An emergency station list is one of those things that often gets overlooked, especially on smaller vessels but…it’s something that you need to put together as it forms part of your emergency procedures!
Many operators are still asking us what an emergency station list is so let’s get that out of the way first.
All too often I see an emergency station list that that details what each crew member will do in each and every situation. That’s great for ships with highly trained crew who are on the same vessel for long periods.
In the size of vessel’s, we are dealing with and crews that come and go achieving that can be quite difficult. In developing your emergency station list you need to take into consideration the following:
Before we go any further it’s vital that you undertake a risk assessment in relation to the number of crew required or appropriate crew (more on this in a latter article) required to operate the vessel.
Once you have the appropriate crew number established you can then allocate duties. Where you have a Master and deckhand only it’s pretty simple. Where you have regular crew you can allocate tasks accordingly.
On vessels where the crew includes an engineer and/or a Mate plus deck crew my preference is to have the Mate or engineer go to the point of incident and the rest of the crew to Assembly stations and wait for instruction instructions especially if they are new or green crew.
With so many potential emergency situations we usually find it more efficient to have the Master instruct the crew in relation to the emergency at hand unless they are regular, well-trained crew.
If you have special personnel onboard who are trained in emergency procedures you need to incorporate them into the emergency station list as well allocating them set tasks relevant to their level of training in emergency response.
You should include an emergency response list in your SMS in the Emergency Preparedness section. Additionally, you can have one on a bulkhead in an easy to see location.
Our best recommendation is to ensure you have an emergency response plan that covers your regular crew. You can record your regular crew on the list as Master, Deckhand/s, Engineer, Mate, cook and special personnel or other crew specific to your operations.
In your Emergency Station List, you don’t have to list names as such, you can note them as Master, Mate, Deckhand, etc. so as you don’t have to keep changing it. Make life easy for yourself!
If you don’t have an Emergency Station List, then contact Shorlink for assistance in developing yours today!
