Emergency Contingency Procedures
ECP
Training & Drills 		Doc No.: ECP 04-01
Revision: 01
Date: 15 Oct 2024
Issued by: DPA
Approved by: MD

4.1. PLANNING TRAINING & DRILLS

  1. (a) While planning simulated exercises, it is necessary to make them as realistic as possible. The Master should introduce imaginary damage/situations and practice to cope with the same.
  2. (b) Contingency Planning can best be understood when exercises are practiced at training sessions. There are, however, some essential steps that should be taken into consideration. The following are to be the least:
    1. (i) Decide on the nature of the emergency and spell out its scope;
    2. (ii) Identify the personnel necessary and discuss with them the scope of operation and response of team leaders in an emergency situation;
    3. (iii) Ensure that the equipment needed is in order and that personnel are familiar with them;
    4. (iv) Identify one person (could be a junior officer/engineer) who would keep a record of all events in the exercise. This record shall be very useful for debriefing at the conclusion of the exercise;
    5. (v) At the conclusion of the exercise, discuss every step and ascertain whether any changes are considered necessary in the initial plan, any lessons learned from the exercise, and advise participants on improvements necessary in their performance;
  3. (c) An important goal of planning, preparedness, and training programs should be to continuously enhance the awareness of Safety and Environment Protection.
  4. (d) Training and exercises should be at regular intervals and, in particular, be provided to shipboard personnel who have taken new assignments.
  5. (e) The drill should be carried out with or without a previous announcement.
  6. (f) When crewmembers exceeding 25% of the complement have not participated in Abandon ship & Fire Drill in the previous month, these drills shall be carried out within 24 hours after the ship’s departures. Also, when a ship enters service for the first time, after modification of a major character, or when a new crew is engaged, these drills shall be held before sailing.
  7. (g) Company expects that, if any person is unfamiliar with the duties and requirements mentioned herein, he should strive to learn them as quickly as possible.
  8. (h) Each vessel shall have a yearly drill and Training program prepared specific to the ship, approved by Marine PIC and displayed as per the guidelines of Yearly Drill Program (HSSEQ03) Annual Training Program. Guidelines for planning these drills in terms of frequency and location can be found in this form.
  9. (i) Each vessel when planning Fire and abandon ship drills shall give due consideration to the specific flag requirements if required to be carried out more than once in a month. Such as all Maltese flagged vessels, as required in Regulation 19.3 of Chapter III of SOLAS 74, as amended, shall be carried out at fortnightly intervals. Ensure your Annual Drill Plan HSSEQ-03 is planned accordingly.

App:

4.2. EXERCISING TRAINING & DRILLS

The Master, following the regulations of SOLAS, must perform drills, and training for the following in order to achieve their individual purposes:

  1. Fire Fighting:
    1. (i) Knowledge of classes and chemistry of fire
    2. (ii) Methods of fire-fighting
    3. (iii) Understanding and familiarization with the operation of ship-specific fixed fire-fighting systems and other equipment
    4. (iv) Operation of fire doors & other closing devices as applicable
    5. (v) On Gas carriers, the evaluation of pool or jet fire and decide whether to extinguish the fire or isolate and allow the remaining vapor to burn off.
    6. (vi) Procedures for Recharging Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) cylinders used during drills.
    7. (vii) Changing spare bottles of SCBA during emergency situations.
  2. Life-saving:
    1. (i) Knowledge of the operation of the lifeboat including starting the lifeboat engine, the life raft/HRU, and other life-saving equipment.
    2. (ii) To recognize and familiarize the ship's life-saving equipment, including their storage locations.
    3. (iii) Knowledge of Survival at Sea and Rescue of persons from water techniques.
    4. (iv) The ability to use distress signals.
    5. (v) Enclosed Space entry and rescue.
  3. Emergency:
    1. (i) Familiarization with the ship-specific Emergency procedures.
    2. (ii) Familiarization by each individual with their emergency duties.
    3. (iii) Methods of escape from dangers.

4. Critical Situations

  1. (i) Methods for stopping oil/chemical spillage.
  2. (ii) Operation of Emergency steering from bridge as well as from steering gear.
  3. (iii) Procedure of emergency maneuvering from main engine side.
  4. (iv) Actions after Electric power failure.

b) Onboard Oil/Chemical Tankers and Gas Tankers

In addition to the above stated, the Master should ensure familiarization & training of crew, including but not limited to the following:

  1. (i) Characteristics of oil/chemicals/ LPG/LNG, especially, the flammability and explosive limits.
  2. (ii) Hazards of commonly carried oils/chemicals/ LPG/LNG on health and environment, including but not limited to frostbite and brittle fractures.
  3. (iii) First aid and medical procedures for contact/inhalation with chemical, oil, and gas.
  4. (iv) Use & operation of Gas detecting and safety equipment.
  5. (v) Necessary safety factors in the performance of hot work.
  6. (vi) Cargo operation emergency shutdown procedures.
  7. (vii) Action to be taken in case of escape of LNG/LPG on deck.

c) Harmful Substances on Board

When carrying harmful substances on board, the Master should ensure familiarization & training of crew about the hazards of such substances on health & environment and the methods for controlling such hazards.

d) Familiarization & Training for New Personnel

The Master should ensure familiarization & training of relevant new personnel on the use of navigation equipment and ship's handling characteristics, particularly in relation to the maneuvering capabilities/limitations and methods to prevent the ship from hazardous maneuvering situations.

e) Ship-Shore Communication Drill

The company conducts a ship-shore communication drill once a year on each type of ship.

f) Additional Training and Familiarization

The Master should further carry out the following training and familiarization in addition to the drills.

Activity Description Frequency
On-board familiarization The use of LSA and FFA Within one week after embarkation of crew; Once a month
Survival at sea Once a month
On-board training Use of LSA and FFA Within two weeks after embarkation of crew
Use of Life-raft including Hydrostatic Release Unit and release mechanism Once every four months
Inspection / Test Inspection and maintenance of escape routes and life-saving appliances Once a month
Visual inspection of launching devices of life-boats and rescue boats & life raft Once a week
Inspection of general emergency alarm system Once a week
Starting and going ahead/astern operation of life boat engines Once a week

Note:


4.3 DRILLS RECORD KEEPING

(a) The Master is responsible for carrying out necessary training and drills related to the Safety and Environmental Protection to the crew and for recording the results with his comments on the performance/result of the drill and training needs. Master shall use the reporting form HSSEQ-04/05 Drill & Training Records to report to the company after completion of each drill by the master.

(b) The Chief Engineer and the Chief Officer are responsible for assisting the Master to carry out such training and drills.

(c) Records of all emergency drills and exercises conducted on board should be maintained for two years and be available for verification.