MOB

Question 1

Some factors that will affect the speed of recovery include:

Answer 1

• Ship’s manoeuvring characteristics.
• Wind direction and sea state.
• Crew’s experience and level of training.
• Capability of the engine plant.
• Location of the incident.
• Visibility level.
• Recovery technique.
• Possibility of having other vessels assist. IAMSAR VOL III

Question 2

Factors influencing a successful recovery

Answer 2

Factors influencing a successful recovery comprise weather conditions, seawater temperature, day or night operation, experience of crew members, geographic location, number of search units, time delay in the alarm being raised and condition of the man when falling.

Question 3

Williamson Turn (Standard Turn)

Answer 3

1. Makes good original track line.
2. Good in reduced visibility.
3. Simple.
4. Takes the ship farther away from the scene of the incident.
5. Slow procedure.

Williamson turn
Rudder hard over (in an “immediate action” situation, only to the side of the casualty).
After deviation from the original course by 60°, rudder hard over to the opposite side.
When heading 20° short of opposite course, rudder to midship position and ship to be turned to opposite course.|

Question 4

One Turn (or Single Turn, Anderson Turn) - Used if the Casualty was Witnessed

Answer 4

1. Fastest recovery method.
2. Good for ships with tight turning characteristics.
3. Used most by ships with considerable power.
4. Very difficult for a single-screw vessel.
5. Difficult because approach to person is not straight.
   Single turn (270% manoeuvre)
   Rudder hard over (in an “immediate action” situation, only to the side of the casualty).
   After deviation from the original course by 250°, rudder to midship position and stopping manoeuvre to be initiated.

Question 5

Initial Action

Answer 5

• Throw a life-ring over the side as close to the person as possible.
• Sound three prolonged blast of ship’s whistle, hail “Person overboard”.
• Fred also suggests to press MOB button.
• Commence recovery manoeuvre as indicated above.
• Note position, wind speed and direction and time.
• Inform Master of vessel and engine room.
• Post look-outs to keep the person in sight.
• Set off dye marker or smoke flare.
• Inform radio operator, keep updated on position.
• Stand by the engines.
• Prepare lifeboat for possible launching.
• Distribute portable VHF radios for communication between bridge, deck, and
lifeboat.
• Rig pilot ladder to assist in recovery.

Question 6

Search patterns

Question 7

• How to send a Mayday

Question 8

Ship reporting systems and vessel tracking

Answer 8

Ship reporting systems have been established by several States.
Ships at sea may be the only craft near the scene of a distressed aircraft or vessel.
A ship reporting system enables the SMC (SAR mission Coordinators) to quickly:
• Identify vessels in the vicinity of a distress situation, along with their positions,
courses, and speeds.
• Be aware of other information about the vessels which may be valuable (whether a
doctor is on board, etc.).
• Know how to contact the vessels.
• Improve the likelihood of rapid aid during emergencies.
• Reduce the number of calls for assistance to vessels unfavourably located to respond.
• Reduce the response time to provide assistance.
Masters of vessels are urged or mandated to send regular reports to the authority operating a ship reporting system for SAR and other safety-related services.
Additional information on operators of ship reporting systems may be obtained from RCCs.
Automatic identification system (AIS) and long-range identification and tracking (LRIT) transmissions are also important for providing shore authorities with real or near real time vessel tracking data to support search and rescue.

Question 9

Amver

Answer 9

Amver
Amver (Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System) is one of many ship reporting systems. It is a world-wide system operated exclusively to support SAR and make information available to all RCCs.
• There is no charge for vessels to participate in, nor for RCCs to use, Amver.
• Many land-based providers of communications services world-wide relay ship reports
to Amver free of charge.
• Any merchant vessel of 1,000 gross tonnes or more on any voyage of greater than 24h
is welcome to participate.
• Information voluntarily provided by vessels to Amver is protected by the US Coast
Guard as commercial proprietary data and made available only to SAR authorities or others specifically authorised by the ship involved.

Question 10

IAMSAR

Answer 10

Is written by the IMO and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) to foster co-
operation between themselves, between neighbouring states and between aeronautical and
maritime authorities on SAR. The primary purpose of the 3 volumes of IMSAR manual is to
assist in states in meeting their own SAR needs, and the obligations they accepted under the
Convention for the safety of life (SOLAS). These 3 volumes provide guidelines for a
common approach to organising and providing SAR services

Volume I Organisation and Management
Volume II Mission Co-ordination
Volume III Mobile Facilities

Question 11

SAR co-ordination

Answer 11

SAR co-ordination
The SAR system has three general levels of co-ordination:
• On-scene co-ordinators (OSCs) YOU.
• SAR mission co-ordinators (SMCs) (Rescue co-ordination centre).
• SAR co-ordinators (SCs) (National level).
On-scene co-ordinator
When two or more SAR facilities are working together on the same mission, one person on scene may be needed to co-ordinate the activities of all participating facilities.
The SMC designates an OSC, who may be the person in charge of a:
• The person in charge of the first facility to arrive at the scene will normally assume the OSC function until the SMC arranges for that person to be relieved.

Question 12

Initial action by assisting craft

Answer 12

Immediate action
The following immediate action should be taken by any ship receiving a distress message:
• Acknowledge receipt of message (for DSC acknowledgement see flow charts).
• Gather the following information from the craft in distress if possible:
– Position of distressed craft.
– Distressed craft’s identity, call sign, and name.
– Number of POBs.
– Nature of the distress or casualty.
– Type of assistance required.
– Number of victims, if any.
– Distressed craft’s course and speed.
– Type of craft, and cargo carried.
– Any other pertinent information that might facilitate the rescue.
• Maintain a continuous watch on the following international frequencies, if equipped to do so:
– 2,182 kHz (radiotelephony).
– 156.8 MHz FM (channel 16, radiotelephony) for vessel distress.
– 121.5 MHz AM (radiotelephony) for aircraft distress or beacon distress
signals.
• Vessels subject to the SOLAS Convention must comply with applicable equipment
carriage and monitoring requirements.

• Vessels should maintain communications with the distressed craft while attempting to advise the SAR system of the situation.
• When in close proximity, post extra look-outs to keep distressed craft in sight.

Question 13

Proceeding to the area of distress

Answer 13

• Establish a traffic co-ordinating system among vessels proceeding to the same area of distress.
• Maintain, if possible, AIS data and active radar plots on vessels in the general vicinity.
• Estimate the ETAs to the distress site of other assisting vessels.
• Assess the distress situation to prepare for operations on-scene.

Question 14

On-board preparation

Answer 14

• A vessel en route to assist a distressed craft should prepare for possible SAR action on scene, including the possible need to recover people from survival craft or from the water.
• A vessel en route to assist a distressed craft should have the following equipment ready for possible use:
– Lifeboat.
– Inflatable liferaft.
– Lifejackets.
– Survival suits for the crew.
– Lifebuoys.
– Portable VHF radios for communication with the ship and boats deployed.
– Line-throwing apparatus.
– Buoyant lifelines.
– Hauling lines.
– Rescue baskets.
– Pilot ladders.
– Scrambling nets.
– Copies of the international code of signals.
– Radio equipment operating on MF/HF and/or VHF/UHF and capable of
communicating with the RCC and rescue facilities, and with a facility for direction
finding (DF).
– Supplies and survival equipment, as required.
– Fire-fighting equipment.
– Binoculars.
– Cameras.
– Signalling equipment.
– Buoyant VHF/UHF marker beacons.
– loud hailers.
– Preparations for medical assistance.

Question 15

Search patterns

Answer 15

Factors to consider in deciding what type of search pattern to use include:
• Available number and types of assisting craft.
• Size of area to be searched.
• Type of distressed craft.
• Size of distressed craft.
• Meteorological visibility.
• Cloud ceiling.
• Type of sea conditions.
• Time of day.
• Arrival time at datum.

Question 16

Manoeuvres to launch and recover rescue boats and survival craft

Answer 16

• The rescue boat can be boarded and launched in no more than 5 mins.
• It is capable of being launched when the ship is making headway up to 5 kts.
• It is always preferable for the parent vessel to provide a lee, if possible, for the
launching of the boat, so giving a limited amount of shelter from the wind.
New Turn to help launch rescue boat!
Lorén turn
• Facilitates launch and recovery of a rescue boat.
• Facilitates rescue work by other craft.
• Circling calms the sea by interfering with wave patterns.
• The more turbulence created by the ship the better.
• Additional ships circling to windward will calm the sea further.
Lorén turn procedure
1. Head into the wind at full speed.
2. Begin the circle and reduce to slow when the wind is abeam.
3. When the wind crosses the stern to the opposite quarter, increase to half speed.
4. Continue circling as long as calmer water is needed.
5. Slow down, or stop, to launch and recover rescue boat on the leeward side, inside the
circle.
Note: It is important to know the handling characteristics of your own vessel. Opportunities should be taken to practice these manoeuvres. Depending on the ship’s handling criteria it may not be necessary to begin the Lorén turn head-to-wind.

Question 17

Emergency Preparedness

Answer 17

The Company should identify potential emergency shipboard situations and establish procedures to respond to them.
• The Company should establish programs for drills and exercises to prepare for emergency actions.

For all situations the following concept needs to be adopted:
• Muster (check numbers).
• Close watertight doors.
• Assess the extent of damage.
• Implement control measures.
• Check for other issues such as fire or pollution.
• Decide if watertight integrity has been impaired.
• Consult stability booklet.
• Send urgency or distress if appropriate.
• Decide on abandon ship is required.
Then subsequently:
• When to report the incident.
• How to report the incident.
• Who to contact.
• Any changes to certification.

Question 18

Report to Shore

Answer 18

• The Master should report the casualty as soon as practicable. This report should be made to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and should include a brief description of the incident.
• An entry should also be made in the official deck log book describing the sequence of events surrounding the grounding.
• Report would be sent to the port state that the vessel is in and also to our Classification society and our Flag state.
• Masters inform DPA at the earliest possible time after the collision, bearing in mind that repairs will probably have to be carried out immediately to render the vessel seaworthy.

Question 19

• Masters actions following grounding

Answer 19

• Stop main engines.
• Sound general emergency stations.
• Close all watertight and fire doors.
• Muster crew and passengers check for casualties.
• Assess the extent of the damage by visual inspection of the area of impact.
• Establish communications and see that emergency procedures are followed.
• Damage control party mustered at the incident scene.
• Pumping arrangements ready.
• Sound all tanks.
• Engine room facilities kept on standby.
• Position on chart established and depth.
• Weather and tide forecasts.
• Determine if the weather or tide is carrying the vessel into more danger - Use of anchors

Record all details of the grounding including pictures and video evidence and
logbooks etc.

isplay appropriate lights and day shapes, report to VTS or ships in the area.
• Before any further action is taken consider all relevant information such as:
v Weather and sea state. v Range of tide.
v Nature of seabed.
v Depth of water around the vessel. v Damaged stability.
• Reduce ballast or water tanks to refloat.
• If unable to refloat then request assistance.

Question 20

• Masters actions following flooding

Answer 20

looding
• Sound general emergency stations.
• Close all watertight and fire doors.
• Muster crew and passengers check for casualties.
• Assess the extent of the flooding.
• Establish communications and see that emergency procedures are followed.
• Damage control party mustered at the incident scene.
• Pumping arrangements ready.
• Sound all tanks.
• Engine room facilities kept on standby.
• Position on chart established and depth and nearest safe port or anchorage etc.
• Weather and tide forecasts.
• Record all details of the incident including pictures and video evidence and logbooks
etc.
• Consult stability book.
• Broadcast Urgency or distress as appropriate.
• Prepare to abandon ship.
Report to Shore
• The Master should report the casualty as soon as practicable. This report should be made to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and should include a brief description of the incident.
• An entry should also be made in the official deck log book describing the sequence of events surrounding the grounding.
• Report would be sent to the port state that the vessel is in and also to our Classification society and our Flag state.
• Masters inform DPA at the earliest possible time after the collision, bearing in mind that repairs will probably have to be carried out immediately to render the vessel seaworthy.

Question 21

• Masters actions following heavy weather damage

Answer 21

Heavy weather damage
This is an open question in the exam but generally it would be a part of the ship being damaged and how you would minimalize this damage, often you slow down and would change direction or change destination.
If you suffered major damage; say for instance the front fell off…
• Sound general emergency stations.
• Close all watertight and fire doors.
• Muster crew and passengers check for casualties.
• Assess the extent of the damage and see if the hull integrity has been compromised.
• Establish communications and see that emergency procedures are followed.
• Damage control party mustered at the incident scene.
• Pumping arrangements ready if water coming in.
• Sound all tanks.
• Engine room facilities kept on standby.
• Position on chart established and depth and nearest safe port or anchorage etc.
• Weather and tide forecasts.
• Record all details of the incident including pictures and video evidence and logbooks
etc.
• Consult stability book.
• Broadcast Urgency or distress as appropriate.
• Prepare to abandon ship.

