Rescue Boat Operations
British Trader in calm seas off Trinidad
5 September 2009
Written by Captain John Dunne, onboard British Trader
Ships have to have the ability to lower a boat at sea for rescue purposes. This could be for a ‘Man Overboard’ incident from our own ship or perhaps to help with rescue of a seafarer from elsewhere.
The boat carried for this purpose may in some circumstances simply be one of the ship’s lifeboats, or the ship might carry a dedicated rescue boat. On British Trader, we have a separate fast rescue boat.
As with all safety equipment on board, the rescue boat has to be kept in top running order and always in a state of immediate readiness. The weekly overhaul and checking of the engine is usually carried out by the Fourth Engineer. As we have seen in a previous Webship article, the rest of the gear in the boat is maintained by the Third Mate.
We are required to run the Rescue Boat in the water at least once a month when we are able to do so.
Our current waiting time off Port of Spain in Trinidad was an excellent opportunity to get this job done. We have had calm conditions with little wind on most days, and this provides the easiest environment in which to manoeuvre and operate the boat.
British Trader's Rescue Boat in action
There’s normally a crew of at least three in the boat: one navigator, one engineer and one seaman. On the day we lowered the boat, the party of three crewmen assembled, put on their inflatable lifejackets and hard hats, went through the pre-launching checks and then got into the boat.
The boat can be lowered by the boat crew themselves or by the people on deck. It’s very carefully and slowly swung out till it is outboard and above the water, then lowered on the self-lowering wire at speed, as it would be in a “real” situation.
Once the boat gets to water level, the fall wire is released as is the painter. With the engine running, away they go.
The rescue boat is a nippy and manoeuvrable little craft. It uses a water-jet propulsion system – there’s no propeller – this means there’s no likelihood of causing injury with any rotating prop blades when retrieving a casualty from the water.
To put the boat through its paces it’s run at top speed and manoeuvred in tight turns. If it looks like fun, that’s because it is! However it’s also a test of the skills of the boat coxswain for getting to a potential casualty as quickly as possible.
‘Man overboard’ drills are also practiced, with the boat slowly coming up to the floating casualty for careful and safe retrieval.
A selection of officers and crew will take their turns at the wheel, using the opportunity for training, and honing their boat handling skills; to change out the boat crew, the coxswain will steer for the ship’s accommodation ladder and people can transfer there to and from the ship.
Once all the testing and training is completed, the boat will return to the ship’s side and will hook back on to the falls. It is then brought back on board, and stowed securely in its cradle. Post-exercise checks are carried out to make sure the boat is left in a state of complete readiness for when it might be needed in an emergency.