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10 Points To Consider When Preparing

For Safety Equipment Survey On Ships

By Shilavadra Bhattacharjee | In: Marine Safety | Last Updated on March 29, 2017 | 10 Minutes To Read

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Safety is of paramount importance onboard. The ship being a workplace prone to mishaps, no
tables should be left unturned to ensure that the vessel is safe to the maximum extent possible.

Adhering to the Planned Maintenance Schedule pretty much guarantees that the general culture
of safety is upheld. And although safety is an aspect regularly taken care of, it might be
necessary to overhaul and renew equipment before the scheduled survey.

Replacing expired edibles (in the liferaft), pyrotechnics, damaged labels/stickers etc. all require
immediate attention. Certicates are also examined and so are the logbooks; so that should be
kept in mind as well.

Generally speaking, the extent of stringency depends on the visual assessment of the ship,
hence it is important to keep every safety aspect, both visually and otherwise.

So what are some of the salient points to carry out before the survey? Read on:

1. Check Lifeboat: The lifeboat and its equipment (including edibles, pyrotechnics,
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onthe operation of the lifeboat and purpose of every installation in the lifeboat. Repaint the
written information on the lifeboat. Lower the lifeboat and check its movement both ahead and
astern. Necessary overhauling and renewal must be done as per requirement.

Read: Common reasons for lifeboat engine starting failure and Measures to stop accidents
on lifeboat

Credits: Remi Jouan/wikipedia.org

2. Check Davits: Davits of lifeboats should be de-rusted, repainted, greased along with the
winches and the blocks. Check and then recheck so that they dont jam at the crucial moment.

Read: Types of Lifeboat Release Mechanisms and Solas Requirements

3. Check Inatable Liferafts: The inatable liferafts should be checked if theyve been serviced
at regular intervals. Check the equipment strictly and make any necessary replacements if
required. Stickers generally require to be replaced as they lose their sheen over time easily
under the duress of weather.

Watch: How to launch and board an inatable life-raft?and Liferaft release system and
launching procedure

4. Check Handheld Radios, Smoke Signals and Lifebuoys: The survival crafts portable
handheld radio should be checked and kept in optimum working order. The ships crew should
know all about the radio including battery backup, operation etc. (the GMDSS handbook would
be the right place to search for exact specications with regard to the handheld radio) The life
buoys should be inspected and overhauled as required. Mark conspicuously the ones that are
not to be used anymore. The lights and batteries should be replaced if theyve expired. Check
the smoke signals as well as the lifelines. As per the safety plan of the vessel, the lifebuoys
should be aptly placed at dierent locations. Their location should be clearly marked out for
clarity.

Read: SOLAS requirements for GMDSS

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5. Check Lifejackets: Check All the lifejackets onboard should be rigorously checked. Expired
lights and faulty lifejackets must be replaced. Also, the entire crew must be made to practice the
wearing and removal of the lifejacket in a stipulated time. Sometimes an oversized/undersized
jacket may be required in which case they should be ordered promptly. No surveyor will excuse
lesser number of life jackets.

Watch: How to Wear A Lifejacket?

6. Check Pyrotechnics: Pyrotechnics must be functional and those that arent must be replaced.
Check the LTA as well. The crew must know where the pyrotechnics are kept and how they are to
be used. Generally speaking, the instructions on the cover/front are enough to gather
operational information.

Read: Requirements Regarding Pyrotechniques

7. Check Fire Control Plans and Systems: The re control plans must be checked for legibility.
Each of them must be checked and conformed to.

Read: 16 Fireghting Appliances and Preventive Measures onboard Shipand Basics of Fire
Prevention On Board Ships

8. Test Fire Detection Systems and Fire Fighting Equipment: Test the re/smoke detection
systems if possible. The re pumps, re hoses, re extinguishers, nozzles, couplings should all

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the ships crew so they know which on to use for a specic kind of re (Class A, B, C, D).
Overhaul and rell extinguishers (as well as any cartridges) as per the requirement. The
remans outt should be inspected for functionality. Again, the ships crew should practice
wearing and removal of the kit (during drills) in order that they know how to do so at the crucial
times. All alarms must also be tested.

9. Check Pilot Ladder: The pilot ladders along with all ancillary equipment must also be checked.
Ensure that they match up to the specications laid down as per legalities.

Read: How Rigging and Maintenance of Pilot Ladder Done Onboard Ship

10. Check Other Important Systems According to the Type Of the Ship: The above-mentioned
points are general and apply to all ships. Tankers have additional checking points that are:

The IG system.
Piping of the xed re ghting system in the cargo pump room.
The deck foam as well as sprinkler system.

Note: It is important to remember that the navigation systems and equipment are inspected as
well, as part of the safety survey. Needless to say, all the navigation equipment must also be
checked for operation and eciency. This includes the emergency machinery as well.

We all go through ample safety drills onboard. A correct sense of the urgency of a proper safety
system will only come when taking those drills seriously. Having a safety drill way too often
reduces its impact on the ships personnel. Of course, a few ones before a survey will
automatically prepare the crew for the surveyors interrogation, so to speak.

No amount of attention to safety is enough, for it is one such aspect onboard that has to be at its
highest level of possible perfection! Lives are at stake when at sea and any small ignorance
might lead to a massive disaster. A well maintained safety system onboard would obviously call
for much less work at the end moment.

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 Over to you..

Do you know any other important points regarding safety equipment survey that can be added to
this list?

Lets know in the comments below.

Report an Error

Tags: equipment survey general safety Safety Equipment Survey ship survey

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About Shilavadra Bhattacharjee

Shilavadra Bhattacharjee works as deck ocer on board merchant vessels. He is a
prolic reader and also likes to record his arbitrary thoughts on paper. He believes in
sharing knowledge and conveying thoughts in every form possible- be it through words, music or
anything else.

Comments

Dagogo soseipiriala sam says

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 I want to learn and know more about practical maritime safety and survey experiences at
dierent times.

trafe says
DECEMBER 28, 2014 AT 4:39 AM

All lifejackets must be clearly marked with ships name and homeport.

huynh tran says

JUNE 7, 2015 AT 3:42 AM

The information is very useful.thank you so much

Nino says
JUNE 7, 2015 AT 7:13 PM

this are activity which must take place regularly as per PMS schedule. Not only before
inspections

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