What are regulations for recovery of person from water as per SOLAS ?

The initiation or continuation of recovery operations should be at the discretion of the master of the recovering ships, in accordance with the provisions of SOLAS regulation III/17-1.

Life-saving and other equipment carried on board may be used to recover persons from the water, even though this may require using such equipment in unconventional ways.

Annex 1  (Risk Assessment Recovery of persons from Water) and  

Annex 2 (Description of the procedures and recovering plan used on board)  to  this  document  to  be  referred  for  the  information  and  procedures specifically used onboard this vessel.

While undergoing the recovery operations, ship’s crew have to refer the procedures stipulated in Annex 2 to this document.

Annex 2 anticipated  conditions  under  which  a  recovery operation may be conducted without causing undue hazard to the ship and the ship’s crew, taking into account, but not limited to:

• Maneuverability of the ship;
• Freeboard of the ship;
• Points on the ship to which casualties may be recovered;
• Characteristics and limitations of equipment intended to be used for recovery operations;
• Available crew and personal protective equipment (PPE);
• Wind force, direction and spray;
• Significant wave height (Hs);
• Period of waves;
• Swell; and
• Safety of navigation.

Guidelines for MAN OVERBOARD RESCUE TURN.

Anderson Turn, Williamson Turn and  Scharnow turn are normally used.

To the extent practicable, recovery procedures should provide for recovery of persons in a horizontal or near-horizontal (“deck-chair”) position.

Recovery in a vertical position should be avoided whenever possible as it risks cardiac arrest in hypothermic casualties (refer to the Guide for cold water survival (MSC.1/Circ.1185/Rev.1)).

Illumination is necessary for the recovery operation from water.   Source of illumination and power (where required) should be available for the area where the recovery operation is conducted.

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Responsibility of Master

The initiation or continuation of recovery operations should be at the discretion of the master of the recovering ships ,in accordance with the provisions of SOLAS regulation III/17-1.

The use of ship’s rescue craft must be for the master to decide, depending on the particular circumstances of the incident. Allowable circumstances Are referred to Annex1/ Annex2.

There will be times when recovery cannot be attempted or completed without unduly endangering the ship, her crew or those needing recovery. Only the assisting ship’s master can decide when this is the case.

Master has to establish programs and should carryout drills for emergency actions recovery. 

Duties of the crew

The various tasks involved are define and assigned to particular personnel onboard ,like who will be required for the recovery process; who will manage the ship in the meant time etc.

Please refer Annex 2 for detailed information on the duties to be assigned to crew and officers. Responsibilities Matrix

TITLE	SHIP NO	DUTY	LIFE SAVING EQUIPMENT	PORTABLE RADIO	TOOLS
CHIEF OFFICER	D-1	INCHARGE	YES	YES	NO
4TH ENGINEER	E-4	INCHARGE L/B ENGINES	YES	YES	NO
SHM	D-8	BOWMAN:SHIP PLUG, CHK FALL CLEAR, REMOVE TOGGLE PIN FM FWD & AFT CRADLE STOPPER & UNLOCK,REMOVE FWD FPD.	YES	YES	NO
SM-II	D-10	STERN SHEET: REMOVE/CLEAR FWD & AFT GRIPES, REMOVE AFT FPD	YES	NO	NO
FITTER	E-7	MEMBER RESCUE BOAT SQUAD, ASSIT AS INSTRUCTED	YES	NO	YES

 

The circumstances you find when you arrive at the scene will differ from incident to incident; but general planning can, and should, be done.

 In planning how best to bring people aboard your ship, you should consider:

• Who will be required for the recovery process?
• Who will manage the ship in the meantime?
• What can be done to help people prior to recovery?
• The means of recovery available to you;
• Where on the ship the survivors should be taken after recovery;
• How they will be looked after once they are aboard; and
• How you will keep your own crew and passengers informed of what’s going on.

Effective recovery of survivors will only occur through planning and preparation:

• Have a plan;
• Make sure everyone understands the plan and their own place in it;
• Be prepared; and
• Have everyone ready, with all the equipment they need, before commencing the recovery operation.

 You may not have much time to think about details when the emergency happens; but if you have thought about your capabilities beforehand and you have trained to use them effectively. In short, if you are prepared. You will not need much time.

Remember that plans are of no use unless you know how to put them into effect. This requires training, and the testing of both plans and training by exercise