Emergency Stations on Ships and Muster List

The shipboard emergencies must be tackled in most efficient ways with minimum wastage of time. All the efforts must be done in appropriate direction. The most important are the initial and immediate 3 or 4 actions. 5 teams are made to tackle the emergencies. All the team incharges must precisely know their duties in the different emergencies.  The relevant detailed duties must be stated in the ISM documents. The crew members however, must not get confused in respect of their duties in the different emergencies. I have described the following emergencies with recommended signals. It is worth training the crew to exactly understand these signals. The idea being less confusion and less wastage of time. The duties assigned to the crew are of a general nature, it may be devised tailor made according to the type of ship and the kind of life saving equipment.

EmergencyAlarm, WhistleSpoken words
1. BilgingContinuous sounding of ship’s electrical bell or ship’s whistle for not less than 10 seconds 
2. CollisionContinuous sounding of ship’s electrical bell or ship’s whistle for not less than 10 secondsCollision at….
3. FireContinuous sounding of ship’s electrical bell or ship’s whistle for not less than 10 secondsFire at……..
4. Boat Station/ Abandon ship7 short ringing of the bell followed by a long ring or on the ship’s whistle: 7 short blasts followed by 1 long blast. This is just for assembling at boat stations. Abandon ship order is the spoken order by Master.Verbal order by Master
5. Steering FailureContinuous sounding of ship’s electrical bell or ship’s whistle for not less than 10 secondsSteering Failed
6. Man OverboardVessel’s internal alarm bell for 3 long rings, with 3 long blasts on ship whistleMan overboard on ….side
7. Oil PollutionContinuous sounding of ship’s electrical bell or ship’s whistle for not less than 10 secondsOil pollution at no.  ..side
8. GroundingContinuous sounding of ship’s electrical bell or ship’s whistle for not less than 10 seconds 
Sr. NoNameRankGeneral StationsFire StationsLifeboat Stations
      
   Continuous sounding of ship’s electric bell or ship’s whistle for not less than 10 secondsContinuous sounding of ship’s electric bell or ship’s whistle for not less than 10 seconds7 short ringing of electric bell followed by prolonged ringing of same bell or 7 short blasts followed by a long blast on the ship’s whistle
1S. CliveMasterOverall In charge Station at Bridge. Reduce speed and adjust heading considering the emergency. Prepare for transmission of distress / Urgency message (standardized format) Prepare for record keeping Follow-up actions.  Call for external response (if necessary)Overall In charge Station at Bridge.Reduce speed and adjust the heading considering the direction of wind, the smoke, etc. Assessment of stability, stresses, etc in consultation with Chief Officer.    Overall In charge Station at Bridge. Reduce speed and adjust heading considering emergency. LB 1        
6M. Reddy3rd OfficerAssist Master in communication, navigation and record keeping.Assist Master in communication, navigation and record keeping.Assist Master in communication, documents, LB 2
16S. Raman1 H/manOn bridgeOn bridgeOn bridge, LB 2
2S. KrishCh OfficerIncharge of the Attack Team.Briefing of specific duties after head count.  At site, damage assessment. Monitor any pollution.In charge of the Attack TeamCh off. with crew 3, 4 & 5 and saloon 3 and 4 provide local fire fighting, boundary cooling, etcIn charge Lifeboat 2 Assign duties and report to bridge.
9B. DsouzaFitter1Deck, Assist Ch Officer at siteAttack Team team, SCBALB 2 Brake
17M HafeezCrew 3Soundings. Assist Chief Officer at site.Assist Ch Officer, Fire hose, nozzles, (attack team)LB 2  pass painter forward Bowsing tackles, Tricing pendants
18C. SureshCrew 4Assist Chief Officer at site.Assist Ch Officer SCBA, fire suit, at site, (attack team)LB 2 Make fast painter, Gripes, Harbour safety pin,  Bowsing tackles
19AntonyCrew 5Assist Chief Office at site.Assist Ch Officer, Fire hose (attack team)  LB 2 plug. Bowsing tackles Tricing Pendants
22RobertSalon 3Assist Ch off at siteAssist Ch Officer at site, fire hoseLB 2. Ladder, equipment, secure Bowsing tackle
23VisooSalon 4Assist Ch off at siteAssist Ch Officer at site, portable fire extinguisher.LB 2. Equipment, radio
3S RajanCh EngineerOverall In charge E/R, briefing of specific duties after muster.In charge of engine room party. In communication with Master and 2nd engineer. Ensure breaking of fire triangle, i.e. cutting of fuel and ventilation.LB 2
8V Dmello4th EngineerHead Count & Assist Chief Engineer in E/RAssist Chief Engineer, Quick closing valves, Fire dampers.Liferaft 2, LB 2
14HaneefER 1To assist Chief Engineer in E/REngine room team, with Ch EngineerLiferaft 2,  LB 2, water, provision
15JosephER 2To assist Chief Engineer in E/REngine room team, with Ch EngineerLB 1, Provision, equipment
11BangeraElectricianEmergency lights, Batteries LB 1, emergency lights
4S. Robert2nd EngineerPumping out arrangement, Technical supervision at damage site, emergency fire pumpAssist Ch Officer in attack team, Emergency Fire pumpLife raft 1, LB 1
7Victor M3rd EngineerLife boat engines and emergency generator, assist 2nd EngineerEmergency generator and support teamLB 1
10DeziFitter 2Soundings E/R, assist 2nd EngineerAssist 2nd Engineer, attack teamLiferaft 1, LB 1
24ReberoER 3Assist 2nd Engineer.Assist 2nd Engineer.LB 1, provision, water
5Shri Ram2nd OfficerHead Count, Back up to Ch off with medical first aid or Lifeboat preparation.In charge of support team and rescue boat dutiesIn charge Lifeboat 1
12SureshCrew 1Stretcher and to assist 2nd officerReport to 2nd Officer, support teamLB 1, Brake, ladder
13VinayCrew 2To assist 2nd officerReport to 2nd Officer, support teamLB 1  pass painter forward Bowsing tackles, Tricing pendants
20P DesaiSaloon 1Assist 2nd officerAssist Chief Officer, SCBA bottles (attack team)LB 1 Make fast painter, Gripes, Harbour safety pin,  Bowsing tackles
21P DcruzSaloon 2Assist 2nd  officerAssist 2nd officer, stretcher, support team  LB 1 plugs, Bowsing tackles Tricing Pendants

In all the situations where the ship’s safety is endangered the lifejacket must be carried for muster. This is because as the situation graves, one may not get time to return to his cabin to get the life jacket.

The common features of the various actions in the different emergencies are as follows:

  1. The 5 teams made to do various duties are same in all emergencies.
  2. The muster points: one on deck near damage; and the other at scheduled location in engine room, are same always.
  3. In all emergencies the team leader briefs the team about specific duties.
  4. There is always a specific maneuver of engines, performed in most emergencies.
  5. The 3rd officer always has the same duty to perform.
  6. The various parties to be informed about the emergency are the same.
  7. Emergency Response Services are informed about the emergency and subsequent progress.
  8. A report is always made about the onboard situation and external help required, sent to owners and the helping body.
  9. Report regarding the condition of class, non conformity and change of ‘Mayday / Urgency status’ is always made.

(You may also visit my youtube videos @captsschaudhari.com )
Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYh54wYJs1URS9X5FBgpRaw/feature

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: