Emergencies on ships – 3

In practice, when an emergency strikes on a ship, the Master and his mates are faced with different states of the available resources that they need to use in response:

•          ‘Preparedness’ in larger proportion (e.g. well maintained and ready to go equipment & persons)
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•          ‘Unpreparedness’ in lesser proportion (often willful due to the lack of motivation or mediocre culture on board).
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•          ‘Unpreparedness’ in larger or smaller proportions (in case of an unforeseen scenario not thought of in development of the emergency response plans for the ship!)

No matter what the scenario or the state of preparedness, the Master and the ship’s officers and crew are obliged to render assistance to save distressed-lives at sea!

For an effective emergency response readiness I always had to practice drills based on these realities rather than the ideal conditions alone!

Safe sailings!