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SEA SURVIVAL


STEP CHANGE


SOLAS marked a step change in the approach to safety at sea and for the first time prescribed minimum safety standards in construction, equipment and operation of vessels. Continual revision and development of this code has meant that safety standards in the past century have followed the technological development of vessels much more closely. More of the people who live and work at sea do so safely but this has not eradicated incidents altogether.


It is no wonder that a healthy respect for the oceans runs deep in all seafaring veins. No single incident summing up the importance of maintaining this respect and being prepared than the tragic sinking of RMS Titanic on 15th April 1912 with the loss of over 1500 souls.


A POSITIVE FROM A NEGATIVE If there was anything positive to take from the massive tragedy of Titanic it is that the international seafaring community woke up to the safety requirements of the latest merchant vessels and drafted the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea – more commonly referred to as SOLAS.


GREATER UNDERSTANDING Education must be the next step in the process to improving safety at sea and by this I mean developing a greater understanding for the specifications set out by the SOLAS convention and safety equipment that it demands. As with many things in life education is key, you could have all of the safety equipment in the world at your disposal but if you don’t understand how to use it and what its limitations are, then it is worthless.


IT WON’T HAPPEN TO ME!


Throughout my experience with Lifesaving Appliances I have seen equipment which has been mistreated and abused as it has been regarded as an expensive and inconvenient piece of equipment which will never get used. It is this ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude that breeds complacency and an unhealthy attitude to the equipment.


I have seen life rafts which have been installed upside down and surprised ship owners when the raft fails an inspection, I have seen lifeboat davits which have not been serviced for 25 years and the wincing of procurement officers when they find out what the cost of replacement will be and I have seen a lifejacket fail an inflation test after 3 months as it had been thrown in a corner on a vessel after every shift rather than being treated with the respect something that could save your life deserves. The scary thing is that I have not worked in this industry for a very long time.


TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES Our technological advances and scientific approaches to seafaring and lifesaving equipment have brought us a very long way, particularly in the last 100 years. From the open top rowing boats of the Titanic to the latest immersion suits which will keep you alive for hours in sub-zero seas, we have made the sea a much safer place, but we must understand all we possibly can to survive it otherwise we are no better than lucky.


Iain Ridehalgh Ross Survival


www.windenergynetwork.co.uk


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