;
Oil pollution;
Entry/ escape from enclosed spaces.
Other drills that may be considered for certain ships include, but are not limited
to:
Piracy or terrorist attacks;
Dangerous cargo spill;
Cargo shifting;
Equipment damages;
Open sea towing;
Search and rescue.
Plans for all identified potential emergencies shall be held. Each plan should
include, as a minimum:
•
The allocation of duties and responsibilities on board;
•
Actions to be taken to regain control of a situation;
•
Communication methods to be used on board and between ship and
shore;
•
Procedures for requesting assistance from third parties, if required;
•
Procedures for notifying the Company and relevant authorities;
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•
Checklists for aid in monitoring and reporting.
All completed drills shall be reported by entries in the deck logbook. This record
shall include personnel involved, equipment used and details of any problem
encountered and shall be signed by the Master.
The effectiveness of these drills shall be formally reviewed at the monthly on
board management meetings. Any suggested improvements arising from these reviews
shall be transmitted to the Company for approval as soon as is practicable, and any
event from the next port.
Whenever the Company safety Committee decides that a change to a plan is
necessary, this shall be carried out and transmitted to all relevant ships.
Seafarers should be informed of the location to which they must go on hearing
the emergency signal and of their duties when they arrive at that station. The location
should be well marked.
The master should ensure that a muster list is compiled and kept up to date and
that copies are displayed in conspicuous places throughout the ship. The muster list
should contain details of the general alarm signal and other emergency signals and the
action to be taken when such signals are activated. The means by which the order to
abandon ship is given should also be included. The muster list should indicate the
individual duties of all personnel on board and all crew members should be given written
details of their own duties.
All seafarers concerned should muster at a drill wearing the appropriate clothing.
The purpose of drills is to familiarize personnel with their respective duties and
to ensure that they can carry out those duties in an appropriate manner. Each crew
member should participate in drills in accordance with national and international
requirements.
The timing of drills should be varied to ensure that seafarers who because of
their duties have not taken part in a particular drill may participate in the next drill.
Seafarers should receive training as soon as possible, if possible before joining the ship,
to ensure that there is no period of time when the seafarer is incapable of carrying out
safety-related responsibilities.
Drills often involve the whole crew but it might be preferable to confine certain
drills to crew members with specific tasks.
Although drills are an essential part of emergency training, a training scheme
should consist of more than just drills.
Fire
protection
devices,
fire-extinguishing
appliances,
breathing
apparatus and other safety equipment should be provided in accordance with the
regulations applicable to the ship and to the satisfaction of the appropriate authority.
This equipment should be maintained in good order in accordance with the
manufacturer's instructions and kept available for use at all times.
Seafarers should not interfere with or discharge any fire extinguisher without
due cause, and should report any faults or cases of accidental discharge to a
responsible officer.
Immediately after joining, when appropriate, seafarers should familiarize
themselves with the location of the fire-fighting appliances on board, the operation of
such appliances and their effectiveness on different types of fires. This knowledge
should be verified by a responsible officer.
Appropriate crew members on board should be trained in the use of the
following fire-fighting appliances:
all types of portable fire extinguishers carried on board;
self-contained breathing apparatus;
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
hoses with jet and spray nozzles;
any fixed fire-fighting system such as foam or carbon dioxide;
fire blankets; and
firemen's outfits.
For example, a copy of the IMO Pocket guide to cold water survival, could be
provided to each seafarer, SOLAS, 1974, Chapter II, as amended, symbols
recommended in Resolution A.654(16) (1989), of the IMO.
When possible, fire drills should be held in port as well as at sea.
Although many fires occur in port, it may prove difficult to arrange a drill with the
local fire authorities. This problem can be partly resolved by instructing the crew on the
nature of shore requirements using the contents of the fire wallet (which should be
positioned by the access arrangements and which contains information required by
shore fire authorities who are required to fight a fire on board ship).
It is important that the symbols used on a ship's fire control plan are understood
by shore fire personnel. Graphic symbols should be used as much as possible.
Efficient fire-fighting requires the full cooperation of personnel in all departments
of the vessel.
For the purpose of a fire drill an outbreak of fire should be assumed to have
occurred in some part of the ship, the alarm should be activated and the requisite
actions taken be in accordance with the ship's safety and health policy.
The type and position of the fire scenario should be varied in a wellconceived sequence which covers most parts of the ship and all types of fire-fighting.
Locations could include:
holds, tanks and other spaces such as forepeak stores and paint lockers;
engine or boiler rooms;
accommodation spaces such as cabins and laundry rooms; and
galleys.
Fire drills should be as realistic as circumstances permit. When possible, local
fire-fighting equipment, such as extinguishers, should be activated and the visibility of
self-contained breathing apparatus masks should be reduced to give the impression of
operating within a smoke-filled atmosphere.
The fixed water fire-fighting system should be used and engine room staff
should ensure that the fire pumps are operated and that full water pressure is on the fire
mains. The emergency fire pump should also be used for fire drills and personnel
should be trained in the operation of other fixed systems such as foam and carbon
dioxide.
All equipment activated during fire drills should be immediately replaced with
fully loaded appliances.
Seafarers should be exercised in the closing of openings and the closing down
of ventilation systems.
A fire drill can be held as the first stage of an abandon ship drill.
Each abandon ship drill should include:
Abandoning ship and other life-saving drills should be carried out in accordance
with national requirements, which should be at least equivalent to those of Chapter III of
the Annex to SOLAS (1974), as amended.
summoning personnel to muster stations by the general alarm and
ensuring that they are made aware of the order to abandon ship. A check
should be carried out to ensure that all personnel are at muster stations;
reporting to stations and preparing for the duties described in the muster
list;
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
checking that personnel are suitably dressed to minimize cold shock if
direct entry into the sea is necessary;
checking that life-jackets are correctly donned;
where possible, lowering of at least one lifeboat after any necessary
preparation for launching;
starting and operating the lifeboat engine;
where fitted, operating of davits for launching liferafts; and
divers in saturation are not able to take advantage of conventional
lifeboats in an emergency. The IMO guidelines should be followed for
these divers.
Compliance with the IMO guidelines will satisfy Chapter 3 of the Code of Safety
for Diving Systems, IMO Resolution A.831(19).
Inflatable liferafts must be sent for regular servicing. If possible, abandon ship
drills should be held when a liferaft is due to be sent for servicing. Invaluable experience
can be obtained by actually inflating a liferaft in the water and exercising the crew in
liferaft boarding techniques.
Each lifeboat should be launched and manoeuvred in the water at least once
every three months. If possible, lowering or hoisting a boat with crew on board should
be avoided.
When turning out davits or bringing boats or rafts inboard under power,
seafarers should always keep clear of any moving parts.
The crank handle of a lifeboat winch is designed not to rotate except for manual
hoisting action. Nevertheless, such handles should be removed from the winch as soon
as manual hoisting is stopped. If, however, for some reason the handle cannot be
removed and there is a chance of the handle rotating under the action of gravity or
electricity, seafarers should keep well away from the handle although it may seem
stationery.
Seafarers in an open lifeboat being lowered should remain seated, holding their
lines and should have their hands inside the gunwale to avoid them being crushed
against the ship's side.
Seafarers should keep their fingers clear of the long-link when unhooking or
securing blocks on to lifting hooks while the boat is in the water.
Before craft in gravity davits are recovered by power, the operation of the limit
switches and similar devices should be checked.
Free-fall lifeboats should at all times be boarded in an orderly manner.
Seafarers should immediately secure themselves into the seat with the restraining
harness and carry out the instructions of the responsible officer.
A sufficient number of crew members should be trained in helicopter operations.
A safety check-list should be used as the basis for preparing for all
ship/helicopter operations. The check-list should include such typical provisions as:
all loose objects should be secured or removed;
all aerials should be lowered;
fire hoses should be ready, pumps running and adequate water pressure
provided on deck;
foam hoses, monitors and portable foam equipment should be ready;
additional equipment, such as wire cutters and crowbars, should be ready;
railings should be lowered where appropriate; and
flag pennants or wind socks should be used to indicate wind direction.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
A contingency plan should be devised to minimize the effect of a
helicopter crashing onto the ship and seafarers should be trained in the operation of the
plan. The plan should provide for:
foam equipment operators, at least two wearing firemen's outfits,
standing by;
rescue party, with at least two members wearing firemen's outfits,
standing by;
man overboard rescue boat ready for immediate lowering; and
hook handlers equipped with suitable gloves and rubber boots.
The crew should be trained in procedures for evacuation by helicopter.
A winching area to be used for helicopter operations should be established.
The area should include an inner clear zone, which is a totally clear plated area having
a minimum diameter of 5 m, and an outer manoeuvring zone, which is a circular area at
least 30 m in diameter in which the height of all obstacles must not be more than 3 m.
Each ship should have a contingency plan in the event that someone falls
overboard. The plan should take into account the particular characteristics of the ship,
the life-saving equipment available and the size of the crew. For example, a typical drill
could be the action taken if the bridge watchkeeping officer observes someone falling
from the main deck into the sea. This would include:
executing a Williamson turn or other ship's turn as appropriate;
dropping the bridge wing quick-release lifebuoy;
sounding the general or emergency squad alarm;
The safety of the helicopter crew, as well as of seafarers, must be considered.
Reference should be made, for example, to the Guide to helicopter/ship operations (3rd
edition, 1989 or later edition), published by the International Chamber of Shipping.
announcing the type of emergency over the public address system so
that the rescue boat can be prepared;
assigning a person to the wheel and posting lookouts;
radar "marking" of the man overboard position;
initiating any communication such as a "Pan Pan Pan" message; and
positioning the ship to make a lee and launching the rescue boat.
It should be remembered that it may take the master a few minutes to reach the
bridge before he can take over the operation and that some decisions need to be taken
before he reaches the bridge.
The procedure on how to pull a person from the sea into a boat should, when
possible, be practiced during periods when a ship is at anchor.
Should a search be necessary the procedures described in the Merchant ship
search and rescue manual (MERSAR), published by the IMO, should be adopted,
especially if the search is carried out with other ships.
Emergency training should not be limited to abandoning ship, fire-fighting and
man-overboard drills. Seafarers should undergo continuous and refresher training in
any emergency situations likely to occur aboard the ship.
Seafarers should receive first-aid training prior to boarding the ship. Special
training should be provided for particular types of cargoes and operations. Refresher
training should be given on a regular basis. Posters, pamphlets and other means of
reminding seafarers of first-aid procedures should be posted or otherwise made
available throughout the ship.
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Internal communication
Telephone, portable VHF/UHF and radio telephone systems should comply with
the appropriate safety requirements.
When telephones are used should be continuously manned by persons who
can immediately contact their superior. Additionally, it should be possible for that
superior to override all calls.
When VHF/UHF or radiotelephone systems are used, units should preferably be
portable and carried by the responsible officer or seaman. Where fixed systems are
used, the above guidance for telephones should be followed.
The selected system of communication together with the necessary information
on channels to be used should be recorded on an appropriate form.
Where there are difficulties in verbal communication, these can be overcome by
appointing a person with adequate technical and operational knowledge and a sufficient
command of a language understood.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT POLLUTION
OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT
Definition of “pollution”
Pollution means presence of matter (gas, liquid, solid) or energy (heat, noise,
radiation) whose nature, location, or quantity directly or indirectly alters characteristics
or processes of any part of the environment, and causes (or has the potential to cause)
damage to the condition, health, safety, or welfare of animals, humans, plants, or
property.
Among all the diversity of human activities and sources of pollution, we can
distinguish three main ways that pollutants enter the marine environment:
direct discharge of effluents and solid wastes into the seas and oceans
(industrial discharge, municipal waste discharge, coastal sewage, and
others);
land runoff into the coastal zone, mainly with rivers;
atmospheric fallout of pollutants transferred by the air mass onto the
seas' surface.
Certainly, the relative contribution of each of these channels into the combined
pollution input into the sea will be different for different substances and in different
situations. Quantitative estimates of these processes are difficult because of the lack of
reliable data and the extreme complexity of the natural processes, especially at the sealand and sea-atmosphere boundaries.
For a number of pollutants (metals, nitrates, phosphates, oil and some other
hydrocarbons), this task is even more complicated. They are distributed in the marine
environment in the background of natural biogeochemical cycles of the same
substances. There are numerous examples when extremely high concentrations of oil
and gas hydrocarbons, heavy metals, radionuclides, nutrients, and suspended
substances are not connected with human activity at all. It can happen as a result of
such natural processes as volcanic activity; oil and gas seepage on the bottom; splits
and breaks of the earth's crust; algae blooms; mud flows; river floodings; and many
others. These phenomena should be taken into consideration in order to get the
objective assessment of anthropogenic impact and its consequences in the
hydrosphere.
Oil spills on ships can be a result of both emergency and routine operations.
Operations such as cleaning of cargo residues or ballasting of cargo tanks for the
purpose of loading cargo and stability can lead to oil pollution. Average cargo tanks’
residue is about 0.4 percent of the cargo carrying capacity and there are chances of
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
losing almost half of it during ballasting or cleaning operations. Other causes of oil
entering the sea can be operational defects during the time of bunkering of fuel or lube
oil,
malfunctioning
of
machinery
or
system
etc.
There is a small difference between pollution by operational causes and pollution
caused due to accidents. Pollution caused due to accidents can be the result of collision
of a ship either with other ship, with jetty or with any other natural entity (such as ice
bergs). Although pollution by accident contributes a very small percentage of the total oil
entering into the sea, the consequences to the immediate surroundings can be a
disaster. The release of oil due to operational causes disperses over large area but a
sudden discharge of oil due to an accident is limited to a particular area. This causes
enormous adverse effect on marine life and the nearest coastline.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Effects of operational or accidental pollution of the
marine environment
We know that oil in sea is a bad thing and the impending results can affect not
only marine life but also human beings in the long run. A sudden spillage of oil into the
sea causes a thick layer that floats on the surface of the sea(as we know density of oil is
lesser than density of water). This layer forms a smothering blanket that interferes with
the exchange of oxygen between the sea and the atmosphere. This can affect all the
marine life that frequently comes to the surface for oxygen or those that burgeons on
the surface. If the constituents of the oil are heavier, then they might sink to the sea
floor, blanketing it and thus hindering the marine life over there.
There are chances that marine inhabitants be affected by the constituents of
oils (many of them are toxic) and later when consumed by humans, these constituents
enters the food chain causing severe harm to human life.
Human life can also be affected when coastline or beaches which are nearest to
the oil spillage and which are used for recreational activities comes in direct contact with
oil. This oil may also enter sea water distilling inlets and also get deposited on tidal mud
flats. When human life comes in contact with contaminated mud or toxic sea water it
may lead to detrimental results.
Marine life such as turtles or sea birds might come in direct contact with the oil
when they come to shore, resulting in helpless casualties. There can be long term
effects also. We know that oil doesn’t go away from the water so soon. This means that
if the spilled oil gets accumulated and stays there for a long time, then the organisms
that are exposed to this ambient water will take up these constituents inside them,
increasing the concentration of a particular substance in their body. This will result in
poisoning and impairment to the organism due to accumulation of one particular
substance. This is known as bioaccumulation.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
International measures for pollution prevention,
pollution avoidance and containment of pollutants
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973,
was adopted by the International Conference on Marine Pollution convened by IMO
from 8 October to 2 November 1973.
Protocols I (Provisions concerning Reports on Incidents involving Harmful
Substances) and II (Arbitration) were adopted at the same Conference.
This Convention was subsequently modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating
thereto, which was adopted by the International Conference on Tanker Safety and
Pollution Prevention (TSPP Conference) convened by IMO from 6 to 17 February 1978.
The Convention, as modified by the 1978 Protocol, is known as “The International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol
of 1978 relating thereto", or, in short form, "MARPOL 73/78".
Regulations covering the various sources of ship-generated pollution are
contained in the five Annexes of the Convention.
The Convention has also been modified by the Protocol of 1997, whereby a
sixth Annex was adopted, but this Protocol has not yet been accepted by sufficient
States for it to enter into force.
The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), since its inception in
1974, has reviewed various provisions of MARPOL 73/78 that have been found to
require clarification or have given rise to difficulties in implementation.
In order to resolve such ambiguities and difficulties in a uniform manner, the
MEPC agreed that it was desirable to develop unified interpretations. In certain cases,
the MEPC recognized that there was a need to amend existing regulations or to
introduce new regulations with the arm of reducing even further operational and
accidental pollution from ships.
These activities by the MEPC have resulted in a number of unified
interpretations and amendments to the Convention.
The purpose of this publication is to provide an easy reference to the up-to date
provisions and unified interpretations of the articles, protocols and Annexes of MARPOL
73/78, including the incorporation of all of the amendments that have been adopted by
the MEPC and have entered into force, up to and including the 2000 amendments (as
adopted by resolution MEPC.89(45)).
It should be noted, however, that the Secretariat has no intention of changing
the authentic texts editorially or otherwise. For legal purposes, the authentic texts of the
provisions of MARPOL 73/78 should always be consulted.
An exception to the above is the amendments to regulation 13G of Annex I and
to the Supplement to the IOPP Certificate (as adopted on 16 May 2001 by resolution
MEPC.95(46)). The date for tacit acceptance of these important amendments is 1
March 2002, and if they are accepted on that date they will enter into force on 1
September 2002. As of the date of publication of this edition, the criteria for entry into
force of these amendments have not been met. It was felt, however, that the
amendments might enter into force before the next revision of the present consolidated
edition of MARPOL 73/78. Therefore, the text of resolution MEPC.95(46) is reproduced
as item 7 of the Additional Information section. An associated text (the Condition
Assessment Scheme) that was adopted by resolution MEPC.94(46) is item 8 of the
same section.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
In addition to incorporating the applicable amendments into the texts of Protocol
I and Annexes I to V to MARPOL 73/78, the Secretariat has updated the 1997
Consolidated Edition by adding the text of the Protocol of 1997 and of Annex VI. A
unified interpretation for hydrostatic balance loading, relating to regulation 13G of Annex
I, as approved by the MEPC, has also been added to the appendices to the unified
interpretations of Annex I. Resolution MEPC.88(44), relating to the adoption of a revised
Annex V, and the text of the revised Annex are included as items 5 and 6 of the
Additional Information section.
For consistency in providing information, guidelines which are not made
mandatory by the applicable Annex, and which are contained in another IMO
publication, are omitted from the 2002 Consolidated Edition.
Segregated ballast tanks
Segregated ballast means the ballast water introduced into a tank which is
completely separated from the cargo oil and oil fuel system and which is permanently
allocated to the carriage of ballast or to the carriage of ballast or cargoes other than
variously defined in the Annexes of the oil or noxious substances present Convention.
Every crude oil tanker of 20,000 tons deadweight and above and every product
carrier of 30,000 tons deadweight and above shall be provided with segregated ballast
tanks.
The capacity of the segregated ballast tanks shall be so determined that the
ship may operate safely on ballast voyages without recourse to the use of cargo tanks
for water ballast except as provided for in MARPOL 73/78 Convention. In all cases,
however, the capacity of segregated ballast tanks shall be at least such that, in any
ballast condition at any part of the voyage, including the conditions consisting of
lightweight plus segregated ballast only, the ship's draughts and trim can meet each of
the following requirements:
the moulded draught amidships (dm) in meters (without taking into
account any ship's deformation) shall not be less than:
d m = 2.0 + 0.02L;
the draughts at the forward and after perpendiculars shall correspond to
those determined by the draught amidships (dm) in association with the
trim by the stem of not greater than 0.015L; and
in any case the draught at the after perpendicular shall not be less than
that which is necessary to obtain full immersion of the propeller(s).
In no case shall ballast water be carried in cargo tanks, except:
on those rare voyages when weather conditions are so severe that, in
the opinion of the master, it is necessary to carry additional ballast water
in cargo tanks for the safety of the ship;
and
in exceptional cases where the particular character of the operation of an
oil tanker renders it necessary to carry ballast water in excess of the
quantity, provided that such operation of the oil tanker falls under the
category of exceptional cases as established by the Organization.
Such additional ballast water shall be processed and discharged in compliance
with MARPOL 73/78 Convention and an entry shall be made in the Oil Record Book
Part II.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
In the case of crude oil tankers, the additional ballast shall be carried in cargo
tanks only if such tanks have been crude oil washed before departure from an oil
unloading port or terminal.
Every crude oil tanker of 40,000 tones deadweight and above delivered on or
before 1 June 1982, shall be provided with segregated ballast tanks.
Crude oil tankers in lieu of being provided with segregated tanks, operate with a
cargo tank cleaning procedure using crude oil washing unless the crude oil tanker is
intended to carry crude oil which is not suitable for crude oil washing.
Every product carrier of 40,000 tones deadweight and above delivered on or
before 1 June 1982 shall be provided with segregated ballast tanks or alternatively
operate with dedicated clean ballast tanks.
Double hull design
The entire cargo tank length shall be protected by ballast tanks or spaces other
than that carry oil as follows:
wing tanks or spaces shall extend either for the full depth of the ship’s
side or from the top of the double bottom to the uppermost deck,
disregarding a rounded gunwale where fitted. They shall be arranged
such that the cargo tanks are located inboard of the moulded line of the
side shell plating.
At any cross-section, the depth of each double bottom tank or space
shall be such that the distance between the bottom of the cargo tanks
and the moulded line of the bottom shell plating measured at right angles
to the bottom shell plating is not less than B/15 (m) or 2.0 m, whichever
is the lesser.
On crude oil tankers of 20,000 tones deadweight and above and product
carriers of 30,000 tones deadweight and above, the aggregate capacity of wing tanks
shall not be less than the forepeak tanks and after peak tanks shall not be less than the
capacity of segregated ballast tanks necessary to meet the requirements of MARPOL
73/78 Convention. Wing tanks or spaces and double bottom tanks used shall be located
as uniformly as practicable along the cargo tank length. Additional segregated ballast
capacity provided for reducing longitudinal hull girder bending stress, trim, etc. may be
located anywhere within the ship.
Oil shall not be carried in any space extending forward of a collision bulkhead
located in accordance with regulation II-1/11 of the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended. An oil tanker that is not required to have a
collision bulkhead in accordance with that regulation shall not carry oil in any space
extending forward of the transverse plane perpendicular to the centerline that is located
as if it were a collision bulkhead located in accordance with that regulation.
Double hull and double bottom requirements apply to oil tankers of 5,000 tones
deadweight and above which are delivered before 6 July 1996.
Reception facilities
The Government of each Parry to the Convention undertakes to ensure the
provision of facilities at ports and terminals for the reception of sewage, without causing
undue delay to ships, adequate to meet the needs of the ships using them.
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The Government of each Party shall notify the Organization for transmission to
the Contracting Governments concerned of all cases where the facilities provided under
this regulation are alleged to be inadequate.
To enable pipes of reception facilities to be connected with the ship's discharge
pipeline, both lines shall be fitted with a standard discharge:
Outside diameter: 21,0 mm
Inner diameter According to pipe outside diameter
Bolt circle diameter: 170 mm
Slots in flange 4 holes 18 mm in diameter equidistantly placed on a bolt
circle of the above diameter, slotted to the flange periphery.
The slot width to be 18 mm
Flange thickness: 16 mrn
Bolts and nuts: quantity and diameter 4, each of 16 mm in diameter and
of suitable length
The flange is designed to accept pipes up to a maximum internal
diameter of 100 mm and shall be of steel or other equivalent material
having a flat face. This flange, together with a suitable gasket, shall be
suitable for a service pressure of 6 kg/cm2
For ships having a moulded depth of 5 m and less, the inner diameter of the
discharge connection may be 38 mm.
Sewage disposal arrangements and garbage management plan/record
book
Every ship shall be equipped with one of the following sewage systems:
a sewage treatment plant which shall be of a type approved, taking into
account the standards and test methods developed by IMO, or
a sewage comminuting and disinfecting system approved. Such system
shall be fitted with facilitation for the temporary storage of sewage when
the ship is less then 3 nautical miles from the nearest land, or
a holding tank for the retention of all sewage, having regard to the
operation of the ship, the number of person on board and other relevant
factors.
SEWAGE STATUS
DISTANCE
FROM LAND
SHIP'S SPEED
Sewage
not
comminute
or
disinfected from a
holding tank
Sewage comminute
and disinfected from
a holding tank
From holding tank
and
a
sewage
approved treatment
plant
more than 12
miles
more than
Knots
4
more than 4
miles
more than
Knots
4
No
Restrictions
No Restrictions
DISCHARGE
POSSIBILITY OR
CAPACITY
Approved
by
Administrator discharge
capacity
Approved
Administrator
system
No Restrictions
by
sewage
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Every ship of 12 m or more in length overall shall display placards which notify
the crew and passengers of the disposal requirements.
Every ship of 400 gross tonnage and above, and every ship which is certified to
carry 15 persons or more, shall carry a garbage management plan which the crew shall
follow. This plan shall provide written procedures for collecting, storing, processing and
disposing of garbage, including the use of the equipment on board. It shall also
designated the person in charge of carrying out the plan. Such a plan shall be in
accordance with the guidelines developed by the Organization and written in the
working language of the crew.
Every ship of 400 gross tonnage and above and every ship which is certified to
carry 15 persons or more engaged in voyages to ports or offshore terminals and every
fixed and floating platform engaged in exploration and exploitation of the sea-bed shall
be provided with a Garbage Record Book. The Garbage Record Book whether as a part
of the ship’s official log/book or otherwise shall be in form specified in Annex V of
MARPOL 73/78 Convention.
Each discharge operation, or completed incineration, shall be recorded in the
Garbage Record Book and signed for on the date of the incineration or discharge by the
officer in charge. Each completed page of the Garbage Record Book shall be signed by
the Master of the ship. The entries in the Garbage Record Book shall be at least in
English, French or Spanish. Where the entries are also made in an official language of
the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly, these entries shall prevail in case of a
dispute or discrepancy.
The entry for each incineration or discharge shall include date and time, position
of the ship, description of the garbage and the estimated amount incinerated or
discharged.
The Garbage Record Book shall be kept on board the ship and in such a place
as to be available for inspection in a reasonable time. This document shall be preserved
for a period of two years after the last entry is made on the record.
In the event of discharge, escape or accidental loss an entry shall be made in
Garbage Record Book of the circumstances of, and the reasons for, the loss.
The Master is responsible for the implementation and supervision of the
vessel’s waste and garbage management plan.
Each department will have their own responsible person to supervise and
ensure the guidelines are followed.
Deck Department: the Chief Officer is responsible for the separation and
storage of garbage generated in this area.
Engine Room: the 2nd Engineer is responsible for the separation and storage of
garbage generated in this area.
Catering Department: the Cook is responsible for the separation and storage
of garbage generated in this area.
It is the responsibility of all officers and crew, regardless whether directly
responsible of garbage collection and disposal, to ensure the garbage plan is followed.
The garbage containers on each vessel are colour coded to allow for easier
separation of the various kinds of garbage collected. Garbage containers consist of one
or more smaller containers for the separated garbage. Each container is individually
painted with a separate colour designated for a particular garbage type. The four
colours used are red, blue, black and yellow. The disposal instructions below are
mandatory for garbage disposal outside of Special Areas.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
To avoid oversight or mistake, collection of plastic materials is separate. The
food handling areas, galley and pantries have separate garbage bins. One dedicated to
plastics, the second for food wastes.
Similarly, the engine room has separate and dedicated garbage bins, for
example plastics and oily rags.
When plastics are not separated from other garbage, the mixture is treated as if
it were all plastic.
Red Container:
Blue Container:
Black Container:
Yellow Container:
Plastics and synthetic materials, including, but not limited to,
synthetic ropes and plastic garbage bags. Disposal into the
sea is prohibited. Garbage of this type must always be
disposed ashore, through the agent or appropriate service,
unless the vessel is equipped with an incinerator. This
equipment must be used for disposal of plastics and synthetic
material.
Food wastes. Food wastes can be disposed off at sea
providing the vessel is at a distance greater than 12 miles from
the nearest land.
Paper products, rags, glass, metal containers, bottles
crockery and similar refuse. This type of garbage can be
disposed off at sea providing the vessel is at a distance greater
than 12 miles from the nearest land.
Floating dunnage, lining and packing materials can be
disposed off at sea providing the vessel is at a distance greater
than 25 miles from the nearest land.
Please note: THE USE OF PLASTIC BAGS FOR DISPOSAL OF GARBAGE INTO
THE SEA IS UNIVERSALLY BANNED.
Contents and purpose of the shipboard oil pollution emergency plan
(SOPEP)
Every oil tanker of 150 gross tonnage and above and every ship other than an
oil tanker of 400 gross tonnage and above shall carry on board a shipboard oil pollution
emergency plan.
Such a plan shall be prepared based on guidelines developed by the
Organization and written in the working language of the master and officers. The plan
shall consist at least of:
the procedure to be followed by the master or other persons having
charge of the ship to report an oil pollution incident.
the list of authorities and persons to be contacted in the event of an oil
pollution incident.
a detailed description of the action to be taken immediately by persons
on board to reduce or control the discharge of oil following the incident.
the procedures and point of contact on the ship for coordinating
shipboard action with national and local authorities in combating the
pollution.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Shipboard organization to deal with pollution
The Company is a management company of ocean trading ships, and in order
to ensure safety at sea, prevention of human injury or loss of life, avoidance of damage
to the environment, in particular to the marine environment, and to property, considers
of paramount importance the safe operation of all ships under its management.
The above-mentioned policy shall comply with the laws and regulations of the
flag state of the vessels under its management as well as with the international
regulations and conventions and the relevant standards and guidelines. It also shall
comply with the requirements of the International Management Code.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives of the Policy, the Company
shall:
provide for safe practices in ship operation and a safe working
environment;
continuously improve safety management skills of personnel aboard
ships including preparing for emergencies related to environmental
protection;
ensure compliance with mandatory rules and regulations;
ensure that applicable codes, guidelines and standards recommended by
the Organization and Administrations taken into account;
maintain high standards of safety consciousness, strict personnel
discipline and accountability by adherence to a comprehensive,
documented and ongoing training system;
ensure adherence, at all times, to the documented operating procedures
by a system of internal verification of procedures and activities;
continuously and positively review the SMS;
The Company shall invite and expect all its personnel to actively and
consciously participate in the implementation of the Policy and the unconditional
adherence to its operational procedures in order to achieve a safe working environment
for themselves their colleagues, the ships and their cargo and the environment.
Structure of oil spill response team and assigned duties to officers and
crew
Emergency Squads, deck and engine room, shall be formed according to the
emergency station bill. The Squads shall be manned by 4 or more crew members, at
least one being an Officer, and have access to proper tools and equipment. It is the
responsibility of the Master to ensure training of the Squad.
The following guidelines are intended to help the early stages of the occurrence:
assess the situation,
take evasive action,
eliminate the cause of the casualty,
prevent recurrence of the casualty,
restore services.
The Squads shall be supported by the rest of the vessel’s personnel as per
Master’s verbal orders.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Shipboard drills to deal with pollution of the marine environment
The Master shall ensure that the ship’s emergency organisation is ready to
respond to every emergency situation.
The Chief Officer shall organise and supervise the drills and keep relevant
records.
The sound of the alarm on board the vessel shall be consistent with the
appearance of situations which endanger the vessel and/or the life of the persons
aboard. When the alarm sounds all vessel’s personnel shall proceed to the emergency
(muster) stations, as specified on the Station Bill.
Drills on oil pollution shall be conducted in accordance with relevant rules and
regulations and performed in accordance to the “Annual Schedule of Drills & Training.”
Training shall include use of various safety equipment and instruments.
During the drills the crew shall be instructed on safety matters, the condition
and readiness of vessel’s safety equipment as well as the way to operate same.
Oil Spill Prevention and Containment training shall be performed as per vessel’s
SOPEP and all staff shall be made aware of equipment available and its location on
board.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Pollution by sewage from ships
Sewage means:
drainage and other wastes from any form of toilets and urinals;
drainage from medical premises via wash basins, wash tubs and
scuppers located in such premises;
drainage from spaces containing living animals;
other waste waters when mixed with the drainages defined above.
The discharge of sewage into the sea is prohibited, except when:
the ship is discharging comminuted and disinfected sewage using
a system approved at a distance of more than 3 nautical miles
from the nearest land, or sewage which is not communited or
disinfected at a distance of more than 12 nautical miles from the
nearest land, provided that, in any case, the sewage that has
been stored in holding tanks shall not be discharged
instantaneously but a moderate rate when the ship is en route and
proceeding at not less than 4 knots;
the ship has in operation an approved sewage treatment plant
which has been certified to meet the operational requirements;
the test results of the plant are laid down in the ship’s International
Sewage Pollution Prevention Certificate;
additionally, the effluent shall not produce visible floating solids
nor cause discoloration of the surrounding water.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Pollution by garbage from ships
Garbage means all kind of victual, domestic and operational waste excluding
fresh fish and parts thereof, generated during the normal operation of the ship and liable
to be disposed of continuously or periodically except those substances which are
defined or listed in other Annexes of MARPOL 73/78 Convention.
Disposal of garbage outside special areas:
the disposal into the sea of all plastics, including but not limited to
synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets, plastic garbage bags and
incinerator ashes from plastic products which may contain toxic or heavy
metal residues, is prohibited;
the disposal into the sea of the following garbage shall be made as far as
practicable from the nearest land but in any case is prohibited if the
distance from the nearest land is less than: 25 nautical miles for dunnage,
lining and packing materials which will float; 12 nautical miles for food
wastes and all others garbage including paper products, rags, glass,
metal, bottles, crockery and similar refuse;
disposal into the sea of garbage specified before (accepted at 12 nautical
miles) may be permitted when it has passed through a comminuter or
grinder and made as far as practicable from the nearest land but in any
case is prohibited if the distance from the nearest land is less than 3
nautical miles. Such comminuted or ground garbage shall be capable of
passing through a screen with openings no greater than 25 mm.
When the garbage is mixed with other discharges having different disposal or
discharge requirements the more stringent requirements shall be apply.
Disposal of garbage within special areas:
disposal into the sea of the following is prohibited: all plastics, including
but not limited to synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets, plastic garbage
bags and incinerator ashes from plastic products which may contain toxic
or heavy metal residue
all other garbage, including paper products, rags, glass, metal, bottles,
crockery, dunnage, lining and packing materials;
disposal into the sea of food wastes shall be made as far as practicable
from land, but in any case not less than 12 nautical miles from the
nearest land;
disposal into the Wider Caribbean Region of food wastes which have
been passed through a communiter or grinder shall be made as far as
practicable from land, but in any case not less than 3 nautical miles from
the nearest land. Such communited or ground food wastes shall be
capable of passing through a screen with openings no greater than 25
mm.
when the garbage is mixed with other discharges having different
disposal or discharge requirements the more stringent requirements shall
apply.
Exceptions:
the disposal of garbage from a ship necessary for the purpose of
securing the safety of a ship and those on board or saving life at sea;
the escape of garbage resulting from damage to a ship or its equipment
provided all reasonable precautions have been taken before and after
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
the occurrence of the damage, for the purpose of preventing or
minimizing the escape;
the accidental loss of synthetic fishing nets, provided that all reasonable
precautions have been taken to prevent such loss.
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Control of oil discharge from machinery spaces and oil
fuel tanks
Subject to the provisions of Annex I of MARPOL 73/78 Convention, oil tankers
of 150 gross tonnage and above shall be provided with effective oil/water interface
detectors approved for a rapid and accurate determination of the oil/water interface in
slop tanks and shall be available for use in other tanks where the separation of oil and
water is affected and from which it is intended to discharge effluent direct to the sea.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Contents of Oil Record Book
Every oil tanker of 150 gross tonnage and above shall be provided with an Oil
Record Book Part II (Cargo/Ballast Operations). The Oil Record Book Part II is part of
the ship’s official log-book or otherwise.
The Oil Record Book Part II shall be completed on each occasion, on a tank-totank basis if appropriate, whenever any of the following cargo/ballast operation take
place in the ship:
loading of oil cargo;
internal transfer of oil cargo during voyage;
unloading of oil cargo;
ballasting of cargo tanks and dedicated clean ballast tanks;
cleaning of cargo tanks including crude oil washing;
discharge of ballast except from segregated ballast tanks;
discharge of water from slop tanks;
closing of all applicable valves or similar devices after slop tank
discharge operations;
closing of valves necessary for isolation of dedicated clean ballast tanks
from cargo and stripping lines after slop tank discharge operations;
disposal of residues.
The Oil Record Book shall kept in such a place as to be readily available for
inspection at all reasonable times and, except in the case of unmanned ships under tow,
shall be kept on board the ship. It shall be preserved for a period of three years after the
last entry has been made.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Control of discharge of oil and special areas
Any discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from the cargo area of an oil
tanker shall be prohibited except when all the following conditions are satisfied:
the tanker is not within a special area;
the tanker is more than 50 nautical miles from the nearest land;
the tanker is proceeding en route;
the instantaneous rate of discharge of oil content does not exceed 30
litres per nautical mile;
the total quantity of oil discharged into the sea does not exceed for
tankers on or before 31 December 1979, 1/15,000 of the total quantity of
the particular cargo of which the residue formed a part, and for tankers
delivered after 31 December 1979, 1/30,000 of the total quantity of the
particular cargo of which the residue formed a part;
the tanker has in operation an oil discharge monitoring and control
system and a slop tank arrangement as required.
These previsions shall not apply to the discharge of clean or segregated ballast.
Any discharge into the sea of oil and oily mixture from the cargo area of an oil
tanker shall be prohibited while in a special area. This regulation shall not apply to the
discharge of clean or segregated ballast.
Nothing shall prohibit a ship on a voyage only part of which is in a special area
from discharging outside the special area in accordance with MARPOL 73/78
Convention requirements.
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Introduces the contents of Annex VI of MARPOL
Any deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting substances shall be prohibited.
