Crew inductions are something we see overlooked or run through just to tick a box.
The same thing goes for emergency response training! Way too often it’s just let get this over with and get back to what’s important!
Inducting crew members into the vessel is a critical requirement, especially in the event of an emergency situation. If ALL crew don’t know where things like fuel and air shut offs, fire extinguishers, etc. are, then you put your vessel, crew and passengers AT RISK!
Training in emergency responses to difference situations like fire, person overboard or other emergency situations is vital knowledge in the event of an onboard emergency.
It’s no good just knowing where things are your crew must know how to use them!
Far too often when we hear “the Master will tell people what to do in the event of an emergency so training is not that important’. What a crazy yet dangerous view! Knowing what to do and practicing often, develops muscle memory and takes pressure off the master when dealing with emergency situations.
Inducting your crew onto your vessel is not only:
As the owner YOU ARE responsible for ensuring all crew, existing and new are fully inducted into every vessel they are to operate on. This means if they are changing to another vessel in your fleet, even though it may be deemed identical they must be inducted onto it.
Being inducted onto a vessel means more than just telling crew where things are just to tick a box. ALL crew should have a detailed tour of the vessel to ensure they know where all the safety and firefighting appliances and equipment are.
Inducting crew also means ensuring they have read and understand your Safety Management System (SMS) which is a vital tool to assist them in understanding your vessel, policies and procedures they need to adhere to.
By failing to fully induct your crew you leave yourself open to legal action in the event of an emergency situation. For fleet owners, don’t just hope that the Master does it and it’s all OK because at the end of the day YOU are responsible!
While we have the Shipboard Safety Skillset and STCW95 courses which are great sources of knowledge they are general in nature and do not deal with your specific vessel or vessels.
Onboard training (drills) are essential to ensure the safety of your vessel and all persons onboard. Again regular training (drills) are required under legislations but, the frequency is no longer specified by AMSA.
This means you have to determine how often drills will be conducted. Consider you complete a fire drill today and 6 months later you have a serious fire onboard where someone gets seriously injured or even dies.
No drills were undertaken during that 6-month period, do you think that frequency is appropriate? The simple fact is… it is NOT. What do you think the outcome would be in this scenario? You are going to be facing legal action that could have been avoided if drills had been undertaken.
Crew inductions on the vessel they are going to be working and plus ongoing emergency response training (drills) are not only a legal requirement they are a MUST for the safety of your vessel, all persons onboard and the environment.
To protect yourself legally, financially and personally, you MUST ensure all new and existing crew are fully inducted and regular training (drills) are conducted.
Our strongest recommendation is to ensure you complete detailed crew inductions on every vessel they may be working on and, undertake regular emergency training (drills) to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to deal with emergency situations.
We recommend running fire drills monthly with other emergency situations such as POB, undertaken no further apart than 3 months but preferably 2 months to ensure the crew stay up-to-date.
If you are a fleet owner or manager, don’t just ‘hope’ that the Master will get it done. Make sure you check that it’s being done right. While we understand your busy, but it should be part of your job!
Number one tip is don’t just concentrate on engine room fires as fires can occur anywhere onboard and if not dealt with quickly and efficiently become a major safety issue. When running fire drills consider the galley, accommodation areas, other machinery spaces, etc.
Best tip is to set up a drill schedule which includes a range of drills including varied fire drills. If you would like help with this don’t hesitate to contact our office as your safety is our number one priority!
Need help with crew inductions and emergency response training (drills) we can help you with as we provide detailed our crew induction and emergency preparedness training to your crew onboard your vessel! Contact our office to get us onboard with your safety NOW!