Question 22

• Masters actions following mechanical damage

Answer 22

Mechanical damage
A standard question is you lose steerage 3 days out from Antigua – actions?
Try all modes of steerage from the bridge, if no good then:
• Slow down.
• Sound general emergency stations.
• Close all watertight and fire doors.
• Muster crew and passengers.
• Assess the extent of the damage and see if the hull integrity has been compromised.
• Engage emergency steering / center rudders for towing or limping home.
• Engine room facilities kept on standby.
• Position on chart established and depth and nearest safe port or anchorage etc.
• Weather and tide forecasts.
• Predict if you need help consider towage etc.
• Record all details of the incident including pictures and video evidence and logbooks
etc.
Report to Shore
• The Master should report the casualty as soon as practicable. This report should be made to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and should include a brief description of the incident.
• An entry should also be made in the official and deck log book describing the sequence of events surrounding the failure.
• Report would be sent to the port state that the vessel is in and also to our Classification society and our Flag state.
• Masters inform DPA at the earliest possible time after the failure major nonconformity, bearing in mind that repairs will probably have to be carried out immediately to render the vessel seaworthy.

Question 23

Beaching a ship

Answer 23

Beaching is defined as taking the ground intentionally!
It is normally carried out for either or both the following reasons:
• To prevent imminent collision;
• To prevent loss of the vessel when damaged and in danger of sinking due to damage
having occurred below the waterline causing loss of watertight integrity.
How to do it
Should time and choice be available, the mariner should attempt to beach the vessel on a gentle sloping sand beach, which is rock free and ideally with little or no current. If possible, it should be sheltered from the weather, free of surf action and any scouring effects.
If possible, it should be done approaching bow-on, the obvious advantage is that a clear observation of the approach can be made and the vessel will probably have a favourable trim. The propeller and rudder will hopefully be protected in the deeper water at the stern, while the strengthened bow would cushion any pounding effects.
Possible list of actions:
• We would hope to hit the ground forward of the ‘Collision Bulkhead’ is preferred.
• Once beached, take additional ballast if possible, to prevent the vessel, accidentally
refloating.
• Both anchors should be cleared away and made ready to let go on approach to aid
refloating and try and stop slewing.
• On taking the ground drive the vessel further on and reduce the possibility of
pounding.
• Take on additional ballast and secure the hull against movement from weather and
sea/tide.
• Take precautions to prevent oil pollution.
Report to Shore
• The Master should report the casualty as soon as practicable. This report should be made to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and should include a brief description of the incident.
• An entry should also be made in the official and deck log book describing the sequence of events surrounding the beaching.
• Report would be sent to the port state that the vessel is in and also to our Classification society and our Flag state.
• Masters inform DPA at the earliest possible time to arrange for salvage and or insurance claim.

Question 24

Rocket flares

Answer 24

A parachute signal rocket, red, is a pyrotechnic aerial flare to alert potential rescue craft from a distance. The rockets should be used when a vessel is at sight. The rocket will fly to a minimum height of 300 meters. At the top of the trajectory a red flare with 30,000 candela will be ejected with its parachute. The burning time is 40 seconds.
A red flare with a height of 300 meters can be seen in a clear night for more than 30 nautical miles.
Stowage
Parachute signal rockets, red, are provided on the ship’s bridge (12 pcs.), in liferafts and lifeboats (each 4 pcs.).

Question 25

Line throwing devices

Answer 25

General
The line throwing device provides a line connection between ships or ship to shore.
Stowage
To be stored on the ship’s bridge. SOLAS requires 4 units on board commercial vessels.
Description
The Line Throwing Device consists of the following components: rocket and line
The device has a throwing range of between 230 m and 250 m, it is therefore always advisable to come as close as possible before making line connections. A solid propellant is used which guarantees a highly accurate flight path even with stronger sidewinds.
The rocket, however, should be aimed directly at the target or if anything a little downwind of the target, but never into the wind!
During training make sure that there is nobody inside the safety zone of 400 m in front (in firing direction) and 250 m either side of the firing point.