Deliberate emissions include emissions occurring in the course of maintaining, servicing,
repairing or disposing of systems or equipment, except that deliberate emissions do not
include minimal releases associated with the recapture or recycling of an ozonedepleting substance.
New installations which contain ozone-depleting substances shall be prohibited
on all ships, except that new installations containing hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
are permitted until 1 January 2020.
Regulation regarding nitrogen oxides shall apply to:
each diesel engine with power output of more than 130 kW which is
installed on a ship constructed on or after 1 January 2000;
each diesel engine with a power output of more than 130 kW which
undergoes a major conversion on or after 1 January 2000.
This regulation does not apply to:
emergency diesel engines, engines installed in lifeboats and any device
or equipment intended to be used solely in case of emergency;
engines installed on ships solely engaged in voyages within waters
subject to the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the state the flag of which the
ship is entitled to fly, provided that such engines are subject to an
alternative NOx control measure.
The sulphur content of any fuel oil used on board ships shall not exceed 4.5%
m/m. The world wide average sulphur content of residual fuel oil supplied for use on
board ships shall be monitored taking into account guidelines to be developed by the
Organization.
SOx emission control areas shall include:
the Baltic Sea area, the North Sea area
the other sea area, including port areas
While ships are within SOx emission control areas, at least one of the following
conditions shall be fulfilled:
the sulphur content of fuel oil used on board ships in a SOx emission
control area does not exceed 1.5% m/m;
an exhaust gas cleaning system is applied to reduce the total emission of
sulphur oxides from ships, including both auxiliary and main propulsion
engines, to 6.0 g SOx/kW h or less calculated as the total weight of
sulphur dioxide emission. Waste streams from the use of such
equipment shall not be discharged into enclosed ports, harbours and
estuaries unless it can be thoroughly documented by the ship that such
waste streams have no adverse impact on the ecosystems of such
enclosed ports, harbours and estuaries, based upon criteria
communicated by the authorities of the port.
Any other technological method that is verifiable and enforceable to limit
SOx emission.
Those ships using separate fuel oils shall allow sufficient time for the fuel oil
service system to be fully flushed of all fuels exceeding 1.5% m/m sulphur content prior
to entry into a SOx emission control area. The volume of low-sulphur fuel oils (less than
or equal to 1.5% sulphur content) in each tank as well as the date, time and position of
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
the ship when any fuel-changeover operation is completed, shall be recorded in such
log-book as prescribed.
The Chief Engineer shall be responsible for fuel changeover to low sulphur fuel
oil whenever the vessel is approaching a SOx emission control area and for
consumption of only low sulphur fuel oil for the whole stay of the vessel within the SOx
emission control area.
The Chief Engineer is responsible for the elimination of deliberate emissions of
ozone depleting substances.
Whenever the vessel approaches a SOx emission control area the Chief
Engineer shall proceed in accordance with the following steps:
If there are no dedicated Low Sulphur Fuel Oil Settling and Services
Tanks:
before entering the SOx emission control area it should be made
certain that the quantity of low sulphur fuel oil bunker is sufficient
for the intended voyage within the SOx emission control area (or at
least to a bunkering station within the SOx emission control area);
care shall be taken to have sufficient quantity of bunkers in the
service tanks (not less than approximately 50%);
starting about four days before the scheduled entry into the SOx
emission control area the level of the fuel oil in the settling tanks
shall be minimized, either by consuming its contents or by
pumping them back to the bunker tanks;
the whole fuel oil service system shall be flushed of all fuels
exceeding 1,5% m/m sulphur content prior to entry into the SOx
emission control area;
the settling tanks shall be replenished with Low Sulphur Fuel Oil.
the service tanks level shall be reduced to about 50% and then
filled up from the settling tanks (containing now Low Sulphur Fuel
Oil);
the above step shall be repeated four times in order to minimise
the percentage of normal Fuel Oils and the fourth replenishment
has to be completed before entering the SOx emission control
area;
the volume of Low Sulphur Fuel Oils in each tank as well as the
time, date and position of the ship when any fuel changeover
operation is completed shall be recorded in the Engine Log Book;
for the whole stay of the vessel in the SOx emission control area
the Fuel Oilss consumed shall be of Low Sulphur Content (less
than 1,5% m/m).
If there are dedicated Low Sulphur Fuel Oil Settling and Service Tanks:
the whole fuel oil service system shall be flushed of all fuels
exceeding 1,5% m/m sulphur content prior to entry into the SOx
emission control area;
the supply shall be changed over to the Low Sulphur tanks before
entering the SOx emission control area;
the volume of Low Sulphur Fuel Oil in each tank as well as the
time, date and position of the ship when any fuel changeover
operation is completed shall be recorded in the Engine Log Book;
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for the whole stay of the vessel in the SOx emission control area
the Fuel Oil consumed shall be of Low Sulphur Content (less than
1,5% m/m).
Special care shall be taken in order not to mix supplies of Low Sulphur Fuel Oil
with the rest of the bunkers.
If the estimated time of burning Low Sulphur Fuel Oil is short (about 2-3) then
the reduction of the supply of cylinder oil to the lower value allowable by the makers
shall be considered. If the time of burning Low Sulphur FO is extensive then
consideration shall be given to the use of cylinder oil suitable for Low Sulphur FO.
The Chief engineer shall take measures in order to eliminate any emissions of
oxygen depleting substances (e.g. Freon) in the course of maintaining, servicing,
repairing or disposing of systems or equipment. Such emissions do not include minimal
releases associated with the recapture of recycling of an ozone depleting substance.
All refrigerating, air conditioning equipment, fire fighting and any other piece of
equipment using Freon or any other ozone depleting substance (according to MARPOL,
Annex VI, Regulation 2 par. 6) shall be properly maintained in order to avoid any
leakages to the atmosphere.
Oxygen depleting substances shall not be released to the atmosphere. They
shall be recovered using special Refrigeration Recovery Package which comprises a
complete set of equipment for the effective recovery, recharging and re-use of
refrigerants onboard. The operation instructions of the Refrigeration Recovery Package
shall be followed.
The shipboard incineration is allowed only in the shipboard incinerator.
Only the incineration of sewage sludge and sludge oil generated during the
normal operation of the ship may take place in the main or auxiliary power plant or
boilers, but in those cases, shall not take place inside ports, harbours and estuaries.
The incineration of any kind of garbage in open fires on deck is prohibited.
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CONTRIBUTE TO EFFECTIVE HUMAN
RELATIONSHIPS ON BOARD SHIP – SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
Rights and obligations of crew
During their period on board ship all crew members have responsibilities on
company, ship, crew members and environment.
Inside of these general responsibilities are the following obligations:
adhering to safety procedures;
adhering to measures regarding environmental safety;
respect of safety working procedures
understood orders and be understand during on board duties;
to contribute to efficiency of human relations on board;
to contribute to realization of safety practices in ship exploitation
and generating of a safety work environment;
establishing of safety measures for all identified risks;
to contribute to continue improvement of personnel competence.
In the same direction on board ship is important to be complied following
aspects:
obedience, respect, discipline and following orders of his superior;
abiding by company’s policies as laid down in the safety manuals
and rules and regulations governing flag State requirements and
other mandatory legislation;
adhering to the safety and environment protection policy at all
times and to assist fellow seamen in distress, search and rescue
operations and oil pollution mitigation operations.
Below to obligations and responsibilities on board, the crew members have also
rights, like:
right to his convictions;
right to express his convictions
right to make a request of another as long as he can appreciate
that the other has a right to say no
right to clarify communications to enhance interpersonal
relationships.
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The crew must to know and implement the following aspects:
main objective of navigation is to have profit;
crew must to complete all duties with sincerity and maximum
fullest of capabilities;
clarifying of common objectives, so any doubt to be solved through
clear explanation of what the crew want to realize;
to realize the main objective, efficient results, methods and ways
of realization are important
assuming not only of general problems, but also solving of
personal problems, together with working procedures understood
and respected by all personnel abroad.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Employment conditions
Employment conditions required existence of employer and employee
obligations which are cover by the two types of contracts:
collective working contract;
individual working contract.
The collective working contract for on board duties must to:
assure necessary conditions for efficient company activity inside of
equilibrate working relations;
establish employees rights, their obligations regarding execution,
modification and ending of the present contract.
The individual working contract must to content date about:
working conditions, work protection and payment;
working period and rest period;
other measures for social protection of employees and their
facilitates;
professional formative programmes;
rights and obligations of the parties;
discipline and punishing procedures for indiscipline;
According with national and international employment conditions, the maritime
personnel during their stage onboard on ships under other States flag have working
contracts accepted by the International Transporters Federation. Under these previsions,
the employed person has the following rights:
to be paid in report with quantity, quality and importance of his
work;
to have a stable working place, employment contract has to be
changed under legal conditions only;
to benefit by conditions creates by the law, including study
holidays for increasing of own performances;
to have weekly free time and annual holiday for recovering of work
capacity.
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Drugs and alcohol
The use of alcohol and/or other drugs in general is increasing globally, and the
impact of substance abuse can be seen in the workplace:
Alcoholism causes 500 million lost workdays each year.
It is estimated that 10-30% of the accidents at work are related to alcohol and
that problem drinkers have a 2-4 times higher chance of an accident than non-drinkers.
The cost of reduced labour productivity for most industrialized countries has
been estimated at several hundred million dollars annually. Researchers caution that
these estimates should not be considered precise, but should be interpreted as showing
the general order of magnitude of productivity losses arising from drug and alcohol
problems.
