The occasion of the second fire and boat drill of our cruise is a good time for a refresher on the safety procedures on board the Sikuliaq. The gist of shipboard safety is: “follow directions”. Still, preparedness involves more than just confidence in your ability to listen.
There are two broad responsibilities for all hands in the event of an emergency. The first of these is being in right place. Every person on board is assigned a station for each of the three categories of emergencies that could be signaled by the ship’s general alarm. For the crew, these stations correspond to the areas of the ship that would need attention in an emergency: the site of a potential fire; the port and starboard life rafts in the event of an abandon ship order; various lookout positions on all decks for man overboard stations, and so on. For the science party, there is a single muster station for all emergency alarms: the main lab.
The second responsibility in case of emergency is communication. The cardinal rule of reporting on an emergency is “what, where” — what exactly do you see (e.g. “flames black smoke”) and where exactly it’s happening (“main deck passage outside the tech lab”). There are many ways of passing along the word of an emergency. In addition to a local phone network, the ship is equipped with squawk boxes (don’t lean on that switch), a voice operated telephone system that can function without external power, and of course a crew carrying portable radios connecting with each other and the bridge.
“Abandon ship” is the most involved emergency, and it requires a bit more explanation. The Sikuliaq is equipped with four inflatable 25-person lifeboats which can be automatically or manually deployed and self-inflate upon contact with the water. This is more than enough capacity to accommodate every person aboard our cruise twice over, so the crew is able to keep half of the lifeboats in reserve in case of a deployment problem or any other unforeseen circumstance which might require some similar flexibility.
After launch, these lifeboats would be tied at the port and starboard sides of the aft deck. If possible, a Jacob’s ladder on each side of the deck can be used to get down to the lifeboat. In the more likely emergency scenario requiring getting to the boats by way of the water (and therefore use of the immersion suits) there are a few things to remember. If you’re going into the water, step; don’t jump. Form a knife-shape with your hand and slip it inside the hood of the suit to allow air to escape through somewhere other than your eardrums when your impact with the surface creates a moment of high pressure throughout the interior of the suit. If you’re first into the boat, as soon as you’re in, you are looking to help the next person in. Take turns manually activating the 12-18 hour battery operated lights on the suits. At this point, if you’ve followed the instructions of the chief mate and the rest of the crew, you’ve done your job, and can await rescue with a clean conscience.
Of course, shipboard safety isn’t restricted to emergency situations. In addition to securing stray items for the pitching and rolling of the ship, there is one type of component on board that demands particular respect: doors. Even an ordinary door becomes a hazard in heavy rolling, and the very robust and heavy watertight doors can range from cumbersome to dangerous even in port. The best way to keep your fingers attached in the right places is to only ever touch a door by its designated handle. Even then, you are sometimes taking your chances if you fail to notice the posted warnings: