PONDICHERRY MARITIME ACADEMY – PST (REFRESHER) BOOKLET

PONDICHERRY MARITIME ACADEMY

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SURVIVE AT SEA IN THE EVENT OF SHIP ABANDONMENT:

CONENTS

1. Don and use an immersion suit

2. Safely jump from a height into the water (while wearing a life jacket)

3. Right an inverted liferaft while wearing a lifejacket

4. Swim while wearing a lifejacket

5. Keep afloat without a lifejacket

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1. Don and use an immersion suit

An immersion suit (or survival suit, or immersion survival suit), is a special type of
waterproof dry suit that protects a person from hypothermia when immersed in cold
waters, usually after abandoning a sinking or capsized vessel. The way actually an
immersion suit works, is to maintain the body heat within the suit and keeping the user
dry from the cold water. An immersion suit is designed to have a bright color in order to
be highly visible from a long distance and to provide comfortable movement to the user
in order to abandon safely the vessel. This type of immersion suits are worn in
emergencies and every crew member needs to own one in the appropriate size.
Furthermore, emergency drills need to occur often within the vessel in order the crew
members to be agile and get in their immersion suits quickly.

Immersion suits are colored red, yellow or orange for heightened visibility for the open
water bodies making of materials that have many small bubbles of air to help make the
user easily float while waiting to be rescued. Additional features for heightened odds of
rescue could include a whistle over a cord stuck just using the neck to out for help, sea
dye markers for increased visibility, a line to add with suits to maintain the audience
together for easier rescue and water activated powered by batteries light beacon to
signal for help.

The immersion suit

The immersion suit shall be constructed with waterproof materials such that:

• It can be unpacked and donned without assistance within 2 min, taking into
account any associated clothing and a lifejacket if the immersion suit is to be worn
in conjunction with a lifejacket.

• It will not sustain burning or continue melting after being totally enveloped in a
fire for a period of 2 seconds.

• It will cover the whole body with the exception of the face. Hands shall also be
covered unless permanently attached gloves are provided.

• It is provided with arrangements to minimize or reduce free air in the legs of the
suit.

• Following a jump from a height of not less than 4.5 m into the water there is no
undue ingress of water into the suit.

• An immersion suit which also complies with the requirements of life-jackets may
be classified as a life-jacket.

An immersion suit which has buoyancy and is designed to be worn without a lifejacket
shall be fitted with a light and the whistle complying with the requirements for life-
jackets.

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If the immersion suit is to be worn in conjunction with a lifejacket, the lifejacket shall be
worn over the immersion suit. A person wearing such an immersion suit shall be able to
don a lifejacket without assistance.

In that case immersion suit shall permit the person wearing it

• To climb up and down a vertical ladder at least 5 m in length

• To perform normal duties associated with abandonment

• To jump from a height of not less than 4.5 m into the water without damaging or
dislodging the immersion suit, or being injured

• To swim a short distance through the water and board a survival craft

An immersion suit made of material which has no inherent insulation shall be:

Marked with instructions that it must be worn in conjunction with warm clothing so
constructed that, when worn in conjunction with warm clothing, and with a lifejacket

If the immersion suit is to be worn with a lifejacket, the immersion suit continues to
provide sufficient thermal protection, following one jump by the wearer into the water
from a height of 4.5 m, to ensure that when it is worn for a period of 1h in calm
circulating water at a temperature of 5°C, the wearer's body core temperature does not
fall more than 2°C.

An immersion suit made of material with inherent insulation, when worn either on its
own or with a lifejacket, if the immersion suit is to be worn in conjunction with a
lifejacket, shall provide the wearer with sufficient thermal insulation, following one jump
into the water from a height of 4.5 m, to ensure that the wearer's body core
temperature does not fall more than 2°C after a period of 6h immersion in calm
circulating water at a temperature of between 0°C and 2°C.

A person in fresh water wearing either an immersion suit or an immersion suit with a
lifejacket, shall be able to turn from a face-down to a face-up position in not more than
5 seconds.

Donning Instructions

Your life may depend on your ability to quickly don your immersion suit in an
emergency. It makes sense to have practiced beforehand. Monthly practice should
reduce your donning time from minutes to seconds.

1. Remove suit from storage bag.

2. You should practice donning the suit, feet first, while lying or sitting on the deck.

Vessel movement or list will often prevent donning the suit in a standing position.

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3. Place your weaker arm into the sleeve of the immersion suit, then using your free
hand reach up and place the immersion suit hood over your head. Then place your
strong arm into the sleeve of the immersion suit.

Cold Water Survival:

When you are in cold water, do not swim unless you are sure you can reach a nearby
boat, fellow survivor, or floating object. If you must swim, swim on your back to keep
your face out of the water.

If a nearby floating object is large, pull yourself up on it. The more your body is out of
water, it will lessen heat loss, increase survival time, and you will be more visible for
rescue.

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If there are others in the water, and conditions permit, swim in tandem with a
companion. Keeping survivors together improves moral, and makes a larger visible
target increasing the chance of rescue.

2. Safely jump from a height into the water (while wearing a life jacket)

How to jump into water with lifejacket on:

• As far as possible, avoid jumping into water.

• Try to board survival craft without getting into water, by ladders, ropes etc.
Lifeboats are boarded from embarkation deck.

• However, if due to any reason it becomes necessary to jump, you may do so from
a height of not more than 6 metres.

• But to avoid injury, the tapes of the lifejackets must be tight.

• Before jumping, make sure that there are no obstructions in your way and that not
jumping into a boat or on the canopy of a liferaft.

• Then look parallel to the horizon, hold down your lifejacket by one hand and block
off your nose and mouth by the other, keep your feet together, and jump-feet
first.

3. Right an inverted liferaft while wearing a lifejacket

Inflatable life rafts are usually deployed by one of two methods: The first and most
common launching method is by manually throwing or dropping the raft overboard.
These rafts are often referred to as ‘throw over type’ even though they can also be
automatically deployed by a Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU) if the vessel in distress
rapidly sinks.

In the second deployment method, an inflated raft is lowered into the sea by means of a
davit launching mechanism, called the ‘davit launch type’. This type is the domain of big
capacity rafts and is usually a feature of large high-sided ships.

On smaller vessels an inflatable life raft is usually launched by throwing the entire
container or valise overboard and pulling its lanyard. A surprising amount of line (at
least 8 meters) will need to be pulled out before this action activates a compressed gas
cylinder which inflates the various air chambers that make up the raft. The raft will
inflate quickly and depending on the pack type, easily cause the two halves of its
container to separate, or burst out of its valise carry case. The compressed gas cylinder
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is over-pressurised and excess gas will gush out of the relief safety valves after the raft
has reached its correct operational pressure. At much the same time, the ballast bags
attached to the hull of the life raft will fill with sea water and significantly stabilize its
movement.

The sea anchor (drogue) will stream automatically on deployment in some raft types and
in others it will need to be manually set on boarding (it lays folded on the floor). The
drogue will hold the raft up to the wind and waves and significantly reduce the chance of
capsize. It should also tend to keep the raft’s opening to the lee of the weather.

A raft is designed to inflate the right way up (by way of prudent design and because of
the weight of the compressed gas cylinder and emergency equipment pack lashed to the
raft’s floor) but there is a small chance that it may inflate upside down. Extreme weather
can also play a significant role. If the raft becomes inverted, righting from the boat is
always preferable, but if that fails, it will need to be done from the water. The diagram
below shows the suggested technique.

Many people find it surprisingly difficult to get over the high freeboard of the tubes even
with the aid of an entrance platform or ladder and webbing bridle. The most able person
should board first and assist other crew members as required. A rescue quoits and line is
immediately available at the raft’s entrance and should be thrown as an aid to persons
some distance from the raft.

Once aboard, it will be necessary for survivors to cut the lanyard and paddle clear of the
boat in distress. Checking to see that the sea anchor is streaming correctly, tending
injured victims and closing the door of the raft once all survivors are aboard are also
priority actions.

Maintaining the raft, familiarising everyone with the contents of the emergency pack,
watching for rescuers and achieving best possible comfort levels for all on board will
become the ongoing routine.

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Righting a Raft

If a life raft inflates upside-down or capsizes, the gas bottle on a raft’s bottom can be
used to right it. Turn the raft until the bottle is downwind, and then climb onto the
inverted raft. With the wind providing assistance, haul on the righting strap (usually on
the side opposite the gas bottle), using the gas bottle to provide leverage

Deploying and Using your Life Raft in an Emergency Situation

Preparations before Leaving Your Boat

1. Put on as much warm clothing as possible, making sure to cover head, neck, hands
and feet. If an immersion suit is available, put it on over warm clothing. Put on a
lifejacket (PFD) and secure it properly.

2. Send a mayday and activate EPIRB (if not already done).

3. Ready the Emergency Bag / Abandon Ship Kit including additional water and
blankets. Any available EPIRB and portable two-way VHF radio should be taken aboard
the raft.

4. Consider taking seasick tablets as most people suffer some motion sickness on
boarding their raft.

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5. When ready to board, remove shoes and sheath sharp objects.

6. Don’t launch the raft too early; in rough weather it will be difficult to hold alongside
for long.

Priority Actions

1. Throw entire container or valise case overboard & pull painter to start inflation

Ready the life raft for deployment by removing the lashing on the slip hook that secures
the container to its storage cradle. A valise packed raft should be brought to the
launching area. Pull out a length of painter line from the container or valise and check
that the painter’s end is firmly attached to a strongpoint on the vessel. If necessary,
reposition the container and then throw or drop the entire container or valise overboard.
Pull on the painter line until the remaining line is extracted from the container (this line
is at least eight metres long). A final sharp tug will trigger the automatic inflation of the
life raft.

2. Board life raft

Transfer any additional gear and survival supplies from the stricken vessel to the life
raft. If possible try to stay dry. Crew members should board the life raft by ladder or
rope from the mother vessel or by jumping into the entrance if height is not excessive.
From the water, try to board the life raft as soon as possible in order to shorten the
immersion time and subsequent body heat loss. Remember, cold is the greatest killer in
maritime emergencies. Enter the life raft with the aid of the boarding ramp or ladder.
Crew members should pull themselves up and slide into the raft head first. The internal
lifelines and entry bridle may help survivors pull themselves all the way in. If required,
throw rescue-quoit and attached line to other survivors in the water and haul them to
the life raft. Disabled or unconscious survivors should be lifted under their armpits and
slid backwards into the life raft.

3. Ready life raft to be freed from mother vessel

Check the life raft is functional and that both buoyancy tubes and arch are correctly
inflated. If the mother vessel is still afloat, remain secured to it unless fire, imminent
sinking or some other danger means it is advisable to sever the painter line. A disabled
but floating vessel will always provide a greater search target for rescuers than will a life
raft. If the decision is made to cut the painter, use the safety knife stowed in the pocket
next to the raft’s entry. Try to save as much line as possible. Get away from the stricken
vessel by using the paddles provided within the equipment pack. Tie multiple life rafts
together as there is safety in numbers including more survival gear and expertise to
share and it is easier to spot two rafts than one.

4. Deploy drogue (sea anchor) and close entrances

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Check that the drogue has deployed automatically. Its primary role is to help the raft
resist capsize but life rafts can drift rapidly and the drogue reduces the rate of drift and
assists searchers by reducing the raft’s distance from the distress position. In hostile
weather close entrances when everybody is inside.

5. Tend injured crewmembers

Keep victims as warm and dry as possible and, if necessary, refer to the first aid
instructions provided within the emergency pack.

Subsequent Actions

1. Bail out water inside the life raft

A bailer and sponges are provided to assist in drying the raft’s interior.

2. Adjust ventilation

Ensure good ventilation at all times and adjust entrances and ventilator(s) to suit
current conditions. By varying the point of attachment, the drogue can be used to alter
the position of the raft’s openings relative to the seas, allowing more shelter or better
ventilation.

3. Open emergency pack

Familiarize every crewmember with the contents and function of items within the
emergency pack. When not required, lash down all gear so nothing is lost if the raft
capsizes or is swamped.

4. Activate EPIRB

Confirm EPIRB is working and leave it on; don’t switch it off until advised to do so by
rescuers.

5. Establish a watch system

One hour watches in pairs is recommended, one person should be on duty as outside
lookout and the other on duty inside, responsible for the raft, water catchment etc.

Aids to Survival

1. Nominate someone to take charge.

Good leadership and high morale are crucial for survival. A good leader takes on the
responsibility of keeping the other survivors as organised, calm and comfortable as
possible.

2. Take seasickness tablets as soon as possible

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Even hardened sailors are almost certainly going to be seasick in a life raft. Seasickness
interferes with your chances of survival by loss of precious body fluid, incapacitation and
greater vulnerability to hypothermia.

3. Establish a routine

The discipline of a routine focuses attention on the positive work of survival and ensures
that essential tasks are done. Suggested routine:

• Watch for ships, aircraft, survivors and useful wreckage.

• Flash the signalling mirror all around the horizon when there is sunshine –
rescuers can see your flashes before you can see them.

• Look for signs of land.

• Maintain the life raft – tube inflation, a dry floor, adequate ventilation, equipment,
etc.

• Track rations consumption.

4. Water Use

Other than injured persons, survivors should drink no water on the first day. This causes
the body to activate water saving mechanisms. Thereafter allow ½ litre per person per
day, using the marked measure to ration. Drink water in sips throughout the day to
minimise urination.

Collect rain water when possible and use this before the sachets. Maintaining your
body’s water balance is a prime requirement of survival as water is the major
constituent of our bodies. Water is a higher priority than food. You can probably live for
weeks without food, but your survival will be measured in days if you have no water.
Food digestion drains needed water from your body and exaggerates thirst, so if water is
in short supply, don’t eat. Drinking saltwater will promote water loss through the
kidneys and intestines and shorten your survival time. A rainwater collector is
incorporated into the canopy and a flexible tube on the inside allows rainwater to be
collected in plastic bags or empty containers.

5. Avoid exposure to strong sunlight

6. Arrange suitable sanitary arrangements

Attempt to keep life raft interior clean.

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4. Swim while wearing a lifejacket

Swimming with a life jacket is ideal for those learning how to swim or individuals
swimming in lakes, oceans and rivers, since swimming in these areas can be more
dangerous than swimming in a pool. A life jacket can protect you from waves and rapid
currents as well as keep you safe if you become fatigued. Due to the bulkiness of a life
jacket, you will need to ensure a proper fit of the life jacket before attempting to swim.
While swimming with a life jacket you can opt to use your arms, legs or both.

Step 1

• Test your life jacket for an appropriate fit.

• An ill-fitting life jacket will not be effective in keeping you safe in the water.

• Place your life jacket on.

• Secure all zippers, snaps, ties and straps to make the life jacket fit you snugly.

• Position yourself in water up to your neck.

• Lift your legs up and tilt your head back toward the water.

• Your mouth should not be in the water and you should be floating without having
to make an effort.

• If the life jacket rides up on you, you need to tighten the straps and snaps.

Step 2

• Kick your legs.

• Fully extend your legs while keeping them underneath the water.

• Kick them up and down.

• Kick slowly to move yourself through the water at a slow and steady pace.

• To move quickly through the water, kick at a more rapid pace.

• The act of kicking should be enough to propel you through the water without the
use of your arms.

Step 3

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• Use your arms.

• Should your legs become tired or if you need an extra boost to get through the
water, incorporate the use of your arms while swimming with a life jacket.

• Extend your arms out in front of your in the water.

• Slowly fan your arms out to your sides making a large half-circle motion.

5. Keep afloat without a lifejacket

Life jackets are essential for many types of water and boating activities. But if you do
not understand the principles of buoyancy and displacement, then it can be unclear how
such a small object can be used to support the weight of a person.

Displacement

When an object enters the water, it causes the water to be displaced. The object will
continue to sink until is has displaced an amount of water equal to its weight. If the
displaced amount of water is equal to the weight of the object, it will create a force
pushing the object up so it becomes buoyant.

Buoyancy

If a 100-pound person were to go into the water, the person would need to displace 100
pounds of water to float. Lighter objects such as foam require much less water to float.

Foam Core

Foam core life jackets have air chambers inside that cause them to displace only a small
amount of water and thus float easily.

Air Chambers

Other life jackets have air bladders that can be inflated. When inflated, as with the foam
core life jackets, it requires little displacement to float.

Design

Because people are already naturally buoyant, the life jacket doesn't have to support the
entire weight of the person. Instead, it needs to displace just enough water to keep a
person's head above water.

Survival at Sea: How to Stay Afloat in Water?

Trying to stay alive at sea during emergency situations requires a lot of hard work,
perseverance and definitely a lot of patience. Before being rescued by the rescue party,

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one has to take-on the wrath and agony of the sea and improvise on every different
situation that persists.

However, certain life threatening situations need a different approach and informed
adaptation to the basic survival skills, and one of them is to – stay afloat at the sea!

Previously, we’ve shown you how surviving on the basics such as containing food / water
supplies and treating several medical issues at sea might save your life.

In the same way, staying afloat at sea with no boat or life raft in sight is no different a
survival basic. It depends upon the ability of the survivor to use the available survival
techniques and in lieu with the improvised ones.

The greatest danger to a life floating in sea is its submission to cold water or if
considered precisely, it is death due to something known as “Hypothermia” – a
condition where a survivor, when immersed in cold water, experiences substantial loss
of body heat to the surroundings, lowering the core body temperature to below the
normal survival temperature.

To ride out of situations like these, the survivor/s is required to try and remain calm.
Shock and panic sends the wrong signals and that might influence other survivors.
Interesting to notice is that sometimes it is ‘team-work’ that may be considered a life
savior. So what exactly are the improvised versions of survival when afloat?

The best protection is to stay above water as far as possible, as immersion in water
means heat loss and increased chances of hypothermic conditions.

• If staying dry and above water is not possible, donning anti-exposure or

Immersion suits may lessen the rapid heat loss and extend the survival time.

• Life-Jackets must be properly inflated and well secured to the body. They should
be worn by the survivors at all times in water.

• Head must be insulated if possible and be above water as more than 50% of heat
loss is from the head and neck portion of the body.

• Body to be in a floating position either vertical or horizontal.

• Maintaining proximity to other survivors for increased motivation and more

importantly prevention of heat loss while ‘Huddling-up’. Huddling is a floating
position where the survivors circle around each other to reduce loss of heat (see
below).

• For a single survivor, getting positioned in the “HELP” or Heat Escape Lessening
Posture and remaining still should increase the survival time and reduce heat loss
and it turns out to be more effective than swimming.

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• One can try swimming with and without a life jacket to get to safety. When using a
life jacket, either swim sideways or try swimming with back-strokes for short
intervals conserving energy and is effective in going further distances. When one
is not with a life jacket then floating horizontally with the head above water is the
best option to stay afloat. One can also float in a vertical position and swim to
short distances using buoyancy from trapped air underneath the clothes and also
by expansion and contraction of air in the lungs. See below for further explanation

So, it is clear that a survivor who is on a whim and does not know how to relax in water
has little chances of survival. No matter how the bad the chances are of survival, the
‘will’ needed to ride the situational storm is definitely grand. Remember, surviving at sea
even with little help is always possible provided it is not taken nonchalantly.

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