The management of risk factors including use of alcohol and drugs - illicit,
prescriptive and over-the-counter - is a serious issue that extends beyond physical
safety to include decision making. Poor judgment in a high-stakes situation could result
in substantial damage to property and the environment, loss of ships, injury to personnel
and even death. When proper judgment is impaired by substance use and key
decisions must be made, the risks increase dramatically.
In a study conducted by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA),
subjects who consumed a moderate amount of alcohol scored significantly poorer on a
short test of recall; the study also found that moderate alcohol consumption contributed
to extreme changes in decision-making behavior. In another study, NIDA found that
marijuana use impairs driving-related functions and is linked to a pattern of behaviors
that leads to poor job performance.
The progression of drug and alcohol use may go unnoticed until a health or
safety crisis occurs. However, even the moderate use of drugs or alcohol may cause
substantial harm and hazard irrespective of the workplace and regardless of the type of
work being performed.
Seafaring is international in nature and the shipping industry as a whole has
become increasingly conscious of the impact that drug and alcohol use can have on
operations. Special conditions that increase the need for action to limit drug and alcohol
use that put health and safety at risk.
Variables unique to the maritime industry include:
ships act as both workplace and home;
maritime population requires geographic mobility;
mixed cultures, customs and languages;
limited social interaction with non-maritime personnel on board or ashore;
limited health facilities;
long and often irregular working hours;
high variability in ownership and management of ships, hiring practices
and work conditions;
significant variations in national laws, regulations and enforcement
standards.
The health of seafarers is not only a major concern of seafarers themselves but
also a primary concern of the shipowner/operator/manager. With approximately 80% of
maritime accidents caused by human error, sickness and injury benefits represent a
growing proportion of the shipping industry's third party liability insurance claims.
In 1997, as part of an effort to assist the maritime industry maintain the health of
seafarers and to contain costs, the ILO, in collaboration with the WHO, published
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
"Guidelines for Conducting Pre-Sea and Periodic Medical Fitness Examinations for
Seafarers 'which outlines best practice. As part of an assessment of a seafarer's fitness
for duty, the physician must assess mental health and "consumption of alcohol and use
of psychotropic drugs, which (may) adversely affect the health of the seafarer or the
safety of the ship". By Administrations adopting these Guidelines, it is hoped that, drug
and alcohol abuse will be identified at a stage that allows treatment before rather than
after an accident has occurred. Significantly, the inclusion of checks for drug and/or
alcohol abuse in medical examinations confirms the view that drug and alcohol abuse is
a medical condition.
The maritime business, in particular ship operation, is highly competitive. Profits
are very often low and in many cases marginal. Shipowner/operator/management
decisions are too often "bottom line" driven. Collisions, explosions, groundings, fires,
sinking or capsizing can be catastrophic for all concerned. Long-term carelessness and
neglect, to which substance abuse may contribute, can result in a steady drop in
performance that, over time, may cause greater financial loss than events of a more
dramatic and easily identified nature. Shipowners/operators and managers cannot
therefore afford to ignore any issues that affect productivity.
Substance abuse undoubtedly contributes to lower performance and
productivity. A study conducted in the US showed that when airline pilots had to perform
routine tasks in a simulator under three alcohol test conditions, the following results
were obtained:
1st test: before any alcohol ingestion,
10% could not perform all tasks correctly,
2nd test: after reaching a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10/100ml,
89% could not perform all tasks correctly
3rd test: fourteen hours later, after all alcohol had left their systems,
68% could not perform all tasks correctly.
There is every reason to believe these findings apply equally to seafarers!
In addition, because virtually all work carried out on a ship has a safety
implication, the term "seafarer" should be applied to all persons working on ships and
not just those in executive positions.
Legal and financial liabilities for the breech of safety and security regulations
and procedures may result in major court cases, lengthy investigations and great
expense being incurred. Legislation with severe penalties, where drugs and alcohol are
adjudged to have contributed to an accident, is being introduced worldwide on an
increasing scale. Penalties imposed not only cover injuries to personnel and damage to
property but also the enormous costs involved in preventing or cleaning-up damage to
the environment. Reports from the United States National Transportation Safety Board
quote numerous cases in which alcohol and other drug use has been a factor in aviation,
rail, marine and highway accidents. Examples of laws and regulations introduced
around the world include:
The United States regulations require surface, air and marine transport
companies to have alcohol and drug prevention programmes in place for all workers in
safety-sensitive positions. The US Coast Guard imposes restrictions on alcohol and
drug usage within US territorial waters. Regardless of nationality, all foreign surface, air
and marine transportation companies operating within US boundaries are required to
adhere to and enforce the US policies.
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The United Kingdom's Department of Transport has passed regulations
prohibiting transport workers from working under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
These regulations include "provisions for post-accident and 'for cause' testing of
workers, as well as a requirement for employers to demonstrate due diligence in
ensuring that employees are not under the influence of a drugs or alcohol at work.
Several employers in industries covered by these regulations have broadened their
company programs to include other types of testing and educational programs".
Policies and prevention programmes to control alcohol and drug abuse in the
workplace are also in place in Norway. The Seaman's Act of 1975, with subsequent
amendments, covers many aspects relating to the use of alcohol and drugs by
seafarers including the supply of alcohol to persons under the age of 20 years. General
provisions concerning drugs, which also apply to Norwegian ships, cover penalties
related to illegal possession of drugs.
The Merchant Shipping Act of 1995 makes it a criminal offence for a master to
fail to discharge his responsibilities because of drugs or alcohol, or to take unauthorized
liquor on a fishing vessel.
The Standard Employment Contract (SEC), sanctioned by the national
government, covering the engagement of Filipino seafarers for overseas assignment
contains a Table of Offences and Schedule of Penalties with specific provisions for drug
and alcohol abuse.
Liabilities not only extend to conformance with laws and regulations but also to
commercial arrangements, and many charterers now specify drug and alcohol
prevention measures in charter parties. Delays to a ship sailing caused by individuals
failing drug and alcohol tests imposed by some countries (or spot checks by
owners/charterers) can be extremely costly to the owner/operator. Clauses containing
references to drug and alcohol abuse are becoming increasingly the norm rather than
the exception due to the requirements for all involved in the transport chain to operate
with all due diligence.
Regulations such as those indicated above often shape the alcohol and drug
programmes in the maritime sector both at national and international level and thus play
an important role in encouraging the development of substance abuse prevention
programmes in other countries.
The potential for marine accidents to have a catastrophic impact on the
environment has increased many times over during the past 20 years with numerous
accidents serving as graphic examples of failures to recognize the potential for
accidents to occur. Public concerns about pollution of and damage to the environment
increase daily and are fuelled by press reports of marine casualties involving ship
collisions and spillages of oil/chemicals. Increased public awareness of the effects of
pollution has, in recent years, caused the subject to become a political issue rather than
one involving commercial reparations for any damage caused.
Accidents do not always involve pollution or damage to property. In many cases
damage is sustained by coral reefs or fishing grounds and damage is not always
immediately apparent. Penalties for causing damage to under-water marine eco
systems are likely to result in offending ships being detained as well as the imposition of
very significant fines. Punishments are intended to be penal rather than sums that
reflect recovery of costs incurred since such damage is likely to be irreparable. In most
countries with environmental protection legislation, individuals may also find themselves
under arrest and liable to imprisonment.
Penalties for incursions into the environment are liable to increase as pressure
groups and the general public demands ever improving standards and greater concern
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
for the planet. The seafarer and ship operators alike must be aware of not only
increasing legislation but also the possible effects on the environment of not being fully
able to perform their duties and the need to be free from any impairment brought about
by drug or alcohol abuse.
Some shipowners never see either the ships they own and operate or the crews
engaged to sail such ships. Indeed it is currently common practice and cost effective for
some ship owners to place their ships with ship management companies rather than
operate the vessels themselves. The combination of methods of operating ships
available to an owner make identification of the owner by seafarers on board the ship, in
some instances, difficult if not impossible. Owners registered in one country may
employ a management company in another who may register the ships out to yet a third
country and employ crew from two or more unrelated countries.
Regardless of the above, the owner (or manager, if the vessel is managed) is
responsible in the first instance for ensuring the vessel conforms with the flag state
requirements. Even if no specific drug and alcohol abuse or use restrictions are in force
in the flag state (register), the owner may still have to conform to the regulations in force
at various ports. Further, as indicated in previous sections of this manual, benefits
outweigh drawbacks in operating a drug and alcohol policy or prevention programme
even though the owner may be remote from the actual ship operation. Although there
may not be any legally binding requirements, there are likely to be commercial benefits
to consider.
A major cruise ship operator working the Caribbean and U.S. East Coast
reported that since changing the crew with a traditional drinking habit to one where
drinking was the norm to one where drinking is not the norm, problems relating to
conforming to foreign country regulations ceased. The change in policy was taken not
only as a means of ensuring compliance with local regulations but also on economic
grounds and concerns for safety. The same company operates a drug and alcohol
prevention programme encouraging substance abusers to seek rehabilitation.
Even though there may be a cost to operating a drug and alcohol prevention
programme including (replacement, repatriation and) rehabilitation, such costs are likely
to be mitigated or off-set by savings from reduced accidents, delays and detentions.
Charterers have a vested interest in ensuring their charter is not interrupted
through drug and alcohol abuse. It is not uncommon to find charter parties contain
references to random testing of a ship's crew. Owners/managers must be aware of and
able to comply with such requirements.
While the charterer may easily be able to mitigate any costs by passing them to
the ship owner/manager, this may not be sufficient if the cargo being carried has
commercial restrictions covering delivery times and dates.
Ship managers responsible for crewing of ships must not only take into account
the requirements of the ships' trading routes and any legal requirements for drug and
alcohol testing/prevention but also the health and safety aspects of implementing an
drug and alcohol prevention programme.
Managers are responsible for and must ensure that the policies of the owner or
requirements of the charter party can be accommodated and that the programme is
comprehensive. The manager must also examine the primary prevention mechanisms
for pre-sea screening i.e. ensuring the manning agents from whom crew are engaged
are aware of the manager's policy and requirements. If no requirements have been
specified by the owner or the charterer, this does not relieve the manager from
protecting employees and seafarers against risks posed by drug and alcohol abuse.
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In many countries the manager, as the direct employer, is legally obligated to
ensure the health and safety of employees, including seafarers, is safeguarded and that
all risks to health and safety have been identified and mitigated.
It is the responsibility of the manager to ensure personnel on board are qualified
to carried out the duties imposed which includes ensuring the master, and, where
appropriate senior officers, have the training, education and necessary skills to carry out
the company policy.
In recruiting and offering seafarers to ship owners and managers for
employment, manning agents must ensure such seafarers are medically fit, that they
have undergone a medical examination and that they possess a valid medical certificate.
The manning agent should also ensure the medical certificate has been issued by the
competent authority.
Manning agents therefore have a responsibility not only to their clients (the
shipowner/manager) but also to the seafarer. The manning agent may be regarded as a
front line defense against the placement of seafarers with a substance abuse problem.
Ship Masters are responsible for the ship and, inter alia, for the health, safety
and welfare of those persons on board. The master must be fully conversant with the
company's policy, have received the necessary training and possess the skills to fulfill
imposed responsibilities.
The responsibilities which the master is expected to fulfill include:
commitment to the programme,
familiarity with the policy, programme and associated procedures,
monitoring and providing feedback on the programme through the ship's
safety committee,
monitoring the performance of ship's officers and seafarers,
identifying drug and alcohol abuse problems,
carrying out disciplinary procedures,
obtaining medical or specialist advice and dealing with emergency
medical situations,
executing testing procedures (where required),
co-operating with foreign port authorities and ensuring conformance to
national or foreign regulations, and
monitoring and controlling consumption.
This list is not a complete list of the functions of the master in respect of the
responsibilities since each policy and programme will differ. The list, however, is
intended to demonstrate that the responsibilities of the master are onerous and the
success of a drug and alcohol abuse prevention programme depends on the master's
involvement and commitment.
Many of the duties of the master also extend to the ship's senior officers who
directly supervise and are in contact with the ship's company on a day-to-day basis. As
with the master, ship's officers must be aware of the "tell-tale" signs and actions which
may point to drug and alcohol abuse. [Training covering the company policy and
procedures and how to respond when drug and/or alcohol abuse is suspected should
be a primary concern of the owner/manager.] Since ship's officers are responsible for
the work carried out by seafarers, it follows that their responsibilities extend also to the
health and safety aspects of such work and to the potential affects of a drug and/or
alcohol problem.
All seafarers have an obligation and responsibility to the shipowner/manager, to
themselves and to those with whom they work and live on board ship. While it is the
responsibility of the owner/manager to specify the policy, it is the responsibility of each
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
and every seafarer to follow the specified requirements including any preventive
measures.
A comprehensive, company-wide alcohol and drug abuse programme should
cover all employees including management and address all actions and activities
related to drugs and alcohol. Creating a comprehensive programme for any company
engaged in ship operations is a great challenge that needs to take into account vessel
ownership, flag state registration requirements, management issues, working
environment, personnel issues, cultural variations and cost. The long-term sustainability
of a programme will be enhanced by, and its success may depend on, integration into
other health or medical programmes or on-going safety systems such as a company's
safety and environmental management system.
Developed by a meeting of experts from governments and employers' and
workers' organizations, the ILO published in 1996 a 'Code of Practice for the
Management of alcohol-and drug-related issues in the workplace'. While this publication
does not address the maritime industry specifically, it does provide guidelines on the
development and implementation of a comprehensive programme applicable to all
workplaces. The contents can easily be adapted to suit the requirements of enterprises
engaged in maritime operations.
A comprehensive programme is based on the following principles:
employers have a responsibility to provide a healthy and safe workplace;
alcohol and drug problems can be serious and chronic in nature, not just
isolated crises that require extra-ordinary and non-routine responses;
employees have civil liberties and rights to privacy and confidentiality
which must be safeguarded; and
employees have a responsibility to carry out their duties with due regard
to health and safety matters.
The existence of comprehensive alcohol and drug abuse programmes does not
necessarily mean that problems exist. Rather, that activities and programmes are being
implemented to promote health and safety and to prevent harm and the occurrence of
hazardous situations. Successful prevention efforts are "pro-active" rather than "reactive".
The general sequence of events for determining and implementing a drug and
alcohol abuse prevention programme may be summarized as shown in the following
flowchart. Management should not underestimate the time required to develop and
implement drug and alcohol prevention policies and programmes because of the
timeframe involved. Commitment to a programme by both management and the
personnel selected to drive the programme is essential.
The Company maintains a safe and healthy working environment. Illegal
possession, consumption, distribution or sale of drugs by any employee of the Company
shall lead to instant dismissal and will render the person liable for legal proceedings.
The carriage and/or consumption of drugs, others than those prescribed by a
doctor or from the ship’s medical chest is strictly prohibited.
The Company discourages the use of hard spirits and in no case ratings are to
be issued with whisky, brandy, gin, rum or other hard spirits.
No alcoholic beverages purchased ashore are allowed onboard.
Consumption of any alcoholic beverage 4 hours prior to duty is strictly
forbidden.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited starting 24 hours prior to
arrival at load/discharge port and until vessel exits coastal waters or territorial limits.
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The Master has the authority to allow serving of controlled quantities of wine or
beer during meals.
Crewmembers shall be required to exercise restraint from excessive
consumption of alcohol ashore.
Any crewmember that exhibits signs of drunkenness shall not be allowed to
stand duty.
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Health and hygiene on board
It is the seafarer's responsibility to look after his own health and fitness. High
standards of personal cleanliness and hygiene should be maintained.
On board ship, simple infections can easily be spread from one person to others.
Thus preventive measures, as well as easily effective treatment, are essential.
Good health depends on sensible diet, adequate sleep and avoidance of
recreational drugs, and substance or drug misuse, excesses of alcohol and tobacco.
Regular exercise is also beneficial in maintaining good health.
Treatment should be sought straight away for minor injuries; cuts and abrasions
should be cleaned and first aid treatment given as necessary to protect against infection.
Barrier creams may help to protect exposed skin against dermatitis and also make
thorough cleansing easier.
The risk of contracting malaria in infected areas can be much reduced by taking
precautions to avoid mosquito bites, for example by using mosquito wire-screening and
nets, keeping openings closed, and using anti-mosquito preparations or insecticides.
Rats and other rodents may be carriers of infection and should never be
handled, dead or alive, with bare hands.
Anyone taking medication, particularly any medication which may affect
alertness, should notify a responsible officer so that allowance may be made in
allocating tasks.
Drinking alcohol whilst under treatment with medication should be avoided,
since even common remedies such as aspirin, seasickness tablets, anti-malarial tablets
and codeine may be dangerous in conjunction with alcohol.
The individual has a responsibility to ensure that inoculations and vaccinations
required for international voyages are kept up to date and medications for the
prevention of illness, such as suitable anti-malarial tablets, are taken when required.
Personnel on board ship are trained and equipped to provide initial medical care
for the range of health problems that may arise. If a worker develops a serious health
problem or suffers a serious injury, medical advice should be obtained by radio. Where
necessary, arrangements may be made to transport the sick or injured worker ashore
for medical treatment. Further advice on medical care is contained in the Ship Captain's
Medical Guide.
Good housekeeping is an essential element in promoting health and safety on
board; equipment and other items should be safely and securely stored. This ensures
not only that defects are discovered but articles can be found when required; fixtures
and fittings should be properly maintained; all work and transit areas should be
adequately lit; electric circuits should not be overloaded, particularly in cabins; garbage
and waste materials should be cleared up and disposed of correctly and promptly; doors
and drawers should be properly secured. Instruction plates, notices and operating
indicators should be kept clean and legible.
Many aerosols have volatile and inflammable contents. They should never be
used or placed near naked flames or other heat source even when 'empty'. Empty
canisters should be properly disposed of.
Some fumigating or insecticidal sprays contain ingredients which, though
perhaps themselves harmless to human beings, may be decomposed when heated.
Smoking may be dangerous in sprayed atmospheres while the spray persists.
Many substances found on ships are capable of damaging the health of those
exposed to them. They include not only recognized hazard substances, such as
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
dangerous goods cargoes and asbestos, but also some domestic substances. For
example caustic soda and bleaching powders or liquids can burn or penetrate the skin.
They may react dangerously with other substances and ought never to be mixed.
The employer's risk assessment will identify when personnel are working in the
presence of substances hazardous to health, and evaluate the risks. Appropriate
measures should be taken to remove, control or minimize the risk.
It is important to read carefully all labels on chemical containers before opening
them, to find out about any hazards from the contents. A chemical from an unlabelled
container should never be used unless it is clearly established what it is.
If asbestos-containing panels, cladding or insulation become loose or are
damaged in the course of a voyage, pending proper repair the exposed edges or
surfaces should be protected by a suitable coating or covering to prevent asbestos
fibres being released and dispersed in the air.
Prolonged exposure to mineral oils and detergents, may cause skin problems.
All traces of oil should be thoroughly washed from the skin but hydrocarbon solvents
should be avoided. Inadvertent contact with toxic chemicals or other harmful substances
should be reported immediately and the appropriate remedial action taken. Working
clothes should be laundered frequently. Oil-soaked rags should not be put in pockets.
Coughs and lung damage can be caused by breathing irritant dust. The risk is
usually much greater for a person who smokes than for a non-smoker.
Employers are required to instruct, inform and train personnel so that they know
and understand the risks arising from their work, the precautions to be taken and the
results of any monitoring of exposure.
Personnel should always comply with any control measures in place, and wear
any protective clothing and equipment supplied.
In cases where failure of the control measures could result in serious risks to
health, or where their adequacy or efficiency is in doubt, health surveillance should be
undertaken.
The Master shall monitor the environment on board and admit to the
doctor/hospital seamen that have to go through a medical examination.
The Chief Officer shall keep an up-to-date medical locker, order medicines and
medical equipment and maintain their inventory. Also for providing medication as per
instructions and guidelines from doctors or from medical centers as per case.
Hygienic conditions on board shall be closely monitored through frequent
inspections by the Master and Senior Officers. The inspections include all
accommodation spaces (especially the lavatories and the galley).
It is every seafarer’s responsibility to look after his own health and fitness. High
standards of personal cleanliness and hygiene shall be maintained. Good health
depends on well balanced work and rest schedules and proper diet.
It is important that all ship’s staff (where possible) are given information about
the ways contagious diseases are transmitted.
Personal items should not be shared. Minor cuts, open or weeping skin lesions
and abrasions should be covered with waterproof or other suitable dressings.
Normal cleaning methods should be used.
Use separate cloths for galley, bath and toilets.
Spillages of blood and vomit should be cleared up as quickly as possible taking
all necessary measures not to come in contact with them.
Crockery and cutlery can be shared. Utensils can be hand washed in hot soapy
water.
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Urine and faeces should be disposed off via the toilet in the normal manner.
Pots/commodes should be washed and dried with paper towels after use and the paper
flushed down the toilet. Disinfectant is advisable.
Solid waste should be burnt.
Waste after being disinfected, should be discharged in the usual manner.
The Master shall be called immediately if an accident occurs. According to the
seriousness of the accident the Master shall decide whether treatment can be provided
onboard or ashore.
Normal first aid procedures shall be followed and any blood contaminated
products disposed off.
Care should be taken to avoid puncture wounds by hypodermic needles or
other sharp instruments and to ensure the safe disposal of needles. In case of puncture
wounds (e.g. by a needle), allow free bleeding and wash and cover the wound.
It is recommended that an airway should be available and used for mouth to
mouth resuscitation.
Shipping is international, resulting in seafarers being exposed to a greater risk
of contracting the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) than the general
population.
a) With HIV, there has to be ‘transmission event’ and the main body fluids that
would be involved are blood and semen.
b) There is an increased risk of contracting AIDS in some overseas countries
because transfusion blood or blood products may not be screened and treated.
Additionally, needles, syringes and other medical or dental equipment may not be
properly sterilized in some countries and thereby may also constitute a means of
transmitting AIDS. Treatment should therefore be avoided in such parts of the world
unless absolutely necessary.
c) Practices such tattooing, ear piercing and acupuncture could increase the
risk of infection if not properly done.
d) High rates of infection are found in certain areas of the world and promiscuity
can be dangerous.
In case of a seaman been infected by the HIV virus (the virus that causes
AIDS), the Company shall be immediately notified.
The Company shall keep its shipboard personnel informed about the dangers of
AIDS and ways of avoiding infection by supplying the vessels with relevant informative
documentation.
Hepatitis B/C/D is extremely infectious. If proper health and safety guidelines
are followed then Hepatitis B/C/D cannot be transmitted.
a) It is important to understand how the Hepatitis B/C/D virus can be
transmitted. Hepatitis B/C/D can be transmitted through blood, semen.
b) Every individual is a potential carrier, therefore safety precautions should be
employed at all times.
In case of a seaman been infected by the Hepatitis B/C/D the Company is
immediately notified.
The Company shall keep its seaboard personnel informed about the dangers of
Hepatitis B/C/D and ways of avoiding infection by supplying the vessels with relevant
informative documentation.
Monitoring the health of the vessel personnel is achieved through examination
prior to employment.
While onboard, the officers and crew members shall report any matter that
concerns their good health. After their report, the Master is obliged to:
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
a) if the vessel is in port, send the patient to the doctor, accompanied by a
responsible officer, or inform the ship’s agent and arranges for the visit to the doctor.
Before dispatching the patient to the doctor the Master shall fill in the relevant part of the
Medical report form. The doctor should fill in the rest of the form with his diagnosis and
his proposal regarding the treatment of the patient. Is he writes a prescription this (or a
copy of it) should be attached to the Medical Report.
b) if the vessel is at sea, contact with the appropriate Medical Centers in order
to seek medical assistance, or in special cases with the personal doctor of the patient.
In case of a seaman been ill, the Company should be immediately notified.
The patient should follow the doctor’s orders – treatment – medication.
All vessels shall be equipped with adequate medicines and medical equipment
as per relevant rules and regulations.
The control of onboard drugs/ narcotics is the responsibility of the Chief Officer
but ultimately of the Master.
The Chief Officer shall ensure that the First Aid Kits are properly kept.
When the method of fumigation ashore is applied during loading, no protective
measures are needed. If tablets are used for fumigation, the contractor which carried
out the work shall supply the vessel with written detailed instructions, stating all
protective measures to be taken for the protection of the crew from the toxic gases
produced
More specifically, the contractor shall provide to the vessel with a toxicity tester
to test all internal spaces of the vessel, including machinery spaces, during the period
that the holds are hermetically sealed (7 to 21 days, depending on the fumigation
method). In case of detection of poisonous gas flow in any space, the space shall be
evacuated, ventilated and it shall be ensured that it is gas free. In this case, the person
carrying out measurements shall use a gas mask. The contractor carrying out the
fumigation must provide at least two masks. An additional protective measure is that the
crew shall stay away from the holds during the first three days after the fumigation.
During and after cockroach treatment and/or de-ratting care must be taken to
protect food, equipment used for the preparation of food, cutlery, crockery etc. from
becoming contaminated from the pesticide. If same is suspect of being contaminated, it
must be thoroughly washed.
In order to ensure good quality of the drinking water onboard the following
precautions and measures shall be taken:
The water shall be checked before delivery (colour, taste, odour).
The drinking water tanks shall be inspected and cleaned frequently.
Supply shall not performed in ports with questionable water quality.
A sterilizing system shall be used for the treatment of the drinking water.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
ANNEXES
113
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
ENCLOSED SPACE
PERMIT
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
Ship _______________________________
Description of the job
Place of the job
Person in charge
CHECK LIST
1 Enclosed spaces entry
Space must be well aerated
Checked inside Atmosphere and found safe
Apparatuses for the recovery and the reanimation available to the entry
The person of connection to the entry is
1.1 _____________________________
Means of communication between the person of connection and those that enter
Proper means of communication and access
All the tools or used utensils, are proper to the situation or tested
1.2
When must be used the breathing apparatus?
Who must use it has familiarity with his use?
Has the breathing apparatus been tried and found effective?
2 Works on machineries and apparatuses
Disconnected and insulated by the source of feeding
The whole personnel party has been informed
Notices of danger posted where necessary
3 Additional precautions
Master
Date and time of starting
Officer in charge
Person in charge for the work
Date and time espected to finish
1.3
The present permit is valid 24 hours only starting from_______________________________________
N.B. The following form should duly filled in each part and sent to the Company
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
HOT WORK PERMIT
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
HOT WORK PERMIT
Ship _______________________________
Description of the job
Place of the job
Person in charge
CHECK LIST
Hot Work Permit
Has enclosed space entry permit been inssued?
If no explain reasons :
2
Work conditions
Has the that work area been checked with a combustible gas?
Has the surrounding area been made safe?
Has the equipment or pipeline been gas free?
Has the equipment or pipeline been blanked?
Has the equipment or pipeline been form of liquid?
Has the equipment or pipeline been isolated electrically?
Are the equipment available?
3 Special conditions and precautions?
Master
Date and time of starting
Officer in charge
Person in charge for the work
Date and time espected to finish
1.5
The present permit is valid 24 hours only starting from_______________________________________
N.B. This form must be full filled and envoy to the Company.
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
WORKING ALOFT
WORK PERMIT
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Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
WORKING ALOFT WORK PERMIT
Vessel Name: …………………………………………………………………………………
Work description: ……………………………………………………………………………..
Location of work: ……………………………………………………………………………..
Permit is valid from: …………….. hrs
Date ………………………….
To: ……………..hrs
Date ………………………….
Personnel carrying out work: ………………………………………………………………
Personnel responsible for work …………………………………………………………….
Person responsible for safety ………………………………………………………………
Pre working preparations (to be checked by master or responsible officer)
Near the whistle: source of power isolated and warning notice displayed
Yes □ No □
On the funnel: Engineers informed to limit smoke, soot and steam emission
Yes □ No □
Near the RT aerials: radio operator informed not to use RT systems
Yes □ No □
Near Radar aerial and scanners: deck officer informed and warning notice
displayed
Yes □ No □
Vecinity of Propellers: Engineers informed and warning notice displayed
Yes □ No □
Safety harness and lifeline worn(where toe guards and guard rails not fitted)
Yes □ No □
Life jackets worn (outboard works, when they are permitted)
Yes □ No □
Staging examined and properly secured
Yes □ No □
Containers for tool, to be properly fastened, are provided
Yes □ No □
In the circumstances noted it is considered safe to proceed with this work.
Signed ………………………………………………………………………………
Master
…………………………………………………………….. Person in charge of work team
The work has been completed and all persons under my supervision, materials and equipment
have been withdrawn.
Authorised officer in charge ……………………………… Time …………… Date …………………
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